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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 

1980 


Technical  Notes  /  Notes  techniques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Physical 
features  of  this  copy  which  may  alter  any  of  the 
images  in  the  reproduction  are  checked  below. 


D 
D 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couvertures  de  couleur 


Coloured  maps/ 

Cartes  giographiques  en  couleur 


L'Instltut  a  microfilm^  le  mellleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Certains 
dAfauts  susceptibies  de  nuire  A  la  quality  de  la 
reproduction  sont  notte  ci-dessous. 


D 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 


0       Coloured  plates/ 
Planches  en  couleur 


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fill 


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or 
ap 

Th 
fill 
ini 


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v/ 


Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  ddcoiordes,  tachetdes  ou  piqu6es 


Tight  binding  (may  cause  shadows  or 
distortion  along  interior  margin)/ 
Reiiure  serr6  (peut  causer  de  i'ombre  ou 
de  la  distortion  le  long  de  la  marge 
intdrieure) 


D 


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Show  through/ 
Transparence 


Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 


Ml 

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up 

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Additional  comments/ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires 


Fold-out  maps,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at  a 
different  reduction  ratio  than  the  rest  of  the  book. 
Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata  slips, 
tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to  ensure  the  best 
possible  image. 


Bibliographic  Notes  /  Notes  bibliographiques 


D 
D 
D 


Only  edition  available/ 
Seuie  Edition  disponibie 


Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reli6  avec  d'autres  documents 


Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


n 


Pagination  incorrect/ 
Erreurs  de  pagination 


Pages  missing/ 

Oes  pages  manquent 


IVIaps  missing/ 

Des  cartes  g6ographiques  manquent 


D 

0 


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Des  planches  manquent 


Additional  comments/ 
Commentaires  supplAmentaires 


Pagination  as  follows  :  [1]  -  346,  349  ~  392,  395  -  868, 


The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possibie  considering  the  conditio**!  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Les  images  suivantes  ont  At6  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin.  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettet*  de  i'exemplaire  film6.  et  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filma^e. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche  shall 
contain  the  symbol  ^^  (meaning  CONTINUED"), 
or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"),  whichever 
applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparattra  sur  la  der- 
niire  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le  cas: 
le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le  symbols 
y  signifie  "FIN". 


The  original  copy  was  borrowed  from,  and 
filmed  with,  the  kind  consent  of  the  following 
institution: 

Dana  Porter  Arts  Library 
University  of  Waterloo 

IViiaps  or  plates  too  large  to  be  entirely  included 
in  one  exposure  are  filmnJ  beginning  in  the 
upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to  right  and  top  to 
bottom,  as  many  frames  as  required.  The 
following  diagrams  illustrate  the  method: 


L'exemplairo  fiimi  fut  reproduit  grfice  d  la 
g6n6rosit6  de  I'Atablissement  prAteur 
suivant  : 

Dana  Porter  Arts  Library 
University  of  Waterloo 

Les  cartes  ou  les  planches  trop  grandes  pour  Atre 
reproduites  en  un  seul  clichd  sont  filmdes  A 
partir  de  I'angle  supArieure  gauche,  de  gauche  A 
droite  et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Le  diagramme  suivant 
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TT""?cr~ — 


iJUMlttUk . 


AN 


ILLUSTRATED  HISTORY 


OF  THE 


NEW  WORLD: 

CONTAIMIMQ 

A  GENERAL  HISTORY 


or  ALL  TOB  VABIOl'S 


NATIONS,  STATES  AND  REPUBLICS 

OP  THE 

WESTERN    CONTINENT; 

COMPKISIXC  THE  KAIM.IEST  DISCOVEKIES  BY  THE  SPANISH,  FRENCH, 

AND  OTHEI!    NAVIGATORS,  AN  ACCOIST  OF  THE 

AMERICAN  INDIANS,  AND  A 

Complete  History  of  the  United  States  to  the  Present  Time. 

INXLIDISG 

THE  FRENCH  AND  INDIAN  WARS,  THE  WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION, 
THAT  OF  1812,  THE  MEXICAN  WAR,  AND  A  COMPLETE 

HISTORY  OF  TIE  LATE  REBELLION, 


EMBRACING  THE  BRILLIANT  CAREER  OF 


GRANT,  SHERMAN,  SHERIDAN,  AND  THEIR  BRAVE  COMPATRIOTS. 

WITH  AN  AITENDIX,  CONTAINING  THE  CONSTITITION  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES  AND  OTHER  IMPORTANT  PUBLIC   DOCUMENTS,  AND 

VALUABLE  STATISTICAL  TABLES. 

EDITED  BY  JOHN  L.  DENISON,  A.M., 

Editor  of  The  Pictorial  History  of  the  Wan,  Pictorial  Naval  Hiatory,  The  New  World  in  German,  etc. 

THE  WHOLE  ILLl'STRATED  WITH  OVKB  THREE  HUNDRED  ENGRAVINGS, COKSI&TINO  OFBATTI.R  .«0FNK3 

VIEWS   OP  CITIES,   FLAGS  OF  THE   VARUM  s   NATIONS,   PROMINENT  EVENT.t,   AND   I'CIUTRAITS 

OF  UISTINGIISHEU   MEN.  FHilM   DESIGNS   BY   LOS-"IVG,   CRIIOHE,   UEVERAl  X, 

AND  OTUEB  CELEBRATED  AMERICAN  ARTISTS. 


SOLD  ONLY  BY  THE  PUBLISHER'S  DISTRIBUTING  AGENTS. 


NORWICH,  CONN.: 
PUBLISHED    BY    HENRY    BILL. 

18G8. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  jrear  i$6S, 
I'. Y    HENRY    BILL, 

In  t!>e  Clerk's  Office  of  l!ie  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Connecticut 


Putss  OF  Geo.  C.  R\sd  &  Avkkv,  Boston. 


s 


.JlkdiStdiiwaa^rittaiiaraBwtMr^BtdHi 


PREFACE. 


The  presentation  of  this  volume  to  the  public,  real 
izes  a  long-cherished  object  of  its  author,  and  also  sup- 
plies a  want  that  has  long  been  felt,  but  that  has  hith- 
erto been  imperfectly  if  at  all  gratified.'  It  is  intended 
as  an  "  Illustrated  History  of  America,  or  the  New 
World,"  and  is  believed  to  be  the  most  complete,  if 
not  the  only  attempt  that  has  been  made,  to  present  in 
a  single  volume  so  interesting  and  comprehensive  an 
amount  of  matter. 

As  an  accession  to  the  library  of  the  student  or  gen- 
eral i-eader,  this  volume,  it  is  confidently  believed,  will 
be  found  of  great  value  from  the  variety  of  its  statisti- 
cal facts  and  details,  so  important  for  reference  and  use- 
ful information ;  while  its  ornate  presentation  and  beau- 
tifully illustrated  character  cannot  fail  to  recommend  it 
to  public  acceptance. 

In  executing  this  task,  the  author  has  availed  himself 
of  the  ample  collection  of  historical  works,  which  his 
studies  and  writings  for  many  years  have  led  him  to 
amass ;  and  in  condensing  the  history  within  the  limits 
prescribed  for  the  work,  he  has  endeavored  to  avoid 
omitting  any  thing  which  wi»s  important  to  be  com- 
prised in  a  general  history  of  the  American  continent. 

Such  a  history  necessarily  comprises  many  events  of 
romantic  and  thrilling  interest;  and  brings  into  view 


4  PBEFAOB 

many  characters  wLo  have  won  the  admiration  and 
applause  of  the  world ;  while  its  historical  details  con- 
vey many  important  and  useful  lessons  in  morals,  mili- 
tary and  political  science,  and  legislation. 

To  the  American  citizen  all  that  relates  to  the  history 
of  his  own  country  is  always  interesting;  while  the 
condition  and  character  of  the  contiguous  countries  pre- 
sent objects  of  interest  of  a  nature  scarcely  less  attrac- 
tive. 

The  pictorial  embellishments  which  are  inserted  in 
the  work  are  not  intended  for  mere  ornaments.  Their 
use  is  to  impress  historical  facts  indelibly  on  th  3  mind. 
This  effect  of  pictures  is  now  so  generally  acknowledged, 
that  they  seem  to  be  indispensable  in  a  book  intended 
for  general  circulation  among  the  people.  For  this 
reason,  a  very  large  number  have  been  inserted  in  the 
volume ;  and  they  will  be  found  by  the  reader  to  em- 
brace an  unusual  variety  of  interesting  subjects. 

It  is  hoped  that  the  work  now  submitted  to  the  pub- 
lic will  be  found  not  unworthy  of  the  same  kind  indul- 
gence which  has  been  manifested  toward  the  previous 
attempts  of  the  author  to  advance  the  great  cause  of 
popular  information. 


1 


*!  - 


■«^h«liMtMMUM*iM 


CONTENTS. 


rtm 

CHAPTER  I.— Discoveries  OF  the  Northmen.*. 13 

II Discovery  of  Columbus 21 

III. — Spanish  Discoveries  and  Conquests 27 

IV. — The  Conqi'est  op  Mexico 36 

v.— Reie.nt  HisTKiiY  OF  Mexico 80 

VI. — Central  A.merila 91 

VII — California 113 

VIII.— Florida    120 

IX.— Canada  under  the  French 143 

X. — Minor  Provinces  of  B  ritisr  America 163 

XI. — History  op  Oregon < 194 

XII..— Greenland 198 

XIII — Russian  America 200 

XIV — Settlement  op  Viroinia 203 

XV. — Viroinia  till  the  Peace  op  1763 • 226 

XVI.— Maryland 234 

XVII. — Massachusetts 240 

XVIII.— Settlement  op  Connecticut 259 

XIX. — Rhode  Island 264 

XX. — Maine  and  New  Hampshire • 266 

XXL— New  York 869 

XXII.— New  Jersey 281 

XXIII. — Pennsylvania  and  Delaware 289 

XXIV. — The  Carolinas  and  Georoia S9S 

XXV.— The  Seven  Years'  War 801 

XXVI. — Commencement  op  the  Revolution S» 

XXVII — First  Hostilities  of  the  Revolution 319 

XXVIII.— Expedition  to  Canada 336 

At  i 


CONTENIS. 


I 


PAOI 

OHAP.XXrX.— Cajcpaion  or  1776 334 

XXX. — Campaign  or  1777  and  Conclusion  of  thb  Treaty  with 

France ■ 354 

XXXI.— Campaign  oi  1778 377 

XXXII.— CA.MPAIGN  OF  1779 3b9 

XXXIII.- Campaign  of  1780 403 

\XXIV.— Cajipaign  of  1781 417 

XXXV. — Close  of  the  Revolutionary  War 435 

XXXVI. — Organization  of  the  Federal  Government.     Washing- 
ton's Administration 440 

XXXVII. — Administration  of  John  Adams 454 

XXX VIII. — Administration  of  Thomas  Jefferson 4o9 

XXXIX. — Administration  of  James  Madison 474 

XL.— Campaign  or  1812 48C 

XLL— Campaign  of  1813 490 

XLII— Campaign  of  1314 .')04 

XLIII. — Administration  of  Jame.s  Monroe S20 

XLIV. — Administration  of  John  Qi:incv  Adams 523 

XLV. — Administration  OF  Andrew  Jackson W5 

XL VI. — Administration  OF  Martin  Van  Buren 529 

XL VII. — Administrations  of  Harrison  and  Tyler 5?1 

XLVIIL— History  of  Texas KM 

XLIX. — Administration  of  James   K.  Polk — Opening  op   thb 

Mexican  War 5-10 

L. — Operations  or  General  Taylor 544 

LI. — Operations  IN  California  and  New  Mexico 560 

LII. — Campaion  of  General  Scott 5G4 

Lin. — AmVINISTUATION   OK   TaVLOR (Jlj.i 

"  "    Fillmore fii8 

LIV. — Admimsttiation  or  Pikboe 648 

LV. — Administration  of  Buchanan ij.id 

LVI. — Aijmixistuation  of  Lincoln C7l 

LVII. — Administuatiox  df  Joiixsox 7G3 

LVITI. — Canada  uni>eh  the  Britisu.  . ,    769 

LIX. — South  America 7Sj 

LX. — The  West  Indies bll 

APPENDIX. 

ccnstiturion  op  the  united  states 831 

Declaration  of  Independence 840 

Articles  of  Confederation 843 

Population  of  all  the   Counties  in  the   United  Siati's,  accord- 
iNQ  TO  the  Census  of  1860 853 


u 


LIST 


or 


THE  PRINCIPAL  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAG  I 

Head  Piece  to  Chapter  1 13 

Discover}'  oi'  Greenland 14 

Landing  of  the  Northmen 15 

Tyrker  discovering  the  Grapea 16 

Ships  of  the  Northmen 17 

Northmen  trading  with  Indiana 19 

Biorne's  Presents 20 

Columbus 21 

Francis  1 23 

Henry  VII 24 

Saihng  of  Columbus 25 

Vespucci 26 

Balboa 27 

Fi'/MTO 30 

Balboa  discovering  tliu  Pacific  Ocean 31 

Fedrarias 33 

Landing  of  Cortes 36 

Olmedo 39 

Volcanic  Mountains,  as  seen  from  Tacubaya 43 

( <!adiatorial  Sacrifice 46 

Montezuma 51 

Cortes 52 

Massacre  at  Cholula 54 

Cortes  marching  into  Mexico 57 

The  Great  Temple  of  Mexico 60 

Cortes  ordering  Montezuma  to  be  chained 63 

Expedition  of  Narvaez 66 

Defeat  of  Narvaez 68 

Sandoval  72 

Cortes  at  Otumba 74 

Olid 76 

Termination  of  the  Aqueduct  in  Mexico 79 

Interior  of  a  Mexican  House  80 

Joseph  Bonaparte  82 

Mina  .......    (44 

Iturbide 86 

T 


8 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


I   . 


PAOI 

Bustamcnte 65 

Alaman 89 

Pedro  Alvnrado 91 

Kicab  Tanub 93 

Great  Battle  between  Alvarado  and  the  Quiches 95 

Celebration  of  the  Founding  of  St.  Jago 98 

Charles  V 100 

Alonzo  do  Maldonado  102 

Hores 104 

Juan  Diaz  de  Solis  107 

Santiago  Iman 1 10 

San  Francisco,  Caliiornia 112 

Monterey,  Upper  California 115 

Ponce  de  Leon 120 

Ponce  de  Leon  wounded 122 

Narvaez  in  I'Morida 124 

Almogro 126 

Soto  appointed  Adelani  ado  • .  • 127 

Soto  discovering  the  Mississippi  ....  132 

Verazzano 134 

Admiral  Coligni 135 

Saturiova  showing  the  Monument  136 

Jacques  Cartier 140 

Cartier  taking  possession  of  Now  France 143 

Champlain  ascending  the  St.  Lawrence 145 

Place  d'Armes,  Montreal 147 

Lake  George 150 

Expedition  of  Sir  David  Kirke  152 

New  Cathedral,  Montreal 154 

Canadian  Hut 159 

Bay  of  Quebec 163 

Indian  Village  on  the  St.  Lawrence 164 

Settlement  of  Port  Royal 165 

Fishing  Station  on  the  coast  of  Nova  Scotia 168 

Marlborough 169 

Surrender  of  Louisbourg 173 

Louis  XV 174 

Halifax 176 

Domiciliated  Indians 177 

Sir  Guy  Carlton 178 

St.  John's,  New  Brunswick 183 

Cod-Fishery,  Newfoundland 184 

Lord  Baltimore 186 

Entrance  into  Hudson's  Bay 188 

Trading  with  Indians 189 

Parry's  Expedition 191 

Astoria 194 

Subterranean  Hut  in  the  N  orthern  Regions 201 

Peter  the  Great 202 

Sebastian  Cabot 203 

Grenville  burnhig  an  Indian  Town 205 

Raleigh 207 

Gosnold's  Voyage 210 

Captain  John  Smith 213 

Powhatan 215 

Captain  Smith  exploring  Chesapeake  Bay 217 

Pocahontas  rescuing  Captain  Smith 219 

Capture  of  Pocahontas 221 

The  Christian  Indian  disclosing  the  intended  Massacre 223 

The  Great  Massacre 224 

James  1 226 

Arrest  of  Harvey 227 

Charles  1 228 

Signing  of  Bacon's  Commission 230 

Cecil  Calvert 233 


;  1  -■■"^.« 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


0 


FAOI 

Settlement  of  St.  Mary's 236 

William  III 238 

John  Winthrop 240 

Iianding  of  (he  Pilgrims 242 

Death  of  Governor  Carver 244 

The  Treaty  with  MassaBsoit 215 

Settlement  of  Boston 246 

Banishment  of  Roger  Williams 247 

Sir  Harry  Vane 248 

Trial  of  Wenlock  Christiaon 251 

Scene  in  King  Philip's  War 252 

Burning  of  Springfield 254 

Emigration  of  Mr.  Hooper  and  his  company 2f'0 

Massacre  of  the  Fcquods 260 

Signing  of  the  New  England  confederation 261 

Roger  Williams  enterianied  by  the  Indians 264 

Gorges  and  Mason  naming  their  provinces 266 

Governor  Stuyvesant 269 

Gtistavus  Adolphus 273 

Charles  II.  giving  the  New  Netherlands  to  the  Duke  of  York 275 

James  II 276 

Treaty  with  the  Five  Nations 278 

Nassau  Hall.  New  Jersey 281 

William  Penn 285 

The   Treaty  Monument,  on  the  site  of  the  elm  tree,  where  Penn's  treaty 

was  made 288 

Interview  between  William  Penn  and  Lord  Baltnnore 290 

Savannah  in  1778 293 

The  Earl  of  Clarendon  295 

General  Oglethorpe 298 

General  Wolfe 301 

Washington's  interview  with  St.  Pierre 304 

Massacre  at  Fort  William  'Jenry 306 

Abercrombie  crossing  L;ikc  George 307 

Ruins  of  Ticondernga  308 

Death  of  General  VVolfe 309 

Samuel  Adams... .  310 

Stamp  Act  riot 311 

Reception  of  ihe  news  of  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act 312 

John  Hancock 313 

Faneuil  Hall 314 

Boston  Massacre 315 

Destruction  of  the  Tea  in  Boston  Harbour 316 

Carpenters'  Hall 317 

British  naval  costume 318 

Siege  of  Boston 319 

Affair  at  Lexington 320 

Provincials  harassing  the  British  on  their  retreat  from  Concord 321 

Colonel  Allen  capturing  Ticonderoga 322 

General  Warren 324 

Washington's  head-quarters  at  Cambridge 328 

General  Ward  • 329 

General  Montgomery 330 

Death  of  Montgomery 332 

Monument  to  General  Montgomery  at  St.  Paul's  church,  New- York  ...  333 

Battle-Ground  of  Trenton 334 

Sir  Peter  Parker 336 

Defence  of  Fort  Moultrie 337 

Independence  hall,  Philadelphia,  when  the  Declaration  of  Independence 

was  signed 340 

Lord  Howe 341 

General  Howe 342 

General  Sullivan 343 

The  retreat  of  the  American  army  from  Long  Island 344 

General  Lee's  head-quarters  at  Baskinridge , '^47 

i 


10 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


VMfl 

Batt le  of  Trenton 348 

Battle  of  Princeton 349 

Washington  crossing  the  Delawnrc 330 

WosKngton's  head-quarters  at  Urandywine '  334 

General  Wooster 336 

Battle  of  Brandy  wine ^ .  • .  358 

Battle  of  Germantown 359 

Battle  of  Red  Bank 360 

Washington's  head-quarters  at  Valley  Forge 361 

Murder  of  Miss  M'Crea 363 

.'iattle  of  Bennington L't 

General  Schuyler 365 

Arnold  at  Bemis's  Heights 366 

Burgoyne's  retreat  up  the  Hudson 367 

Surrender  of  Burgoyne 368 

General  Burgoyne 369 

Lord  North 370 

Silas  Deane 372 

Thomas  Paine 374 

Conclusion  of  the  irmiy  wi'h  France 376 

Commodore  John  Fmil  Jones 377 

General  Gates 379 

Battle  of  Monmouth 381 

Count  d'Estaing 382 

Massacre  at  Wyoming 384 

Colonel  George  R.  Clarke 385 

Captain  Biddle 386 

Battle  between  the  Ranger  and  Drake 387 

Baron  Steuben 389 

Specimens  of  Continental  Bills 391 

Capture  of  Stony  Point 395 

General  Henry  Lee 397 

Death  of  Pulaski 400 

Capture  of  the  Serapis 401 

General  Marion 402 

Tarlcton's  Quarters 404 

Baron  de  Kalb 403 

General  Sumpter 407 

Battle  of  King's  Mountain 409 

Count  de  Rochambeau 410 

West  Point 412 

Capture  of  Andre 413 

Major  Andre 414 

General  Greene 416 

Colonel  Howard 417 

Colonel  Williams 420 

Colonel  Washington 422 

Battle  ot  Eutaw  Springs 424 

Lord  Ra wdon 425 

Arnold's  descent  on  Virginia 426 

General  La  Fayette 427 

General  Wayne's  celebrated  charge  on  the  British  army 428 

Count  de  Grasse 429 

Yorktown,  from  a  drawing  by  Mrs.  Simcoe 431 

La  Fayette  taking  the  rerloubt  at  Yorklown 432 

Moore's  house,  Yorktown 433 

Battle-Ground  of  Yorktown 434 

Captain  Barry  434 

Henry  Laurens 435 

Colonel  Laurens 436 

Commodore  Barney 437 

Washington's  head-quarters  at  Newburgh 438 

Washington  440 

Mount  Vernon 442 

Washington  taking  the  oath  of  office  in  front  of  the  old  Federal  Hall, 
New  York 443 


■  ^-^"* "  -'tgJiiillh I  ■■■■  tir  ■ 


I 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


11 


E9 


Alexander  Hamilton 444 

General  Wayne  defeating  the  Indians  at  the  Miami 447 

General  Knox 449 

Mount  Vernon • 453 

John  Adams 454 

Commodore  Murray 455 

Capture  of  L'Insurgente   456 

Commodore  Truxtun ■ 457 

Tomb  of  Washington  458 

Thomas  Jefferson 459 

Commodore  Dale 462 

General  Eaton 463 

Commodore  Bainhridge 465 

Capture  of  Dernc 468 

Mobile 469 

Aaron  Burr 469 

George  Clinton 470 

Affair  in  the  Chesapeake 471 

General  Wilkinson 472 

James  Madison 474 

Tecumseh 476 

Council  of  Vincennes 477 

General  Harrison 478 

Commodore  Hull 480 

Defence  of  P'ort  Harrison 483 

Queenstown 484 

Commodore  Porter 485 

Captain  Lawrence 488 

Capture  of  the  Caledonia  and  Detroit 489 

Fort  Niagara 490 

Massacre  at  the  River  Raisin 491 

Death  of  General  Pike 494 

Sackett's  Harbour 495 

Battle  of  the  Thames 493 

Battle  of  Emuckfaw 500 

Battle  of  Tohopeka ..501 

Captain  Allen 503 

General  Ripley 506 

General  Miller 507 

General  Macomb 508 

Commodore  McDonough 508 

Battle  of  Lake  ChampTain 509 

Bombardment  of  Fort  McHenry 512 

Cruise  of  the  Esses 516 

Captain  Blakely 517 

James  Monroe 520 

John  Quincy  Adams 523 

Andrew  Jackson 525 

T'.iomas  H.  Benton 527 

Destruction  of  Major  Dade's  detachment 528 

Martin  Van  Buren 529 

William  H.  Harrison 531 

James  K.  Polk 539 

Corpus  Christi 541 

Point  Isabel 542 

General  Taylor 544 

Battle  of  Palo  Alto 546 

Captain  May 547 

Matamoras 548 

General  Taylor  advancing  to  Monterey • 550 

Cavalry  Action  of  the  21st  of  September 551 

Bishop  8  Palace,  Monterey 554 

Stormineof  Monterey 555 

General  Taylor  taking  leave  of  the  troops 5S6 

Repulse  of  the  Mexican  Cavalry  at  Buena  Vista 558 


12 


ILIXSTHATIOXS. 


i  i 


if 


''ol'inel  JefTerson  Davts 550 

Colonel  Fremont 660 

Battle  of  Bracito 5C2 

General  Keamey  wounded  at  San  Pasqnal 563 

General  Scott 664 

Vera  Cruz  666 

Commodore  Perry 667 

Scott's  Landing  at  Vera  Cruz. 667 

Battle  of  Cerro  Gordo 568 

Colonel  Baker 570 

General  Twiggs 674 

General  Pierfe 675 

General  Shields 676 

General  Pillow 678 

Chiirge  of  the  Palmettos 579 

Mnlino  del  Rey,  Chapnltepec  in  the  distance. 682 

Stt)rraiug  of  Molino  del  Key 683 

Colonel  Ransom 585 

Major,  now  Colonel  SejTDOur 588 

'jeneral  Persifor  F.  Smith 587 

General  Worth 583 

Scott's  Kntrance  into  Mexico 589 

Colonel  Childs 591 

William  Pitt,  son  of  the  Earl  of  Cliatham 595 

Charles  James  Fox 597 

View  from  the  Citadel  at  Kingston 599 

Sir  Robert  Peel 600 

f-Kike  of  the  Two  Mountains  602 

Navy  Island 003 

Toronto    605 

Zachary  Taylor 605 

John  C.  Calhoun 611 

MUlartl  Fillmore 613 

Henry  Clay 633 

Daniel  Webster 63t 

Franklin  Pierce 643 

James  Buchanan 659 

View  of  Sebastopol  at  the  Final  Assault 661 

Abraham  Lincoln _671 


i 


f    '• 


INTRODUCTION. 


AMERICA,  OR  THE  NEW  WORLD. 


The  pen  of  the  historian  lias  hitherto  been  busy  in  descrilHng  aU 
that  relates  to  the  Old  World,  and  innumerable  treatises  on  Europe, 
Asia,  and  Africa,  have  been  the  result.  Be  it  our  task  to  bring  to  view 
the  important  events  relating  to  the  New  World,  and  to  jiace  before 
the  reader  a  succession  of  narrations,  which,  with  the  accompanying 
illustrations,  shall  possess  the  interest  and  fidelity  of  a  panoramic  de- 
Bcription. 

America,  or  the  New  World,  comprises  nearly  one-half  of  the  habita- 
ble globt!,  and,  with  its  vast  surrounding  oceans  and  namerons  i^Hands,  is 
known  as  the  western  hemisphere.  It  is  divided  into  Nobth  and  South 
America.  The  former  extends  from  8"  to  81°  22'  X.  lat^the  highest 
point  of  exploration,  and  from  55°  to  168°  W.  lorn,  embracing  an  area  of 
over  8,000,000  square  miles,  and  is  separated  from  Asia  on  the  north- 
west by  the  narrow  strip  of  water  known  as  Behriog's  Straits.  Its 
winding  outline  presents  a  great  extent  of  sea-coast,  estinuited  at  about 
9,500  miles  on  the  eastern,  and  somewhat  more  on  the  western  side,  in 
addition  to  the  frozen  shores  of  the  northern  border.  Sooth  America 
is  comprised  between  the  12th  degree  of  north,  and  the  56th  of  sonth 
latitude,  and  36°  and  81°  W.  longitude,  containing  an  area  of  about 
6,500,000  square  miles.  Both  divisions  possess  a  peculiarly  tapering 
form  to  the  south,  the  former  terminating  at  the  narrow  isthmus  of 
Panama,  and  the  latter,  after  passing  the  6th  degree  of  south  latitude, 
gradually  contracting  its  dimensions,  and  ending  in  the  cnrred  and 
tempestuous  point  of  Cape  Horn. 

The  first  discoveries  of  America  remain  with  some  a  subject  of  his- 
torical doubt.  We  have,  however,  in  our  first  chapter,  given  an  account^ 
which  we  believe  to  be  reliable,  of  the  discoveries  of  the  enteqjirising 
Northmen,  as  early  as  the  tenth  century,  embracing  Greenland,  Labra- 
dor, and  portions  even,  as  far  south  as  the  New  England  coassta.  Coi- 
tnries  before  this,  an  extensive  immigration  must  have  taken  place. 


I!' 
I' 


It 

\V 

1  ' 


'       u 


r 


4 


**' 


"'-  ii. 


INTRODUCTION. 

from  Asia,  by  way  of  Bohring's  Straits,  and  thus  we  are  enabled  to 
account  fur  tLu  Hboriginal  population,  and  the  evidences  uf  a  former 
civilization,  here  found.  But,  hidden  for  ages  from  the  knowledge  of 
the  learned  and  enlightened  nations  of  the  Old  World,  the  true  discov- 
ery of  America  dates  from  the  period  of  Christoval  Colon,  a  native 
uf  the  republic  of  Genoa,  better  known  to  us  as  Christopher  Columbus, 
whose  immortal  enterprises,  and  those  of  his  successors,  are  narrated 
in  succeeding  chapters. 

Prominent  among  these  successors  were  the  Cabots,  John  and  Se- 
bastian, Venetians  by  birth,  who,  under  the  patronage  of  Uenry  VIL 
of  England,  discovered,  in  1407,  the  northern  portion  of  America. 
The  name  America  is  derived  from  Amerigo  Vespucci,  a  Florentine, 
who  was  a  secondary  agent  in  the  discoveries,  but  the  first  to  publish 
an  account  of  them. 

And  what  a  mighty  event  it  has  proved  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth !  An  entire  hemisphere  was  brought  to  hght,  constituting  in 
reality  a  New  World,  with  a  greater  variety  of  climate  and  suscepti- 
bility of  production,  with  more  expansive  lakes,  broader  and  more  fer- 
tile plains,  mightier  rivers,  more  majestic  mountains,  and  a  scenery 
throughout  more  impressive,  than  were  ever  seen  before.  And  with 
the  discovery  and  settlement  of  America  came  a  new  life,  and  a  new 
history  to  be  recorded.  It  is  from  this,  as  much  as  from  its  recent 
discovery,  that  our  continent  justly  derives  its  appellation.  Beginning 
with  the  early  Spanish  conquests,  we  are  rapidly  presented  with  a  suc- 
cession of  heroic  struggles  for  the  erection  of  new  states  and  empires 
on  this  continent  New  thoughts  and  aspirations  were  here  given 
wing,  new  and  more  active  energies  were  brought  into  exercise,  and, 
despite  hardships  and  conflicts  of  every  nature,  a  new  order  of  things 
bas  been  successfully  erected,  prominent  among  which  is  the  principle 
of  political  self-government,  especially  as  illustrated  in  our  own  pros- 
perous and  renowned  republic 


i 


L 


MOROCCi 


A  CIBMW  ffl 

Puhlishccl   hv 

HENRY   BI] 


»♦-«  ♦  »•■ 


NEW  YORK. 


;hant 


MECKLENBURG 


tafT    ©IP 

jfAfr.  ml  Mm 

blishecl   hv 

RY   BILL. 


fi  ♦  ♦•- 


EWYORK. 


KINGDOM  OF  HANOVER  HANOVEB  notAi  ruAO) 


BREMEN 


NEAP0UTA1N 


HAMBURG 

KIICkAUT  tlAC  i»nt  wtTMOtfT  »NC>0« 


GERMAN  MERCHANT 


FRANKFORT  ON  THE  MAYNE 


'JM/j" 


IMPERIAL  STANDARD  OF  theCERMAN  union; 


J 


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t( 


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ni 


.  lUmiwiuMTi    mimMui 


CHAPTER  I. 


DISCOVERIES   OF  THE   NORTHMEN. 


jHE  name  of  Christopher  Columbus  has  so  long  lean 
associated  with  the  first  general  knowledge  of  the 
New  World,  by  Europeans,  that  numbers  of  the  pre- 
sent day  are  ignorant  of  any  discovery  of  our  con- 
tinent prior  to  his  time.  There  is  conclusive  evi- 
dence, however,  of  such  discovery  having  been  made,  although  the 
fact  cannot  in  the  least  detract  from  the  hard-earned  fame  of  the 
Genoese  mariner.  The  people  whose  records  and  traditions  bear 
testimony  to  this  event,  are  the  Normans  or  Northmen. 

In  ^the  dark  ages,  the  Northmen,  natives  of  Scandinavia,  which 
included  Sweden,  Denmark,  and  Norway,  were  the  most  daring  ad- 
venturers of  Europe.  At  different  periods,  they  conquered  portions 
nf  France,  England,  Germany,  and  other  nations  of  Northern  and 


'•. 


14 


DISCOVERIES   OF   THE   NORTHMEN. 


Middle  Europe,  and  established  naval  and  trading  stations  along  all 
the  north-western  coast.  They  also  fitted  out  numerous  expeditions 
for  distant  parts,  several  of  which  visited  Iceland  as  early  as  the 
ninth  century,  and  established  a  colony  there. 

In  the  year  986,  Greenland  was  visited  by  Eric  Rauda,  (the  Red,) 
who  planted  a  colony  on  the  south-eastern  shore,  and  named  it 
Brattalid.  The  whole  country  he  called  Greenland,  either  ironically 
or,  most  probably,  for  the  purpose  of  alluring  emigrants.  Different 
settlements  were  styled  Ericsfiord,  Heriulfsfiord,  Rafnsfiord,  &c., 
after  the  names  of  the  colonists. 

The  Northern  Chro- 
nicles give  the  honour 
of  originating  the  spi- 
rit of  discovery  which 
resulted  in  first  visit- 
ing the  Continent  now 
called  America,  to  an 
.  enterprising  young 
man,  named  Biarne, 
son  of  Heriulf.  He 
had  distinguished  him- 
self bv  his  activity  in 
mercantile  pursuits, 
and  acquired  great  knowledge  of  men  and  society,  by  visiting 
foreign  countries.  When  Eric's  expedition  sailed  from  Denmark, 
Biarne  was  in  Norway  ;  but,  on  ascertaining  this,  when  he  arrived 
in  his  native  country,  he  followed  it  thither.  Being  totally  unac- 
quainted with  Eric's  course,  the  navigators  wandered  for  some  time 
upon  the  ocean,  encountering  violent  winds  and  severe  weather. 
This  was  succeeded  by  fogs.  When  the  atmosphere  again  became 
clear,  they  discovered  a  level,  sandy  coast,  swelling  gradually  into 
hills,  whose  tops  and  sides  were  crowned  with  thick  woods.  As 
this  did  not  correspond  to  the  description  of  Greenland  sent  to  Eu- 
rope by  Eric,  no  landing  was  attempted.  On  the  following  day, 
more  land  was  discovered,  presenting  the  same  topographical  out- 
line. Three  days  after,  they  came  in  sight  of  an  island,  and  con- 
tinuing their  course  for  forty-eight  hours,  they  reached  'he  southern 
extremity  of  Greenland.  They  were  received  gladly  by  Heriulf, 
und  remained  in  Greenland,  until  his  death,  when  Biarne  succeeded 
0  the  administration  of  affairs. 


CISOOVXB?    OP    OBXBNLAND. 


LANDING   OF  THE   NORTHMEN. 


Ifi 


to  an 


LANDINO    OF    TUB     NOBTaMBN. 


ical  out- 
and  con- 
southern 
Heriulf, 
sucoaeded 


The  account  of  tlie  land  seen  by  the  young  navigiUur  excited 
much  attention  in  the  Greenland  colony,  and  roused  a  spirit  of  ad- 
venture, somewhat  singular  in  a  youthful  settlement.  Under  its 
inrtuence,  a  son  of  Eric,  named  Leit,  purchased  Blame's  vessel, 
and,  with  thirty-five  men,  set  sail  on  a  voyage  of  discovery,  (about 
A.  D.  1000.)  Touching  at  the  island  seen  by  Biarne,  he  called  it 
Helluland,  (flat  land,)  and  reaching,  soon  after,  the  first  land  men- 
tioned by  his  predecessor,  he  gave  it  the  title  of  Markland,  (woody 
liind.)  Two  days  after,  they  landed  on  an  island  covered  with  vege- 
tation, and  then  sailing  westward,  they  reached  the  mouth  of  a  river, 
•lear  a  strait  which  separated  the  island  from  a  high   promoiitoiy 


'    rr 


16 


DISCOVERIES    OF   THE   NORTHMEN. 


\ 


f 


TYKiCBH     DISOOVBRINO    TUB     OHAPBa. 


iiiiid.  A  lake  was  the  source  of  this  stream.  Pleased  with  this 
wild  spot,  Leif  determined  to  establish  here  a  colony  ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, erected  wooden  huts  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  and  caused 
his  goods  to  be  conveyed  to  the  lake  in  boats. 

After  remaining  some  time,  and  building  more  commodious  houses, 
ihe  colony  was  organized  into  two  parties,  one  of  which  explored 
the  country  at  regular  periods,  while  the  other  remained  at  home, 
the  leader  accompanying  them  alternately.  On  one  of  these  expe- 
ditions, grapes  were  discovered  by  a  German  named  Tyrker  ;  and 
from  this  circumstance  the  country  was  called  Winelund  or  Vinland. 
fhis  discovery,  together  with  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  and  the 
great  abundance  of  salmon  and  other  fish  in  the  river,  rendered  them 
still  more  wiUing  to  form  a  permanent  settlement. 


DEATH   OF   TUORWALD. 


17 


;?'* 
v'^^ 


ilh  this 
accord- 
caused 

houses, 
xplored 
homi', 
e  expe- 
r ;  and 
"inland, 
nd  the 
?d  them 


SHIPS    OF    Tax     HORTHMXN. 

According  to  the  chronicles  and  traditions  of  this  discovery,  Vin- 
land  now  forms  the  states  of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island.  The 
other  provinces  visited  by  the  Northmen  are  identified  as  Labrador. 
Nova  Scotia,  and  the  northern  part  of  New  England. 

The  climate  of  the  new-found  province  was  delightful.  The 
{pass  is  said  to  have  remained  green  during  winter,  and  the  cattle, 
(luring  the  same  time,  placed  at  pasture  in  the  fields.  In  the  spring, 
Leif  returned  to  Greenland  with  a  cargo  of  wood,  a  circumstance 
that  revived  the  spirit  of  discovery  among  his  countrymen.  His 
brother,  Thorwald,  sailed  the  following  year  in  Leif's  ship,  reached 
the  New  England  coast,  and  passed  the  winter  at  Mount  Hope  Bay. 
In  the  ensuing  spring,  (1002,)  he  again  put  to  sea,  doubled  a  cape, 
supposed  to  be  Cape  Cod,  and  sailed  leisurely  along  the  coast,  until, 
he  reached  a  headland  overgrown  with  wood.  Two  skirmishes 
here  occurred  with  the  natives,  in  the  latter  of  which  Thorwald 
received  a  mortal  wound.  He  had  been  instructed  in  the  Christian 
religion  by  his  brother,  and  feeling  his  death  approach,  he  collected 
hi.s  followers,  and  asked  if  any  had  been  wounded.  Being  answered 
m  the  negative,  he  said :  "  As  for  me,  I  have  received  a  wound 
under  the  arm  from  an  arrow,  and  I  feel  that  it  will  be  mortal.  I 
advise  you  to  prepare  immediately  for  your  return :  but  ye  shall 
linst  carry  my  body  to  the  promontory  which  I  thought  so  beautiful, 
und  where  I  had  determined  to  fix  my  residence.  It  may  be  that  it 
was  a  prophetic  word  which  fell  from  my  lips,  about  my  abid- 
ing there  for  a  season.  There  shall  ye  bury  me,  and  ye  shall  plant 
a  Bii 


18  DISCOVERIES   OF    THE   NORTHMEN. 

a  cross  at  my  head  and  another  at  my  feet,  and  ye  shall  call  the 
name  of  the  place  Krossanes  ^Cape  Cross]  through  ail  future 
time." 

After  Thorvvald's  death  and  burial  his  men  returned  to  Moun*. 
Hope,  and  in  a  year  after  to  Greenland.  The  narrative  of  their 
discoveries  and  sufferings  excited  much  attention,  and  Thorstein, 
a  brother  of  the  unfortunate  adventurer,  determined  on  sailing  to 
Cape  Cross,  and  bringing  back  the  body.  This  spot  (situated,  it  is 
supposed,  in  Massachusetts  Bay)  he  never  reached ;  and,  indeed, 
escaped  total  shipwreck  only  by  being  driven  back  to  the  coast  of 
Greenland. 

In  1006,  a  new  impulse  was  given  to  maritime  enterprise,  among 
the  Northmen,  by  the  arrival,  at  Ericsfiord,  of  two  ships  carrying 
Thorfinn,  a  wealthy  and  influential  person  of  royal  descent,  and 
Snorre  Thorbrandson,  also  a  distinguished  person.  Eric  and  Thor- 
stein were  now  dead,  and  the  two  visitors  seem  to  have  been  en- 
trusted with  the  management  of  affairs  during  the  winter.  Daring 
the  festivities  of  Christmas,  Thorfinn  became  enamoured  with  Gud- 
rida,  widow  of  Thorstein,  and  soon  after  married  her.  Through  her 
entreaties,  he  fitted  out  an  expedition  to  visit  Vinlana,  consisting  uf 
three  ships  and  a  hundred  and  forty  men.  He  sailed  in  1007, 
accompanied  by  his  wife,  his  companion,  Snorre,  and  a  number  of 
other  distinguished  persons,  male  and  female. 

After  a  prosperous  voyage,  during  which  Thorfinn  coasted  along 
the  Continent  for  a  number  of  miles,  a  landing  was  eflxicted  on  an 
.sland  which  received  the  name  of  Straum  Ey,  (Stream  Island.)  So 
great  was  the  number  of  birds  at  this  place,  that  it  was  impossible 
to  walk  without  crushing  their  nests.  After  passing  the  winter  at 
this  place,  Thorhall,  one  of  the  leaders,  was  sent  with  eight  men 
to  search  for  Vinland  ;  but,  meeting  with  westerly  winds,  they  were  _,, 

driven  across  the  Atlantic  to  Ireland,  and  made  prisoners.     Ignorant  *.^ 

of  their  fate,  Thorfinn  set  out  with  the  remainder  of  the  adventurers 
and  reached  their  destination  in  safety. 

The  country  was  found  to  correspond  to  the  descripticf.  of  it  given 
by  former  navigators.  Wild  wheat  covered  the  fields,  and  grapes 
the  hills.  The  lake  was  easily  found,  near  which  the  former  settle- 
ment had  been  made,  and  here,  after  erecting  additional  dwellings,  I 
the  company  passed  the  winter.  Numbers  of  the  natives  visited 
them  in  canoes,  carrying  on  a  system  of  barter  extremely  profitable  ;• 
to  the  Northmen.    In  a  few  months,  this  friendly  mtercourse  wuj 


ABANDONMENT   OF  TEE   COLONY. 


19 


THB    NORTHMIN    TRADING     WITH    THB    INDIA.NS. 


:n 

^3 

e- 

s, 

-■5-,-t 

jd 

.^■; 

ie 
as 

'^^ 

interrupted,  and  skirmishes  ensued,  in  which  several  of  the  settler? 
were  killed.  This  event  discouraged  them,  and  they  determined  tc 
abandon  all  ideas  of  founding  a  permanent  colony.  Sailing  to 
Straum  Ey,  there  they  passed  the  winter ;  and  at  the  opening  of  the 
following  year  (1011)  returned  to  Greenland.  During  their  three 
years'  residence,  the  wife  of  Thorfinn  presented  him  with  a  son— 
probably  the  first  descendant  of  Europeans  ever  born  in  America. 
He  afterwards  became  a  person  of  great  distinction,  and  his  descend- 
ants, traced  by  undoubted  genealogy  down  to  the  present  time,  have 
included  srme  of  the  most  distinguished  persons  of  Northern  Europe. 
Members  of  every  profession,  law,  politics,  letters,  and  the  church, 
have  been  proud  to  trace  their  lineage  to  him ;  and,  among  these, 
we  hav*>  in  our  century  a  Bishop  of  Iceland,  Chief  Justice  Steven- 
Bon,  of  the  same  country,  three  professors  in  the  Copenhagen  Uni 
versity,  and  the  great  sculptor  Bertel  Thorwaldsen. 

Straum  Ey  is  supposed  by  the  Danish  historians  to  be  Martha's 
Vineyard,  and  Straum-fiord,  the  body  of  water  named  by  Thorfinn, 
"s  said  to  be  Buzzard's  Bay. 


20 


DISCOVERIES   OF  TOE   XORTHME^. 


In  the  same  year  that  Thorfinn's  colony  was  abandoned,  (1011,)  a 
female,  named  Freydisa,  who  had  been  with  him,  visited  America 
in  one  ship,  with  a  number  of  men  and  women,  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  settlement.  Her  object  seems  to  have  been  defeated  by 
dissensions  among  her  followers.  Some  years  after,  (1026,)  an  Ice- 
lander, named  Gudleif,  while  sailing  for  Dublin,  was  driven  out  of 
his  course,  and  landed,  as  is  supposed,  in  America.  Being  carried 
by  his  captors  into  the  interior,  they  met  ao  old  man,  who,  after  ad- 
dressing them  in  their  own  language,  and  inquiring  after  several 
Icelanders,  presented  them  with  a  sword,  requesting  that  it  might  he 
carried  to  one  Thurida,  a  sister  to  Snorre  Gode,  with  a  word  fo. 
her  son.  He  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  bard  Biorne,  formerly  a 
lover  of  that  lady,  and  of  whom  nothin?  had  been  heard  smce  999. 

All  idea  of  forming  a  permanent  settlement  in  Vinland  was  now 
abandoned  by  the  Northmen;  and,  in  their  subsequent  wars  with 
England  and  France,  the  very  remembrance  of  their  discoveries  was 
obliterated.  It  was  reserved  for  the  power  of  one  master-mind  to 
unite  the  Old  and  New  Worlds,  and  lO  open  the  path  to  glory  in  the 
western  wilds,  brighter  and  nobler  than  the  nations  of  the  East. 


■'!e. 


BIOB»B'»    FBItaVTa. 


OOLtJUBas 


CHAPTER  II. 


DISCOVERY   OF   COLUMBUS. 


HE  history  of  the  world  does  not  afff«yd 
=  an  epoch  more  important  to  mankind 
•\  i_  ^^^^  ihe  discovery  of  America  by  Co- 
lumbus, in  1492.  It  formed,  as  is  weli 
known,  an  era  that  gave  a  new  and 
more  adventurous  direction  to  the  anibi* 
ti(n  of  European  nations;  and  whil? 
the  consequent  passion  of  enteqirise 
sent  bold  spirits  to  the  vast  regicas  of 
the  newly-found  world, — and  simulta- 
neously, by  an  almost  equally  great  discovery, — that  of  sailing  round 
Africa  to  the  Eastern  Indies, — fresh  explorations  enriched  the  sci- 
?nces, — and,  from  that  period,  geography,  astronomy,  and  narj^a- 
tion  became  more  practically  and  more  usefully  known. 

A  most  remarkable  coincidence  of  events  distinguishes  the  perijr 

a 


22 


DISCOVERY   OF  COLUMBUS. 


which  followed  the  application  of  the  magnet  to  the  marln'?r's  com 
pass,  and  the  age  which  immediately  commenced  after  the  discovery 
of  America  and  of  the  East  Indies  by  sea.  During  this  epoch, 
gunpowder  and  the  art  of  printing  were  both  invented  ;  ancient 
jearning,  the  arts  and  sciences,  were  revived  ;  a  powerful  and  sue* 
cessful  resistance  to  the  papal  authority  was  declared  ;  and  the 
balance  of  power  among  princes  became  a  leading  policy  in  Europe. 

To  Portugal  and  to  her  sovereign,  King  John  I.,  is  due  the  honour 
of  being  the  first  nation  and  prince  in  Europe  to  undertake  great 
discoveries.  Some  adventurers  from  Spain  fell  in  previously  with 
the  Canaries  ;  but  this  discovery  was  not  considered  a  national  enter- 
prise ;  although  the  pope,  in  his  assumed  divine  right  to  all  the 
countries  in  the  world,  granted,  in  perpetuity,  these  Fortunate 
Islands,  as  they  were  called,  with  their  infidel  inhabitants  as  slaves, 
to  Louis  de  la  Cerda,  of  the  royal  family  of  Castile,  who  transferred 
them  afterwards  to  a  Norman  baron. 

In  the  year  1412,  John  I.,  King  of  Portugal,  commenced  those 
voyages  along  the  coasts  of  Africa,  directed  by  his  son,  Prince 
Henry,  which,  in  1419,  discovered  Madeira,  and,  in  1433,  extended 
BO  far  south  as  to  double  Cape  Boyador,  and  to  enter  the  dreaded 
torrid  zone.  Before  the  death  of  Prince  HcMiry,  in  1463,  the  Azores 
and  Cape  de  Verd  Islands  were  discovered  by  the  Portuguese. 
From  this  period  until  the  accession  of  John  II.,  the  nephew  of 
Prince  Henry,  in  1481,  the  spirit  of  maritime  discovery  languished 
in  Portugal,  although  a  trade  with  the  previously  found  countries 
was  carried  on  without  interruption.  In  1484,  John  II.  fitted  out  a 
powerful  fleet,  and  declared  himself  the  patron  of  navigation  and 
discovery.  It  was  in  his  service  that  Columbus  completed  that 
knowledge  and  acquired  that  distinction  which  prepared  him  for 
engaging  in  the  voyages  that  render  his  name  immortal.  The  Por- 
tuguese, after  advancing  south  and  forming  settlements  along  the 
coast  of  Africa,  reached  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  and  a  voyage 
round  it  was  accomplished  by  Vasco  de  Gama,  in  the  year  1497, 
five  years  after  the  discovery  of  America  by  Columbus. 

The  mind  of  this  extraordinary  man  had,  from  an  early  period, 
been  occupied  in  preparing  the  design  of  the  sublime  enterprise  that 
was  destined  to  extend  the  limits  to  which  ignorance  and  supersti- 
tion had  ionfined  the  boundaries  of  the  earth.  He,  as  a  dutiful  citi- 
zen, made  his  first  proposal  to  sail  westward  to  the  Indies  to  Genoa. 
His  offer  was  rejected  ;is  that  of  a  visionary  adventurer.     He  fel* 


m 


PERSEVERANCE   TINDER  DTSCOITRAaEMEXT. 


23 


the  consolation  arising  from  having  discharged  a  patriotic  obligation, 
but  was  mortified,  but  not  disheartened,  that  his  native  country 
should  have  derided  a  project,  which  he  foresaw  would  extend  fame 
to  the  nation  under  whose  auspices  it  should  be  undertaken. 

He  was  received  favourably  by  John  II.  of  Portugal,  where  the 
intelligence,  and  nautical  skill,  and  boldness  of  Columbus  were  well 
known,  and  where  he  had  married  the  daughter  of  Perestrello,  the 
discoverer  of  Madeira.  But  Ortis,  the  Bishop  of  Ceuta,  not  only 
thwarted  his  views  and  derided  them  as  chimerical,  but  meanly  at- 
tempted to  deprive  him  of  the  honour  by  sending,  in  the  direction 
proposed  by  Columbus,  a  vessel  under  a  Portuguese  pilot,  in  order 
to  attempt  and  secure  the  glory  of  the  discovery.  The  pilot  had 
neither  the  genius  nor  the  fortitude  which  are  necessary  to  accom- 
plish bold  enterprises.  He  consequently  failed  in  the  treacherous 
attempt. 

Columbus  applied,  soon  afterwards,  to  the  government  of  France 
But  neither  the  prince  nor  the  people  had,  at  that  period,  been  ani 

mated  by  the  spirit  of  maritime  di? 
covery.  The  chivalrous  and  gene 
rous  Francis  I.  had  not  ascended  the 
throne  ;  and  it  was  destined  that  the 
most  brilliant  project  ever  made,  was 
rejected  : — a  project  which  finally 
succeeded  under  the  patronage  of  a 
royal  family  which  became,  in  con- 
3.^  sequence,  the  most  powerful  rivai 
•^  *  that  ever  mortified  the  predecessors 
of  the  House  of  Bourbon. 

Columbus  then  sent  his  brother 
Bartholomew  to  the  court  of  Henry  VII.  of  England.  That  distrust- 
ful prince,  after  one  bold  and  successful  attempt  to  obtain  the  crown, 
never  encouraged  great,  if  in  his  mind  the  least  hazardous  or  doubt- 
ful, enterprises.  He,  however,  by  slight  but  not  conclusive  pro- 
mises, detained  Bartholomew  in  England  for  six  years ;  and  the 
latter  finally  arranged  with  the  king  for  the  employment  of  his  bro 
ther  Christopher  in  the  proposed  voyage  of  discovery. 

In  the  mean  time,  Columbus,  disgusted  with  the  meanness  and 

exasperated  by  the  treachery  of  Ortis,  proceeded  with  his  charts 

nd  proposals  to  the  court  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella.     For  eight 

years  he  exercised  his  address,  his  patience,  his  interest,  and  his 


FRANCIS    L 


24 


DISCOVERY  OF   COLUMBUS. 


'■X 


abilities  at  this  court,  so  remarkable  then  and  long  after  for  the  tardi* 
no«s  of  its  decisions.  It  is  a  trite  remark,  that  projectors  are  enthu- 
siasts.  It  is  fortunate  that  this  accusation  is  true  as  regards  the 
projectors  of  arduous  undertakings  ;  otherwise,  the  spirit  and  tho 
health  of  Columbus  would  have  been  subd'ied  before  he  accom- 
plished his  great  mission.  He  had  to  endure  the  most  fatiguing 
delays,  and  to  hear  pronounced  against  him  presumptuous  and  in- 
sulting judgments  by  the  ignorant  and  by  the  bigoted.  To  the 
honour  of  Isabella  and  her  sex,  and  at  her  own  expense,  we  are 
bound  to  attribute,  in  justice,  the  final  success  of  Columbus :  who, 
after  displaying,  during  eight  years,  in  his  whole  character  and  con- 
duct, an  assiduity,  a  firmness  and  resolve  of  mind,  never  sufficiently 
to  be  applauded  and  imitated,  sailed  from  Cadiz  on  the  3d  of  August, 
1.492,  on  the  most  daring  enterprise  ever  undertaken  by  man. 

He  proceeded  on  this  voyage  without  any  chart  to  guide  him, — 
with  no  acquaintance  with  the  currents,  the  winds,  or  climates  of 
unknown  seas  and  lands, — and  in  ignorance  of  the  magnetic  varia 
tion.     His  own  genius  and  instinctive  judgment, — his  confidence  in 


•J 


M 


■^ 


DISCOVERY  OP   SAN  SALVADOR 


y.f. 


r^o,^jy^j^/\o/\G/\o,^\o/\Gr^^i 


THB    8AILINQ    OT    OOLOMBUS. 


aidi* 
thu' 
the 
the 
om- 
uing 
d  in- 
the 
are 
who, 
con- 
n*.ly 
gust, 

|m,— 
ts  ot 
pria 
ice  in 


■I 


'» 


ihe  spherical  system  of  the  world,  although  the  law  of  gravity  was 
undiscovered, — his  knowledge  of  the  human  heart, — and  his  address 
in  commanding  and  winning  those  placed  under  his  authority,  en- 
abled him  to  prevai'  over  a  crew  which  at  length  became  impatient, 
and  to  advance,  regardless  of  imaginary  as  well  as  real  dangers, 
until  he  discovered  the  island  of  San  Salvador,  on  October  12,  1493. 

COLUMBUS,    on    his 
first    voyage,    disco- 


vered San  Salvador, 
Hayti,  and  Cuba. 
He  opened  a  friend- 
ly intercourse  with 
the  inhabitants ;  ob- 
tained permission  to 
build  a  fort  at  a  place 
which  he  called  Na- 
}f^  vidad,  on  the  north 
side  of  Hayti,  where 
he  left  a  colony  of  thirty  men,  with  various  stores.  He  then  re- 
turned towards  Europe  with  gold,  cotton,  &c.,  and  accompanied  by 
some  of  the  natives.  He  experienced  a  boisterous,  dangerous,  and 
If  dious  passage.    He  put  into  the  port  of  I^isbon  with  his  vessels 


.G 


DISCOVKnY   OF   COLUMDUS. 


crippled.  John  TI,  received  him  with  honourahlo  respect,  nlthougl' 
inorlififd  n(  having  lost  for  ever,  by  rejecting  the  offer  formerly  made 
by  Columbus,  the  glory  of  discovering  a  world  which  was  now  to  be 
assigned  to  Spain.  Columbus  proceeded  to  the  court  of  Ferdinand 
and  Isabella,  where  he  was  received  with  as  much  distinction  as 
was  consistent  with  the  cold  and  formal  etiquette  of  the  royal  house- 
hold of  Spain. 

It  is  not  within  our  present  design  to  enter  on  the  history  of  this 
memorable  achievement.  The  voyages  of  Columbus  have  often 
been,  and  especially  by  a  distinguished  American,  well  narrated. 

The  merit  of  discovering  the  Continent  of  the  New  World  was 
attempted  to  be  denied  to  Columbus  ;  and  so  far  with  success,  that 
an  able,  unprincipled  adventurer,  with  whom  Fonseca,  an  unfor- 
giving bishop,  conspired,  obtained  by  forgery  and  mis-statements 
the  credit,  for  some  time,  of  being  the  original  discoverer,  and  had, 
in  consequence,  his  name  given  to  all  the  vast  regions  of  the  West. 

Columbus  reached  the  Continent  of  America,  in  August,  1498; 
whereas  Alonzo  Ojeda  (one  of  the  former  companions  of  Columbus) 
und  Amerigo  Vespucci  did  not  sail  on  their  first  voyage  from  Cadiz, 
until  the  Wth  of  May,  1499.  Amerigo  made  skilful  use  of  the  ad- 
miral's maps  and  charts,  which  the  Bishop  of  Burgos  put,  from 
hatred  to  Columbus,  into  his  hands  ;  and  to  whom  the  bishop  gave 
llso  clandestine  licenses,  in  contravention  of  the  authority  held  by 
Columbus  from  Ferdinand  and  Ispbella. 


-'I 
''I 


vxarvcoj. 


ive 
by 


BALBOA. 


CHAPTER   III. 


SPANISH   DISCOVERIES   AND    CONQUESTS. 

HE  passion  for  discovering  unknown 
countries,  inspired  by  the  success  of 
the  projects  which  the  great  mind  if 
Columbus  conceived  and  planned,  and 
which  his  persevering  character  ac- 
complished, became  soon  the  mania  of 
the  age. 

The  principal  man  among  the  ad- 
venturers of  that  period  was  not  Ame- 
rigo Vespucci,  but  Vincent  Torres  de 
Finzon,  who  commanded  one  of  the  ships  during  the  first  voyage  of 
Columbur.  He  was  an  able  seaman,  of  liberal  education,  great 
courage,  and  of  such  ample  fortune  as  to  enable  him  to  tit  out  four 

S7 


iiiF^.i^Mi^iiai 


28 


SPANISH    DISCOVERIES   AND   CONviUESTS. 


itout  ships  at  his  own  expense,  with  which  he  sailed,  in  January, 
1500,  on  a  voyage  of  discovery.  He  was  the  first  Spanish  subject 
who  crossed  the  equinoctial  line,  and  discovered  the  country  of 
Santa  Cruz,  oi  the  Holy  Cross,  and  the  river  Maraaon,  or  Amazon, 
in  Brazil.  He  did  not  succeed  in  persuading  the  natives  to  tradft 
with  him.  He  returned  north  to  the  river  Orinoco,  which  was  dis- 
covered previously  by  Columbus.  He  soon  after  encountered  a 
great  storm,  lost  two  of  his  ships  before  he  reached  Hayti,  and  finally 
arrived  safely  in  Spain. 

In  1501,  Roderic  de  Bastidas  fitted  out,  at  his  own  expense,  two 
ships  ;  and,  sailing  from  Cadiz,  he  discovered  the  couniry  since  then 
called  Carthagena,  pnd  Magdnlenna,  and  about  a  hundred  leagues 
more  of  the  coast  of  America  than  was  known  to  Columbus.  He 
opened  an  intercourse  with  the  natives,  brought  some  of  them  away, 
and  proceeded  to  Hayti.  So  jealous  were  the  Spaniards  of  each 
other,  that  Bastidas  was  imprisoned  for  the  success  of  his  enter- 
prise. 

St.  Juan  de  Porto  Rico,  called  Borriquen  by  the  natives,  was  dis- 
covered by  (y'olumbus,  in  1493,  but  neglected  until  1509,  when  Juan 
Ponce  de  Leon,  an  enterprising,  ambitious,  and  tyrannical  nobleman, 
was  informed  that  gold  was  abundant  in  that  island.  He  crossed 
over  from  Hayti,  and  was  received  kindly  by  the  principal  cacique 
and  by  the  natives ;  who  showed  him  the  streams  which  carried 
down  great  quantities  of  gold  with  the  sands  and  washings  from  the 
mountains.  On  returning  to  Hayti,  he  managed  to  obtain  a  commis- 
sion from  Spain  for  conquering  Porto  Rico ;  and  was,  on  landing, 
received  by  the  natives,  who  believed  the  Spaniards  to  be  immortal 
or  they  would,  from  their  superior  numbers,  and  with  their  poisoned 
arrows,  as  was  their  manner  of  defending  themselves  against  the 
Caribbeans,  probably,  on  the  attempt  of  Ponce  de  Leon  to  subdue 
them,  have  driven  back  the  Spaniards  with  great  loss  of  life.  The 
natives  believed  the  Spaniards  invulnerable,  and  they  submitted 
to  labou:  a.nd  to  slavery,  until  a  young  Spaniard,  on  being  carried 
across  the  fo'd  of  a  river,  on  the  shoulders  of  a  native  of  more  than 
usual  boldness,  was  thrown  ofl^by  the  latter  who,  with  the  assistance 
pf  other  natives,  kept  the  Spaniard  under  water  until  he  was 
drowned.  They  then  dragged  him  ashore,  and,  doubting  whether 
he  was  dead,  the  Indians  cried  out,  asking  pardon  for  the  accident, 
during  three  days,  until  the  body  became  so  putrid  as  to  remove  all 
thai:  doubts.     The  natives  being  now  convinced  that  the  Spaniards 


FRANCIS   PIZARRO. 


29 


'M 


could  le  killed,  rose  upon,  and  slaughtered  more  than  a  hundred 
of  their  oppressors.  Ponce  de  Leon  finally  succeeded  in  reducino 
the  whole  island  to  his  authority,  and  the  natives  to  slavery  in  the 
mines  ;  in  which,  and  under  other  cruelties,  they  became  extinct  in 
a  short  period. 

Diego  Velasquez  sailed  from  Hayti,  in  November,  1511,  to  con- 
q\ier  Cuba,  which  he  accompHshed,  after  committing  the  most  hor- 
rible atrocities. 

Attempts  were  made,  at  this  period,  to  conquer  and  settle  on  the 
coast  of  Carthagena  and  Darien. 

In  1509,  Jchn  de  Esquibel  was  sent  by  Diego  Columbus  from  St. 
Doming  to  form  the  first  settlement  in  Jamaica,  to  which  Alonzo  de 
Ojeda  laid  a  claim,  and  threatened  to  hang  Esquibel. 

During  the  following  year,  Ojeda  and  John  de  la  Cosas,  who  had 
received  a  license  to  capture  and  t;.lce  possession  of  Veragua,  Car- 
thagena, and  other  western  countries,  sailed  from  St.  Domingo, 
landed  on  the  Continent,  and  had  several  conflicts  with  the  natives 
who  were  a  bolder  and  more  advanced  race  than  the  aborigines  of 
liayti.  In  vne  attack,  seventy  Spaniards  were  killed,  and  the  re- 
mainder wounded  with  •  oisoned  arrows.  Ojeda  and  Cosas  were 
saved  by  the  arrival  of  ari  .her  adventurer,  Nicuessa,  with  four  ships. 
The  latter  attacked  the  natives,  burnt  their  town,  in  which  they 
'ound  a  large  store  of  gold,  and  taking  a  number  of  prisoners,  sent 
•em  as  slaves  to  work  in  the  mines  of  Hayti.  Among  the  com- 
manders of  these  vessels  was  Francis  Pizarro,  whom  Ojeda  left  at 
St.  Sehastian,  the  place  where  he  fixed  upon  for  a  settlement.  The 
latter  entered  into  an  agreement  with  an  outlaw,  or  pirate,  to  take 
him  in  his  vessel  to  St.  Domingo.  The  pirate's  vessel  was  wrecked 
on  the  coast  of  Cuba,  from  whence  they  escaped  to  Jamaica  in  a 
canoe.  The  pirate  was  there  apprehended  and  hanged.  Pizarro 
was  obliged  to  leave  St.  Sebastian,  and  escaped  with  a  few  men  to 
Carlhagenii, — where  Enciso,  with  two  ships,  arrived  from  St.  Do- 
mingo. Pizarro  and  Enciso  then  proceeded  to  St.  Sebastian,  where 
they  were  shipwrecked,  and,  on  landing,  found  the  place  entirely 
destroyed  by  the  natives.  They  saved,  from  the  wrecks,  provisions, 
arms,  and  various  articles,  and  proceeded  to  re-estabh'sh  themselves 
at  St.  Sebastian,  but  they  were  reduced  to  great  extremities  by  the 
attacks  of  the  natives,  and  by  the  scanty  supply  of  food. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  men  among  the  explorers  of  America 
accompanied  this  expedition.     This  person  was  Vasquez  Nunez  de 


fj 


80 


SPANISH   DISCOVERIES  AND   CONQUESTS. 


P  I  Z  A  R  B  O. 


Balboa,  a  man  of  good  family,  who  had  formerly  sailed  with  Bas 
iidas  on  his  voyage  of  discovery.  He  had  obtained  a  settlement  at 
Hayti,  but  having  been  accused  of  some  excesses,  for  which  he  was 
to  have  been  executed ;  he  escaped  by  being  concealed  on  board 
Enciso's  ship  in  a  bread  cask.  He  ventured  after  a  day  to  make  his 
appearance.  Enciso  was  enraged,  as  he  had  been  warned  not  to 
lake  any  one  but  those  on  his  muster-roll,  from  Hayti ;  but  the  prin- 
cipal persons  on  board  interceded  for  Nunez,  and  he  was  conse- 
quently protected.  He  was  afterwards  almost  the  only  person  at 
St.  Sebastian  who  had  not  absolutely  given  himself  up  to  de- 
spair. Enciso  was  rallied  and  encouraged  by  Nunez,  by  whose 
energy  the  stranded  vessels  were  at  last  got  afloat,  and  they  sailed, 
according  to  the  advice  of  Nunez,  to  where  he  had  seen  a  town, 
when  he  had  made  the  voyage  with  Bastidas.  They,  accordingly, 
steered  fox  th*  river  Darien,  and  found  the  place  and  country  such 
as  both  were  described  by  Nunez.  They  marched  against  thf 
caci'^ue  and  his  people,  attacked  and  put  them  to  flight, — found  i» 


'it 


^D-Uy^jyj^lg^ 


VASQUEZ   NUNEZ   DE   BALBOA. 


81 


n  D  an  Pv\/czA/c" — ^-■^'^'^- 


BALBOA.     BISOOVBRINO     T  H  B      PAOtFIO     OOKAN 


[l  at 
vvaa 
)ard 
his 
It  lo 
irin- 
Inse- 
at 
de- 
lose 
Jed, 
iwn, 

giy« 

ucli 
thf 
idi) 


■f 


tiie  town,  which  was  immediately  deserted,  abundance  of  provisions 
also  cotton  spun  and  unspun,  household  goods  of  various  kinds,  and 
more  than  the  vakie  of  $10,000  in  gold  plates.  I'he  success  of  this 
adventure  being  justly  attributed  to  Nunez,  his  reputation  became 
great.  He  deprived  Enciso,  who  bore  him  no  goodwill  from  the 
first,  of  all  authority;  gained,  by  his  boldness,  the  confidence  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  founded  the  settlement  of  St.  Maria.  Nune^ 
established  his  authority  and  retained  his  power  in  Darien,  and  the 
country  then  called  Castell  d'Oro,  by  gaining  over,  or  defeating,  the 
chiefs  of  the  country,  by  buying,  with  the  gold  he  sent  to  St.  Do- 
mingo, the  authorities  there  over  to  his  interest,  and  by  his  superior 
fertility  of  resources  under  the  most  difficult  circumstances. 

In  the  middle  of  September,  1513,  having  been  informed  of  rich 
tnd  vast  regions  to  the  south-west ;  stretching  along  a  great  ocean 
which  was  not  far  distant,  he  departed  from  St.  Maria,  accompanied 
by  the  afterwards    celebrated  Francis  Pizarro,  on  an  expedition,  in 

which,  after  some  desperate  conflicts  with  the  natives,  he  advanced  so 
8 


S2 


SPANISH   DISCOVERIES   AND   CONQUESTS. 


far,  on  the  25th  of  September,  as  to  behold,  lying  broad  in  view 
the  greai  Pacific  Ocean. 

Nunez  possessed  the  manner  and  ability  of  making  himself  be- 
loved by  his  companions  and  followers.  He  was  kind  to  the  sick 
and  the  wounded,  and  shared  the  same  fatigues  and  the  same  food 
as  the  humblest  soldier.  Before  reaching  the  shores  of  the  Pacific, 
he  was  opposed  by  Chiapes,  the  cacique  of  the  country  ;  who,  how 
ever,  was  soon  routed,  and  several  of  the  natives  killed  by  fire-arms,  oi 
torn  by  blood-hounds,  those  powerful  auxiliaries  of  the  Spanish  con- 
querors in  America.  Nunez  then  made  peace  with  them, — exchang- 
ing trinkets  of  little  cost  for  gold  to  the  value  of  four  thousand 
pieces.  Pizarro  was  then  sent  in  advance  to  view  the  coast,  and 
two  others  proceeded,  on  different  routes,  to  find  the  nearest  way 
from  the  heights  to  the  sea.  Nunez  followed  as  soon  as  he  could 
bring  up  the  sick  and  wounded.  On  reaching  he  shore,  he  walked, 
with  his  armour  on,  into  the  sea,  until  the  water  reached  his  middle, 
and  then  performed  solemnly  the  ceremony  of  taking  possession  in 
the  name  of  the  crown  of  Castile,  of  the  ocean  which  he  had  disco- 
vered. 

The  Indians  provided  him  with  canoes ;  and,  contrary  to  the  ad- 
vice of  the  natives,  he  proceeded  with  about  eighty  Spaniards,  and 
Chiapes,  the  cacique,  to  cross  a  broad  bay.  Bad  weather  came  on, 
and  they  barely  escaped  perishing  on  an  island  where  several  of 
their  canoes  were  wrecked.  On  the  following  day  they  landed 
with  great  difficulty ;  being  opposed  by  a  cacique,  whose  people, 
however,  were  soon  put  to  flight  by  the  fire-arms  and  by  the  dogs 
of  the  Spaniards.  Nunez  soon  brought  this  tacique  to  terms, 
and,  for  a  few  trinkets,  received  a  considerable  weight  of  gold,  and 
a  considerable  number  of  large  pearls  of  great  value.  The  dif- 
ferent caciques  gave  him  the  most  flattering  accounts  of  the  vast 
countries  which  they  described  as  extending  to  the  south  and  south- 
west. 

Before  attempting  further  discoveries,  he  considered  it  prudent  to 
return  from  the  Pacific,  and  arrived  at  Santa  Maria  about  the  end  of 
January,  1513,  with  the  gold  and  pearls  he  had  collected,  and  which 
he  distributed  fairly  among  the  soldiers,  deducting  one-fifth  for  the 
king.  He  immediately  sent  the  king's  share  of  gold  and  pearls  and 
all  his  own  to  Spain  by  an  agent.  On  arriving  at  Seville,  this  agent 
upplied  first  to  the  Bishop  of  Burgos,  who  was  delighted  at  the  sight 
of  the  gold  and  pearls.     The  biihop  sent  him  to  the  king,  and  used 


t 


\i 


n 


m 


PEDRO   ARIAS    d'aVILA. 


38 


PE  D  R A  R  t  A  ! 


[Ills, 

land 
dif- 
fast 
utli- 

it  to 
of 
lich 
[the 

(and 
rent 
[ght 


aL  his  influence  with  Ferdinand,  who  entertained  a  strong  aversion 
to  Nunez  de  Balboa. 

The  old  king,  Ferdinand,  who,  unlike  his  deceased  consort,  Isa- 
bella, was  always  jealous  of  superior  men,  and  especially  of  disco- 
verers, did  not  on  this  occasion  depart  from  his  former  base  policy 
nf  supplanting  the  men  who  performed  the  most  arduous  undertak- 
ings, by  the  worst  and  most  perfidious  of  his  own  creatures  ;  such 
as  Ovanda  and  Bobadilla.  The  Bishop  of  Burgos  had,  previous  to 
the  arrival  of  the  agent  with  treasures  from  Nunez,  counselled  the 
king  to  supersede  him  by  one  of  the  worst  characters  in  Spain. 
Instead  of  confirming  Nunez  de  Balboa  in  the  cfovernment  of  the 
countries  he  discovered  and  annexed  to  the  crown  of  Castile,  Ferdi- 
nand appointed  Pedro  Arias  d'Avila,  or,  as  the  Spanish  writers,  by 
contracting  the  first  name,  call  him,  Pedrarias,  governor  of  Castell 
d'Oro.  He  was  destitute  of  all  the  qualities  which  constitute  a  good 
man  of  great  mind  ;  but  haughty  and  ignorant,  he  was  a  master  of 
the  arts  of  oppression,  violence  and  fraud.  He  left  Spain  in  April. 
1514,  with  a  fleet  of  fifteen  ships,  two  thousand  troops,  a  bishop, 
John  de  Quevedo,  and  numerous  greedy  and  rapacious  followers  of 
noble  birth  ;  among  others,  Enciso,  the  enemy  of  Nunez.  On  their 
arrival  at  Santa  Maria,  they  were  received  by  Nunez  with  great 


84 


SPAIflSn   DISCOVERIES   AXD   COXQUESTS. 


ffcdppct.  They  found  the  latter  inhabitinir  a  small  house,  in  simplf 
attire,  living  on  the  most  frugal  diet,  and  drinking  no  other  Iif]uid 
than  water ;  while  he  had,  at  the  same  time,  a  strong  fort  with  foui 
hundred  and  fifty  brave  soldiers  faithfully  attached  to  him.  That  he 
was  ambitious,  and  did  severe  things  to  obtain  that  power  which  he 
was  never  known  to  abuse,  is  admitted.  His  accounts  and  state- 
ments were  clear,  and  he  had  annexed  the  countrj',  between  the 
Atlantic  and  the  sea  which  he  had  discovered,  to  the  crown  of  Spain. 
Pediarias  imprisoned  this  great  man,  and  sent  strong  representations 
against  him  to  Spain. 

There  were,  however,  some  honest  men  among  those  brought  over 
by  Pedrarias,  who  sent  a  true  account  of  Nunez  to  the  king;  and 
the  latter  formally  expressed  his  approbation  of  the  conduct  of  the 
late  governor,  and  appointed  him  lord-lieutenant  of  the  countries  of 
the  South  Seas;  directing  also  that  Pedrarias  should  act  by  the 
advice  of  his  predecessor. 

On  the  king's  letters  arriving  from  Spain,  they  were  suppressed 
by  Pedrarias  ;  who,  in  the  mean  time,  by  his  perfidy  and  cruel 
exactions,  brought  the  whole  native  population  into  hostility  and 
revolt  against  the  Spaniards.  The  Bishop  Quevedo  then  interfered, 
Nunez  was  liberated,  and,  by  his  skill  and  demeanor,  established 
tranquillity,  and  proceeded  to  the  South  Sea  to  build  a  town,  which 
he  in  a  short  time  accomplished,  and  was  then  recalled  by  Pedra- 
rias. To  the  astonishment  and  horror  of  all  the  Spaniards,  Nunez 
was  charged  with  treason  by  Pedrarias,  and  publicly  beheaded,  on 
the  charge  that  he  had  invaded  the  domains  of  the  crown,  merely 
by  cutting  down,  without  the  goveinor's  license,  the  trees  used  in 
erecting  the  town  which  he  built. 

His  execution  was  declared  a  murder  by  the  Royal  Audienza  of 
St.  Domingo;  yet  Pedrarias,  whom  the  Bishop  of  Chiapa  described 
Bs  the  most  wicked  monster  who  was  ever  sent  to  America,  conti- 
nued for  many  years,  by  the  king's  will,  to  exercise  his  cruelty  and 
injustice. 

Thus  perished  Nunez  de  Balboa,  in  1.517,  at  the  age  of  forty-two 
years,  for  having  served  his  king  with  more  fidelity  than  any  of  the 
Spanish  conquerors ;  of  whom,  if  we  may  except  Cortez,  he  was 
the  ablest ;  and  whose  character  stands  far  higher  than  any  of  those 
who  added  new  territories  to  the  dominions  of  Spain. 

Pedrarias,  after  the  murder  of  Nunez,  removed  to  Panama,  where 
he  erected  a  palace.     In  his  hostilities  and  cruelties  to  the  caciquet 


CONQUEST  OF  NICARAGUA. 


3t 


and  the  native  tribes,  he  caused  great  destruction  of  life ;  and  so  ill- 
judged  and  planned  were  his  enterprises,  that,  m  sobduing  one 
cacique,  Uracca  of  the  mountains,  more  Spanish  lives  irere  lost  than 
during  the  whole  conquest  of  Mexico  by  Cortes. 

The  only  important  conquest  made  under  Pedrarias,  was  by 
Francis  Hernandez,  of  the  territory  of  Nicaragua,  to  n-hich  the  go 
vernor  immediately  repaired  to  take  possession  of  for  himself. 
Jealous  of  Hernandez,  as  he  was  of  Nunez,  he  charged  the  formei 
with  a  design  to  revolt ;  which  the  latter,  confident  in  his  innocence, 
boldly  denied.  Pedrarias  immediately  ordered  him  to  be  executed  : 
power  was  to  be  upheld  by  the  immediate  death,  according  to  the 
maxim  of  this  tyrant,  of  conquerors  who  were  suspected.  For  this 
murder,  equally  barbarous  as  that  of  Nunez,  Pedrarias  was  not 
called  to  account. 


•  BiF  or  TBS  riuB  or   balbc^ 


TBS     LANDINa    OV    OOBTBS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


I 


TUB   CONQUEST    OP   MEXICO. 

HE  portion  of  the  New  World  earliest  colonized  by 
the  Spaniards  was  the  island  of  St.  Domingo,  Haj'ti, 
or  Hispaniola,  discovered  by  Columbus,  in  his  first 
voyage,  in  the  year  1492.  For  nearly  twenty  years, 
this  island  was  the  only  colony  of  importance  held 
by  the  Spaniards  in  the  New  World ;  here  alone  did  they  occupy 
lands,  build  towns,  and  found  a  regular  commonwealth.  Cuba, 
although  the  second  of  the  islands  discovered  by  Columbus,  remained 
long  uncolonized ;  indeed,  it  was  not  till  the  year  1509,  that  it  was 
circumnavigated  and  ascertained  to  be  an  island.  At  length,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  it  was  conquered  and  colonized  by  Velas- 
quez. Ambitious  of  sharing  the  glory  to  be  derived  from  the  dis- 
covery of  new  countries,  Velasquez  fitted  out  one  or  two  expe- 
ditions, which  he  despatched  westward,  to  explore  the  seas  in  that 
direction.  In  one  of  these  expeditions  which  set  out  in  1517,  com- 
manded by  a  rich  colonist  called  Cordova,  the  peninsula  of  Yuca- 
tan was  discovered,  and  the  existence  of  a  large  and  rich  coun  ry 
aa 


f 


EXPEDITION   OF   HERNANDO  CORTES. 


37 


,s- 


at 


I 


called  Culua  or  Mexico  ascertained.  Elated  with  this  discovery, 
Velasquez  fitted  out  another  expedition  under  his  nephew,  Juan 
de  Grjaiva,  who,  leaving  Cuba  in  April,  1518,  spent  five  nnonths 
in  cruising  along  the  newly  discovered  coast,  and  trafficking  with 
the  natives  for  gold  trinkets  and  cotton  cloths,  very  skilfully  manu- 
factured. The  result  of  this  expedition  was  the  importation  to  Cuba 
of  gold  and  jewels  to  the  amount  of  twenty  thousand  pesos,  or  up- 
wards of  £50,000. 

Delighted  with  his  success,  Velasquez  wrote  home  to  Spain  an- 
nouncing his  discovery,  and  petitioning  for  authority  from  the  king 
to  conquer  and  colonize  the  country  which  his  subordinates,  Cordova 
and  Grijalva,  had  discovered.  Without  waiting,  however,  for  a 
reply  to  his  petition,  he  commenced  fitting  out  a  much  larger  squad- 
ron th'a  either  of  the  two  f)rmer;  and  this  he  placed  under  the 
command  of  Hernando  Cortes,  a  respectable  Spanish  hidalgo,  or 
•  gentleman,  residing  in  the  island,  and  who  was  at  this  time  thirty 
years  of  age. 

Cortes  proceeded  with  the  greatest  activity  in  making  his  prepa- 
rations. "Borrowing  money  for  the  purpose,"  says  Bernal  Diaz,  the 
gossiping  chronicler  of  the  Conquest,  "he  caused  to  be  made  a 
standard  of  gold  and  velvet,  with  the  royal  arms  and  a  cross  embroi- 
dered thereon,  and  a  Latin  motto,  the  meaning  of  which  was,  '  Bro- 
thers, follow  this  holy  cross  with  true  faith,  for  under  it  we  shall  con- 
quer.' It  was  proclaimed  bj^  beat  of  drum  and  sound  of  trumpet, 
that  all  such  as  entered  the  service  in  the  present  expedition  should 
have  their  shares  of  what  gold  was  obtained,  and  grants  of  land  as 
soon  as  the  conquest  was  effected.  The  proclamation  was  no  sooner 
made  than,  by  general  inclination  as  well  as  the  private  influence  of 
Cortes,  volunteers  offered  themselves  everywhere.  Nothing  was  to 
be  seen  or  spoken  of  but  selling  lands  to  purchase  arms  and  horses, 
quilting  coats  of  mail,  making  bread,  and  salting  pork  for  sea-store. 
Above  three  hundred  of  us  assembled  in  the  town  of  St.  Jago." 
These  preparations  were  likely  to  be  interrupted.  Velasquez,  rumi- 
nating the  probable  consequences  of  the  expedition,  had  begun  to 
repent  of  having  appointed  Cortes  to  the  command,  and  was  secretly 
plotting  his  removal.  Cortes,  perceiving  these  symptoms,  deter- 
mined to  outwit  his  patron.  Accordingly,  on  the  night  of  the  18th 
of  November,  1518 — having  warned  all  the  captains,  masters,  pilots, 
and  soldiers,  to  be  on  board,  and  having  shipped  all  the  stores  that 
nnd  been  collected — Cortes  set  sail  from  the  port  of  St.  Jago,  with 


•;?,a 


88 


TUB  CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


out  announcing  his  intention  to  Velasquez,  resolving  to  stop  at  soniti 
of  the  more  westerly  ports  of  the  island  for  the  purpose  of  complet- 
ing his  preparations,  where  he  would  be  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
governor.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  rage  of  Velasquez  at  the  sud- 
den departure  of  Cortes.  He  wrote  to  the  commandants  of  two  towns 
at  which  he  learned  that  the  fleet  had  put  in  for  recruits  and  provi- 
sions, to  seize  Cortes,  and  send  him  back  ;  but  such  was  the  popu- 
larity of  Cortes,  that  both  were  afraid  to  make  the  attempt. 

At  last  all  was  ready,  and  Curtes  finally  set  sail  from  Cuba  on  the 
18th  of  February,  1519.  The  expedition,  which  consisted  of  eleven 
vessels,  most  of  them  small,  and  without  decks,  met  with  no  disaster 
at  sea,  but  arrived  safely  at  the  island  of  Cozumel,  off"  the  coast  of 
Yucatan,  after  a  few  days'  sail.  Here  Cortes  landed  to  review  his 
troops.  They  consisted  of  five  hundred  and  fifty-three  soldiers,  not 
including  the  mariners,  who  amounted  to  a  hundred  and  ten.  They 
poss^-ssed  sixteen  horses,  some  of  them  not  very  serviceable,  ten  brass 
field-pieces,  four  smaller  pieces,  called  falconets,  and  thirty-two 
cross-bows;  the  majority  of  the  soldiers  being  armed  with  ordinary 
steel  weapons.  Attending  on  the  army  were  about  two  hundred 
Cuba  Indians,  and  some  Indian  women.  And  as  religion  in  those 
days  sanctioned  military  conquest,  there  were  in  addition  two  cler 
gymen — Juan  Diaz  and  Bartholomew  de  Olmedo. 

For  nine  or  ten  days,  the  Spaniards  remained  at  Cozumel,  making 
acquaintance  with  the  natives,  who  were  very  friendly.  Here  Cortes, 
whose  zeal  for  the  Catholic  religion  was  one  of  the  strongest  of  his 
feelings,  made  it  one  of  his  first  concerns  to  argue  with  the  natives, 
through  an  interpreter,  on  the  point  of  their  religion.  Hi  even 
went  so  far  as  to  demolish  their  idols  before  their  eyes,  and  erect  an 
altar  to  the  Virgin  on  the  spot  where  they  had  stood.  The  natives 
were  horror-struck,  and  seemed  at  first  ready  to  fall  upon  the  Spa 
niards,  but  at  length  they  acquiesced. 

While  at  Cozumel,  Cortes  had  the  good  fortune  to  pick  up  u 
Spaniard,  who,  having  been  wrecked  in  his  passage  from  Darien  to 
Hispaniola  in  the  year  1511,  had  for  seven  years  been  detained  as  a 
slave  among  the  Indians  of  Yucatan.  The  name  of  this  poor  man 
was  Jeromino  de  Aguilar;  he  had  been  educated  for  the  church; 
and  as  he  could  speak  the  language  of  Yucatan,  his  services  as  an 
interpreter  were  likely  to  be  very  valuable.  On  the  4th  of  March, 
1519,  the  fleet,  consisting  of  eleven  vessels,  commanded  respectively 
by  Cortes,  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  Alonzo  Puerto  Carrero,  Francisco  da 


)i 

EC 
th 

Ci 

it . 

no 

wa 

ma 

of 

not 

nat 

anc 
up 
pre 

Jsic 


;::ii 


CnAKACTER    OF   HERNANDO   CORTES. 


89 


OLUB  Da 


ip  a 
jn  to 
as  a 
I  man 
irch; 
IS  an 
larch, 
lively 
lo  de 


1 


Montejo,  Christoval  de  Olid,  Diego  de  Ordaz,  Velasquez  de  Leon, 
luan  de  Escalante,  Francisco  de  Moria,  Escobar,  and  Gines  Nortes, 
set  sail  from  Cozumel,  and  on  the  13th  it  anchored  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Tobasco  or  Grijalva,  flowing  into  the  south  of  the  Bay  of 
Campeachy. 

The  expedition  had  now  reached  the  scene  of  active  operations ; 
it  had  arrived  on  the  coast  of  the  American  continent.  Cortes  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  naturally  a  bloodily  disposed  man.  He 
was  only  what  a  perverted  education  and  the  vices  of  his  time  had 
made  him — a  man  full  of  mighty  notions  of  the  Spanish  authority  ; 
of  its  right  to  take,  by  foul  or  fair  means,  any  country  it  liked ;  and 
not  without  an  excuse  from  religion  to  rob  and  kill  the  unfortunate 
natives  who  dared  to  defend  their  territories. 

We  have  now,  therefore,  to  record  the  beginning  of  a  most  unjust 
and  merciless  war  r  f  aggression.  As  Cortes,  with  his  followers,  sailed 
up  the  river  as  far  as  Tabasco,  he  everywhere  observed  the  natives 
preparing  to  repel  his  attack,  and  at  length  he  was  brought  into  col- 
jsion  with  them— of  course,  overpowering  them  by  force  of  arms. 


<0 


THE   CONQUEST  OF   MEXIOO. 


with  immense  slaughter.  On  reaching  Tabasco,  his  soldiers  fough* 
their  way  through  dense  masses  of  Indians,  who  discharged  among 
them  perfect  clouds  of  arrows  and  stones.  Pushing  through  the 
streets,  which  were  lined  with  houses,  some  of  mud,  and  some  of 
stone,  the  victors  reached  a  large  open  square  in  the  centre,  where 
temples  of  large  size  were  erected.  Here  the  troops  were  drawn 
up  ;  and  Cortes,  advancing  to  a  large  ceiba  tree,  which  grew  in  the 
middle,  gave  it  three  slashes  with  his  sword,  and  took  possession  of 
the  city  and  country  in  the  name  of  his  royal  master,  Don  Carlos, 
King  of  Ca&tile. 

Next  day,  another  great  battle  was  fought  between  the  Spaniards 
Mid  the  Tabascans  on  the  plain  of  Coutla,  a  few  miles  distant  from 
the  city.  For  an  hour,  the  Spanish  fought  in  the  midst  of  an  ocean 
of  enemies,  battling  on  all  sides,  beating  one  wave  back  only  thai 
another  might  advance — a  little  islet  encircled  by  the  savage  break- 
ers. At  length,  with  the  assistance  of  their  horse — a  terrible  sight 
to  the  Indians — the  Spaniards  were  victorious.  The  spirit  of  the 
Tabascans  was  now  completely  subdued. 

HEIR  chiefs  came  to  the  camp  of  Cortes  with 
^     faces  and  gestures  expressive  of  contrition, 
i«;^.  and   brought   him    presents   of   fowls,   fish, 

^V'j//.^  maize,  and  numerous  gold  toys  representing 
many  '>inds  of  animals  in  miniature.  For 
the  horses,  they  brought  a  feast  of  turkeys 
and  roses  !  They  also  gave  Cortes  twenty 
s^^SaE^^"  Indian  girls  to  attend  the  army.  To  his 
inquiries  respecting  the  country  whence  they  obtained  the  gold,  they 
replied  by  repetitions  of  the  words  "Culua"  and  "Mexico,"  and 
pointing  to  the  west.  Having  obtained  all  the  information  the  Ta- 
bascans could  give  him,  Cortes  resolved  to  proceed  on  his  voyage. 
Accordingly,  after  a  solemn  mass,  which  the  Indians  attended,  the 
►rmament  left  Tabasco,  and,  after  a  short  sail,  arrived  ofT  the  coast 
Df  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa,  the  site  of  the  modern  Vera  Cruz.  It  was  on 
Holy  Thursday,  (April  20,)  in  the  year  1519,  that  they  arrived  at 
the  port  of  St.  Juan  de  Ulloa,  the  extreme  eastern  province  of  the 
Mexican  dominions,  properly  so  called.  The  royal  flag  was  floating 
from  the  mast  of  Cortes's  ship.  The  Spaniards  could  see  the  beach 
crowded  with  natives,  who  had  come  down  to  gaze  at  the  strange 
"water-houses,"  of  which  they  had  formerly  seen  specimens.  At 
length,  a  light  pirogue  filled  with  -jatives,  some  of  them  evidently 


■I 


DONNA   MAKINA. 


41 


I 


ley 
ind 

ra- 
ise- 
Ithe 

bast 
on 
at 

Ithe 

ling 
ich 
ige 

lAt 
tl> 


men  of  rank,  pushed  off'  from  the  shore  and  steered  for  the  ship  of 
Cortes.  The  Indians  went  on  board  without  any  symptoms  of  fear,  and, 
what  was  more  strikinnf,  with  an  air  of  ease  and  perfect  good-breed- 
mg.  They  spoke  a  different  language  from  that  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Cozumel  or  the  Tabascans — a  language,  too,  which  Aguilar  did  not 
understand.  Fortunately,  one  of  the  twenty  Indian  girls  presented 
by  the  Tabascans  to  the  Spaniards,  was  a  Mexican  by  birth.  This 
girl,  whose  Spanish  name  of  Dunna  Marina  is  imperishably  associ- 
Hted  with  the  history  of  the  Conquest  of  Mexico,  was  the  daughter 
of  a  chief,  but,  by  a  singular  course  of  events,  had  become  a  slave 
in  Tabasco.  She  hud  already  attracted  attention  by  her  beauty, 
sweetness,  and  gentleness,  and  she  had  been  mentioned  to  Cortes. 
Her  services  now  became  valuable.  The  Mexican  was  her  native 
language ;  but,  by  her  residence  in  Tabasco,  she  had  acquired  the 
'1  abascan,  which  language  was  also  familiar  to  Aguilar.  Interpret- 
ing, therefore,  what  the  Mexicans  said  into  Tabascan  to  Aguilar, 
Aguilar,  in  turn,  interpreted  the  Tabascan  into  Spanish  ;  and  thus, 
though  somewhat  circuitously,  Cortes  could  hold  communication 
with  his  visitors. 

I  HE  Aztec  visitors  who  came  on  board  the 
ship  of  Cortes,  informed 
him  that  they  were  in- 
structed by  the  governor  of 
the  province  to  ask  what 
he  wanted  on  their  coasts, 
and  to  promise  that  what- 
ever he  required  should  be 
^^J>^''it^^"^''  "^  supplied.     Cortes    replied 

that  his  object  was  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  the  people  of  those 
countries,  and  that  he  would  do  them  no  injury.  He  then  presented 
them  with  some  beads  of  cut  glass,  and  after  an  entertainment  of 
wine,  they  took  their  departure,  promising  that  Teuthlille,  the  go- 
vernor of  the  province  under  their  great  emperor,  should  visit  him 
the  next  day. 

Next  day,  Friday,  the  21st  of  April,  1519,  Cortes  landed  with  his 
troops,  and  had  an  interview  with  Teuthlille,  who  received  the 
visitors  with  suspicion  ;  and  this  feeling  was  not  lessened  by  the 
parade  of  mounted  dragoons  and  firing  of  guns,  with  which  the 
Spanish  commander  thought  fit  to  astonish  him  and  the  other  na- 
ves. Sketches  were  taken  of  the  appearance  of  the  strangers,  in 
e  d2 


i2 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO. 


INDIAN    nOT    IN    TB3    TIBRRA    nALIXNTS. 

order  to  be  sent  to  Montezuma,  the  king  of  the  country,  who  was 
likewise  to  be  informed  that  the  white  men,  who  had  arrived  on  his 
coast,  desired  to  be  allowed  to  come  and  see  him  in  his  capital. 

Here  we  pause  to  present  a  short  account  of  the  Mexican  empire, 
in  which  Cortes  had  landed;  also  of  the  character  and  government  of 
this  monarch,  Montezuma,  whom  the  Spaniards  expected  soon  to  be 
permitted  to  visit. 

If  a  traveller,  landing  on  that  part  of  the  coast  of  the  Mexican 
gulf  where  Cortes  and  his  Spaniards  landed  three  hundred  and 
thirty  years  ago,  were  to  proceed  westward,  across  the  Continent,  he 
would  pass  successively  through  three  regions  or  climates.  First, 
he  would  pass  through  the  tierra  caliente,  or  hot  region,  distinguished 
by  all  the  features  of  the  tropics — their  luxuriant  vegetation,  theii 
occasional  sandy  deserts,  and  their  unhealthiness  at  particular  sea- 
eons.  After  sixty  miles  of  travel  through  this  tierra  caliente,  he 
would  enter  the  tierra  templada,  or  temperate  region,  where  the 
products  of  the  soil  are  such  as  belong  to  the  most  genial  European 
countries.  Ascending  through  it,  the  traveller  at  last  leaves  wheat- 
fulds  beneath  him,  and  plunges  into  forests  of  pine,  indicating  ht« 


THE    MEXICAXS — THEIR   ORIGIN    AND    CIVILIZATION.         43 


VOtOANIO     MOaNTAINS,    AS     SHBN     FROM     TACtJBAYA. 


piitrance  into  the  tierrafn'a,  or  cold  region,  where  the  sleety  bla?'.? 
from  the  mountains  penetrate  the  very  bones.  This  t'erra  fria  con- 
stitutes the  summits  of  part  of  the  great  mountain  range  of  the 
Andes,  which  traverses  the  whole  American  continent.  Fortu 
nately,  hov.ever,  at  this  point  the  Andes  do  not  attain  their  greatest 
elevation.  Instead  of  rising,  as  in  some  other  parts  of  their  range, 
in  a  huge  perpendicular  wall  or  ridge,  they  here  flatten  and  widen 
out,  so  as  to  constitute  a  vast  plateau,  or  tahle-land,  six  or  seven 
thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  On  this  immense  sheet  of 
table-land,  stretching  for  hundreds  of  miles,  the  inhabitants,  though 
livmg  within  the  tropics,  enjoy  a  climate  equal  to  that  of  the  south 
of  Italy;  while  their  proximity  to  the  extremes  both  of  heat  and 
cold,  enables  them  to  procure,  without  much  labour,  the  luxuries  of 
many  lands.  Across  the  table-land  there  stretches,  from  east  to  west, 
a  chain  of  volcanic  peaks,  some  of  which  are  of  immense  height, 
and  covered  perpetually  with  .now. 

This  table-land  was  called,  by  the  ancient  Mexicans,  the  plain 
if  Anahuac.     Near  ita  centre  is  i.  valley  of  an  oval  lorm,  about 


14 


THE   CONQUEST   OF    MEXICO. 


two  hundred  miles  in  circumference,  surrounded  by  a  lamparl 
of  porphyritic  rock,  and  overspread  for  about  a  tenth  part  of 
its  surface  by  five  distinct  lakes  or  sheets  of  water.  This  is  th? 
celebrated  Valley  of  Mexico — called  a  valley  only  by  comparison 
with  the  mountains  which  surround  it,  for  it  is  seven  thousand  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Round  the  margins  of  the  five  lakes 
once  stood  numerous  cities,  the  relics  of  which  are  yet  visible  ;  and 
on  an  islet  in  the  middle  of  the  largest  lake,  stood  the  great  city  of 
Mexico,  or  Tenochtitlan,  the  capital  of  the  empire  which  the  Span- 
iards were  now  invading,  and  the  residence  of  the  Mexican  emperor, 
,  Montezuma. 

The  origin  of  the  Mexicans  is  a  question  of  great  obscurity — a 
part  of  the  more  extensive  question  of  the  manner  in  which  Ame- 
rica was  peopled.  According  to  Mr.  Prcscott,  the  latest  and  one  of 
the  best  authorities  on  the  subject,  the  plains  of  Anahuac  were  over- 
run, previous  to  the  discovery  of  America,  by  several  successive 
races  from  the  north-west  of  the  Continent  where  it  approaches  Asia. 
Thus,  in  the  thirteenth  century,  the  great  table-land  of  Central  Ame- 
rica was  inhabited  by  a  number  of  races  and  sub-races,  all  originally 
of  the  same  stoclv,  but  differing  from  each  other  greatly  in  characte 
and  degree  of  civilization,  and  engaged  in  mutual  hostilities.  The 
cities  of  these  difl^erent  races  were  scattered  over  the  plateau,  prin- 
cipally in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  five  lakes.  Tezcuco,  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  the  greatest  of  the  lakes,  was  the  capital  of  the  Acol 
huans  ;  and  the  Tenochtitlan,  or  Mexico,  founded  in  1325,  on  an 
island  in  the  same  lake,  was  the  capital  of  the  Aztecs. 

In  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  the  dominant  race  in 
the  plains  of  Anahuac  was  the  Acol  huans,  or  Tezcucans,  repre- 
sented as  a  people  of  mild  and  polished  manners,  skilled  in  the  ele- 
gant arts,  and  possessing  literary  habits  and  tastes — the  Athenians, 
if  we  may  so  call  them,  of  the  New  World.  The  most  celebrated 
of  th*^  Tezcucan  sovereigns  was  Nezahualcoyotl,  who  reigned  early 
in  the  fifteenth  century.  By  this  prince  a  revolution  was  effected 
in  the  political  state  of  the  valley  of  Anahuac.  He  procured  the 
formation  of  a  confederacy  between  Tezcuco  and  the  two  neighbour' 
ing  friendly  cities  of  Mexico  and  Tlacopan,  by  which  they  bound 
themselves  severally  to  assist  each  other  when  attacked,  and  to  carry 
on  wars  conjointly.  In  this  strange  alliance,  Tezcuco  was  the  prin- 
cipal member,  as  being  confessedly  the  most  powerful  state ;  Mexico 
Btood  next ;  and  lastly,  Tlacopan,  as  being  inferior  to  the  other  two 


epre- 
ele- 
ians, 
H)ratetl 
early 
ecteJ 
the 
hour- 
ound 
[carry 
priri' 
lexico 
two 


ya, 


I 


THE  MEXICANS — THEIR   ORIvJIIf  AND   CIVILIZATION.        45 

Nezahualcoyotl  died  in  1470,  and  was  succeeded  on  the  Tezcucan 
throne  by  his  son  Nezahualpilli.  Durinrr  his  reign  the  Tezcucans 
fell  from' their  position  as  the  first  member  of  the  triple  confederacy 
which  his  father  had  formed,  and  gave  place  to  the  Aztecs  or  Mexi- 
cans. These  Aztecs  had  been  gradually  growing  in  consequence 
since  their  first  arrival  in  the  valley.  Decidedly  inferior  to  the  Tez- 
cucans in  culture,  and  professing  a  much  more  bloody  and  impure 
worship,  they  excelled  them  in  certain  qualities,  and  possessed,  or. 
the  whole,  a  firmer  and  more  compact  character.  If  the  Tezcucans 
were  the  Greeks,  the  Aztecs  were  the  Romans  of  the  New  World. 
Under  a  series  of  able  princes  they  had  increased  in  importance,  till 
now,  in  the  reign  of  Nezahualpilli,  they  were  the  rivals  of  their 
allies,  the  Tezcucans,  for  the  sovereignty  of  Anahuac. 

In  the  year  1502,  a  vacancy  occurred  in  the  throne  of  Tenoch- 
titlan,  or  Mexico.  The  election  fell  on  Montezuma  II.,  the  nephew 
of  the  deceased  monarch,  a  young  man  who  had  already  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  soldier  and  a  priest  or  sage,  and  who  was  noted 
as  his  name — Montezuma  (sorrowful  man) — implied,  for  a  certain 
gravity  and  sad  severity  of  manner.  The  first  years  of  Montezu- 
ma's reign  were  spent  in  war.  Carrying  his  victorious  arms  <is  far 
as  Nicaragua  and  Honduras  in  the  south,  and  to  the  shores  of  the 
Mexican  gulf  in  the  east,  he  extended  the  sovereignty  of  the  triple 
confederacy,  of  which  he  was  a  member,  over  an  immense  extent  of 
territory.  Distant  provinces  he  compelled  to  pay  him  tribute;  and 
the  wealth  of  Anahuac  flowed  from  all  directions  towards  the  Valley 
of  Mexico.  Haughty  and  severe  in  his  disposition,  and  magnitlcent 
in  his  tastes,  he  ruled  like  an  Oriental  despot  over  the  provinces 
which  he  had  conquered;  and  the  least  attempt  at  rebellion  was 
fearfully  punished,  captives  being  dragged  in  hundreds  to  the  capital 
to  be  slaughtered  on  the  stone  of  human  sacrifice  in  the  great  war 
temple.*  Nor  did  Montezuma's  own  natural-born  subjects  stand 
less  in  dread  of  him.  Wise,  liberal,  and  even  generous  in  his 
government,  his  inflexible  and  relentless  justice,  and  his  lordly 
notions  of  his  own  dignity,  made  him  an  object  less  of  afTection  than 
of  awe  and  reverence.  In  his  presence,  his  nobles  spoke  in  whis- 
pers ;  in  hia  palace  he  was  served  with  a  slavish  homage ;  and 
when  he  appeared  in  public,  his  subjects  veiled  their  faces  as  un- 


•  Besides  tlie  ordinary  sacridce  in  which  tlie  victim's  heart  was  cut  out  and  lai  1 
nn  the  ahar,  there  was  a  gladiatorial  sacrifice,  where  the  victim  contended  with  ■ 
•uecession  of  warriors  before  being  offered  up. 


16 


THE   CONvjUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


O  LADI  ATORIAL    SAORIFIOB 

worthy  to  gaze  upon  his  person.  The  death  of  Nezahualpilli,  in 
1510,  made  him  absolute  sovereign  in  Anahuac.  On  the  death  of 
that  king,  two  of  his  sons,  Cacama  and  Ixtlilxoohitl,  contended  for 
the  throne  of  Tezcuco.  Montezuma  sided  with  Cacama  ;  and  the 
dispute  was  at  length  ended  by  compromise  between  the  two  bro- 
thers, by  which  the  kingdom  was  divided  into  two  parts — Cacama 
obtaining  the  southern  half  with  the  city  of  Tezcuco,  and  Ixtlilxochitl 
the  northern  half. 

Thus,  at  the  period  of  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  Montezums 
was  absolute  sovereign  of  nearly  the  whole  of  that  portion  of  Cen^ 
tral  America  which  lies  between  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Pacific 
Ocean — the  kings  of  Tezcuco  and  Tlacopan  being  nominally  his 
confederates  and  counsellors,  according  to  the  ancient  treaty  of  alli- 
ance between  the  three  states,  but  in  reality  his  dependents.  The 
spot  where  Cortes  had  landed  was  in  one  of  the  maritime  province* 
of  Montezuma's  dominion. 


thing! 


'!'■ 


MEXICAN   TRADITION. 


47 


T  is  a  singular  but  well-autlicntn-atrJ 
fact,  that,  when  the  Spaniards  landed 
in  America,  a  general  expectaticn 
prevailed  among  the  natives  of  the 
arrival  of  a  mysterious  race  jf  white 
men  from  the  East,  who  were  to 
conquer  the  country.  This  was  es- 
pecially the  case  in  Mexico.  There 
was  a  tradition  among  the  Mexicans 
^^^^^i^^-^^^  that,  some  ages  before  the  arrival  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  while  yet  the  Aztec  empire  was  in  its  infancy, 
there  appeared  in  Anahuac  a  divine  personage  called  Quetzalccatl. 
He  was  a  man  of  benevolent  aspect,  tall  in  stature,  with  a  white 
complexion,  long  dark  hair,  and  a  flowing  beard  ;  and  he  came  from 
the  East.  He  resided  in  Anahuac  for  many  years,  teaching  the 
Mexicans  numerous  arts  and  sciences,  and  reforming  their  manners; 
and  under  his  care  the  country  flourished  and  became  happy.  At 
length,  some  diflference  arose  between  him  and  the  Mexicans,  and 
they  no  longer  paid  respect  to  the  words  of  the  good  Quetzalcoatl. 
He  then  announced  to  them  that  he  was  going  to  depart  from  their 
country.  Proceeding  eastward,  delaying  a  little  while  at  Cholula,  a 
city  which  ever  after  was  regarded  as  sacred,  he  arrived  at  the  sea- 
shore. Embarking  on  board  a  little  skifl^,  made  of  serpents'  skins, 
he  pushed  out  to  sea,  and,  as  the  Mexicans  strained  their  eyes  aftei 
him,  he  disappeared  in  the  distance,  going,  as  it  seemed,  to  the  East. 
Before  he  departed,  however,  he  delivered  a  prophecy,  that  at  some 
future  time,  people  of  his  race,  with  white  complexions  like  his, 
would  come  from  the  East  to  conquer  and  possess  the  country. 

The  tradition  of  Q,uetzalcoatl's  prophecy  was  rife  among  the  na- 
tives of  Anahuac,  when  Cortes  arrived,  and  it  was  with  a  kind  of 
religious  awe  that  Montezuma  and  his  people  heard  of  the  arrival 
of  the  white  men  in  their  "water-houses."  Cortes  and  his  men 
constituted,  as  we  have  seen,  this  body.  Teuthlille's  messengers, 
announcing  their  arrival,  had  already  reached  Montezuma ;  and  he 
was  now  deliberating  in  what  manner  he  should  receive  the  stran- 
gers. In  order  to  learn  his  decision,  let  us  return  to  the  Spaniards 
on  the  sea-coast. 

The  Spaniards,  supplied  by  the   natives  with    plenty  of  every 

thing  which  they  required,  were  waiting  the  return  of  the  messen 

•rs  to  Montezuma.     After  six  days,  they  returned,  accompanied  by 


48 


THE   CONQUEST   OF  MEXICO 


Teuthlille.  They  bore  with  them  a  splendid  present  from  Monlt- 
zuma  to  the  Spanish  emperor.  It  consisted  of  loads  of  finely- 
wrought  cotton,  ornamented  with  featherwork  ;  and  a  miscellaneoua 
r.oUection  of  jewels  and  articles  of  gold  and  silver,  richly  carved, 
of  which  the  most  attractive  wer*  two  circular  plates,  as  large  as 
carriage-wheels,  one  of  gold,  valued  at  more  than  fifty  thousand 
pounds,  and  intended  to  represent  the  sun  ;  the  other  of  silver,  and 
representing  the  moon.  As  they  gazed  on  the  kingly  present,  the 
Spaniards  could  scarcely  contain  their  raptures.  The  message 
which  accompanied  it,  however,  was  less  satisfactory.  Montezuma 
was  happy  to  hear  of  the  existence  of  his  brother,  the  King  of  Spain, 
and  wished  him  to  consider  him  as  his  friend  ;  he  could  not,  how- 
ever, come  to  see  the  Spaniard?,  and  it  was  too  far  for  them  to  come 
and  visit  him.  He,  therefore,  hoped  they  would  depart,  and  carry 
his  respects  to  his  brother,  their  monarch. 

To  this  Cortes,  thanking  Montezuma  for  his  present,  replied,  that 
he  could  not  leave  the  country  without  being  able  to  say  to  his  king 
that  he  had  seen  Montezuma  with  his  own  eyes ;  and  the  ambassa- 
dors again  departed,  carrying  a  sorrA-  present  from  Cortes  to  Monte- 
zuma. After  another  interval  of  six  days  they  returned,  with  an- 
other gift,  little  inferior  in  value  to  the  former,  and  informed  Cortes 
that  the  great  Montezuma  had  received  his  present  with  satisfaction, 
but  that,  as  to  the  interview,  he  could  not  permit  any  more  to  be 
said  on  the  subject.  Cortes,  though  greatly  mortified,  thanked  them 
politely,  and  returned  to  Montezuma  a  second  message  to  the  same 
effect  as  the  former,  but  couched  in  more  decided  language.     The 

'  CO 

Mexicans  withdrew  in  distrust,  and  ceased  to  barter  with  the  Spa- 
niards, or  to  bring  them  supplies. 

Meanwhile,  differences  had  been  springing  up  among  the  Spa- 
niards themselves,  the  partisans  of  Velasquez  insisting  that  they 
ought  now  to  return  to  Cuba,  and  that  it  was  folly  to  think  of  found- 
ing a  settlement.  Pretending  to  yield  to  the  clamours  of  these  per- 
sons, Cortes  issued  orders  for  embarkation  on  the  following  day 
Immediately  the  other  party,  consisting  of  the  friends  of  Cortes, 
flocked  to  his  tent,  and  implored  him  not  to  give  up  the  enterprise 
which  had  been  so  successfully  begun.  This  was  precisely  what 
Cortes  wished.  Accordingly,  after  some  delay,  he  seemed  to  yield : 
and,  revoking  the  order  for  embarkatio.1,  he  announced  his  willing- 
ness to  found  a  settlement  in  the  name  of  the  Spar.ish  sovereign. 
Forhwith,  the  new  city,  although  not  a  stone  of  it  had  yet  bees 


£ 


CORTES  INVITED   TO   OEMPOALLA. 


4^ 


■% 


« 


sse  per- 
|>g  day 
Cortes, 
terprise 
ly  what 
0  yield : 
willing- 
vereign. 
et  becB 


rai9i?d,  and  the  site  had  alone  been  determined  on,  was  nameJ  Villa 
Rica  de  la  Vera  Cruz— "The  Rich  Town  of  the  True  Cross." 
Magistrates  were  immediately  appointed  in  the  king's  name;  the 
two  captains,  Puerto  Carrero  and  Montejo,  the  latter  a  friend  of 
Velasquez,  being  nominated  alcaldes,  and  others  to  diflerent  offices. 
"Thus,"  says  Mr.  Prescott,  "by  a  single  stroke  of  the  pen,  the 
eamp  was  transformed  into  a  civil  community." 

At  the  first  sitting  of  the  new  magistracy,  Cortes  appeared  before 
it,  with  his  cap  doffed,  and  formally  resigned  his  commission  from 
Velasquez  into  its  hands.  He  then  withdrew;  but  after  a  short 
time  was  recalled,  and  informed  that  he  had  been  unanimously  ap- 
pointed by  them,  in  the  king's  name,  "  Captain-general  and  Chief 
Justice  of  the  colony."  Thus,  by  a  clever  stroke  of  policy,  had 
Cortes  shaken  off  all  connection  with  Velasquez.  He  held  his  com- 
mand now  directly  from  the  king,  and  could  be  superseded  only  by 
royal  authority.  The  friends  of  Velasquez  were  at  first  furious  wiih 
rage  ;  but  Cortes  ai  length  soothed  them  into  acquiescence. 

A  little  before  the  conclusion  of  these  proceedings,  an  erent  of 
some  consequence  happened.  This  was  the  arrival  in  the  Spanish 
camp  of  five  Indians,  differing  in  dress  and  language  from  the  Mexi- 
cans. They  informed  Cortes  that  they  were  a  deputation  sent  by 
the  Cacique  of  Cempoalla,  a  city  at  a  little  distance  on  the  sea-coast, 
the  capital  of  the  Totonacs,  a  nation  which  had  been  recently  con- 
quered b}-  Montezuma,  and  was  now  groaning  under  hts  yoke. 
They  were  sent  by  their  cacique  to  beg  a  visit  of  the  Spaniards  to 
Cempoalla.  A  light  instantly  flashed  upon  the  mind  of  Cone*. 
He  saw  that  Mrntezuma's  empire  was  not  so  firmly  compacted  as  he 
had  suppcsed,  and  that  it  might  be  possible  to  divide  it  against  itse«f, 
and  so  overthrow  it.  He,  therefore,  dismissed  the  ambassadors 
kindly,  and  promised  a  speedy  visit  to  Cempoalla. 

Accordingly,  as  soon  as  the  disturbance  which  had  arisen  among 
his  men  was  quelled,  Cortes  marched  to  Cempoalla,  a  city  not  rich, 
but  prettily  built,  and  containing  a  population,  as  it  appeared,  of  about 
thirty  thousand  inhabitants.  He  was  cordially  received  by  the 
cacique,  a  large  and  very  corpulent  man.  Remaining  some  time  in 
Cempoalla  and  its  neighbourhood,  while  the  city  of  Villa  Rica  was 
being  built, ''  Spaniards  soon  gained  the  reverence  and  good-wiL 
of  the  inhabitants,  the  Totonacs,  who  willingly  submitted  themselfes 
to  the  dominion  of  the  distant  monarch  Don  Carlos,  of  whom  the 
Spaniards  told  them.     Here  the  Spaniards  were  horrified  by  thi 


■# 


ftO 


THE   CONQUEST   OP   MEXrCO. 


•ymptoms  of  human  sacrifice,  which  were  perpetually  visible  in  th» 
•emples — the  blood-stained  walls,  and  the  fragments  of  human  flesh 
which  lay  about ;  and,  fired  with  religious  enthusiasm,  they  resolved 
to  put  a  stop  to  such  practices  by  tearing  down  the  idols.  Cortea 
informed  the  cacique  of  his  intention  ;  but  although  the  announce- 
ment filled  him  with  speechless  dismay,  no  opposition  was  ofTered, 
and  the  idols  were  broken  in  pieces,  and  burnt  before  the  eyes  of 
the  Totonacs,  while  the  priests  went  about  shrieking  like  demons. 
"These  priests,"  we  are  told,  "were  dressed  in  long  black  mantles, 
like  sheets  with  hoods :  their  robes  reached  to  their  feet.  Their 
long  hair  was  matted  together  with  clotted  blood ;  with  some  it 
reached  to  the  waist,  and  with  others  to  the  feet :  their  ears  were 
torn  and  cut,  and  they  smelled  horribly,  as  it  were  of  sulphur  and 
putrid  flesh." 

The  destruction  of  their  idols  did  not  alienate  the  Totonacs  from 
the  Spaniards  ;  on  the  contrary,  it  raised  their  opinion  of  them,  inas- 
much as  they  saw  the  gods  patient  under  the  indignity.  The  inter- 
course of  the  two  parties,  therefore,  continued  ;  and  by  his  frequent 
conversations  with  the  cacique,  Cortes  gained  greater  insight  every 
day  into  the  condition  of  Montezuma's  empire. 

By  this  time,  the  town  oi  Villa  Rica  had  been  nearly  finished, 
and  nothing  remained  to  prevent  the  Spaniards  from  commencing 
their  march  into  the  interior.  Before  beginning  it,  however,  Cortes 
deemed  it  advisable  to  send  a  report  of  his  proceedings  to  Spain,  to 
be  laid  before  the  king,  knowing  that  Velasquez  must  have  repre- 
sented his  conduct  in  very  disadvantageous  terms  to  the  home  go- 
vernment. Accordingly,  Cortes  drew  up  one  letter,  and  the  magis- 
trates of  the  new  colony  another,  detailing  the  whole  of  the  inci- 
dents of  the  expedition  down  to  the  foundation  of  Villa  Rica,  and 
announcing  that  they  were  on  the  point  of  commencing  their  march 
into  the  heart  of  the  country.  To  increase  the  efl^ect  of  the  letters, 
they  were  accompanied  by  nearly  all  the  gold  that  had  been  collected, 
together  with  the  splendid  gifts  of  Montezuma,  and  such  curiosities 
as  might  interest  the  learned  of  Spain.  The  business  of  carrying 
these  letters  to  the  kmg  was  intrusted  to  Montejo  and  Puerto  Car- 
rero,  and  they  were  instructed,  above  all,  to  endeavour  to  secure  the 
appointment  of  Cortes  as  captain-general  of  the  colony.  On  the 
86th  of  July,  1519,  the  little  ship  set  sail,  freighted  with  a  more  pre- 
cious cargo  than  had  ever  yet  been  packed  within  the  timbers  of  a 
vessel  from  the  New  World.      The  pilot  was  instructed  to  make 


'i 


CORTES   DESTROYS  UI8  SHIPS. 


61 


uoNTazniiA. 


nished, 

lencing 

Cortes 

ain,  to 

re  pre- 

me  go- 

magis- 

e   inci- 

ca,  and 

march 

letters, 
Uected, 

iosities 
jarrying 

to  Car- 

ure  the 
lOn  the 

re  pie- 
rs of  a 
make 


direct  for  Spain,  landing  at  no  intermediate  station,  and  especially 
avoiding  Cuba. 

The  departure  of  this  vessel  seems  to  have  raised  thoughts  of 
home  in  the  minds  of  some  of  those  who  were  left  behind.     A  con- 
spiracy was  formed  by  some  of  the  soldiers  and  sailors,  along  with 
the  clergyman  Diaz,  to  seize  a  vessel  and  return  to  Cuba.     The  con 
spiracy  was  discovered  ;  two  of  the  ringleaders  were  hanged,  and 
the  rest  whipped  or  confined.     Foreseeing,  however,  that  such  con- 
spiracies would  be  constantly  occurring,  unless  effectual  means  were 
taken  to  prevent  them,  Cortes  came  to  the  resolution,  almost  unpa 
ralleled  ir  the  annals  of  heroism,  of  destroying  the  ships  which  had 
broughi  him  tu  Mexico.     Accordingly,  taking  counsel  with  a  few  of 
his  most  attached  followers,  he  procured  a  report  from  the  pilots  that 
the  vessels  were  not  seaworthy,  and  caused  them  to  be  broken  in 
pieces  and   sunk,  before  the   majority  were  aware  of  his  design. 
When  the  Spaniards  thus  saw  themselves  shut  up  in  a  strange  and 
populous  country,  with  no  means  of  retreat,  their  first  impulse  was 
one  of  rage  and  despair,  and  Cortes  had  nearly  fallen  a  sacrifice. 
As  he  foresaw,  however,  the  daring  act  had  the  effect  of  bracing  his 
men  to  a  pitch  of  resolution  all  but  supernatural.     Besides,  by  the 
destruction  of  the  fleet,  he  obtained  a  reinforcement  of  a  hundred  and 


^ti., 


62 


THE   CONQUEST   OP   MEXICO. 


;^'n:t. 


C  O  R  T  S  3. 


ten  men — the  mariners,  formerly  employed  in  the  ships,  being  now 
converted  into  soldiers,  and  very  good  ones,  as  it  afterwards  proved. 
All  being  now  ready,  Cortes,  leaving  a  considerable  force  as  a  gar- 
rson  to  the  new  settlement  of  Villa  Rica,  under  the  command  of 
fuan  de  Escalante,  set  out  from  the  territory  of  the  Totonacs,  on  his 
march  inland,  on  the  16th  of  August,  1519.  His  army  consisted  of 
four  hundred  Spaniards  on  foot,  and  fifteen  horse,  accompanied  by 
thirteen  hundred  Cempoallan  warriors,  and  a  thousand  tamanes,  or 
Indian  body  slaves,  furnished  by  the  cacique  of  Cempoalla,  who 
were  to  carry  the  heavy  burdens  and  perform  other  laborious  offices. 
Advancing  through  the  tierra  caliente,  they  began  to  ascend  the 
mountains  which  separate  it  from  the  vast  table-land  of  Anahuac. 
A  few  days'  march  across  the  tierra  templada  and  the  tierra  fria, 
brought  the  Spaniards  to  the  small  mountain  province  of  Tlascala, 
situated  about  half-way  between  the  sea-coast  and  the  Mexican  val- 
ley. The  Tlascalans  were  a  brave  and  high-spirited  people,  of  the 
same  race  as  the  Aztecs.  They  had  refused,  however,  to  submit  to 
the  empire  of  Montezuma,  and  were  the  only  people  in  Anahuac 
who  bade  defiance  to  his  power,  preferring  poverty  and  hardship  in 
their  mountain  home  to  the  loss  of  independence.  The  government 
■)f  Tlascala  was  a  kind  of  feudalism.  Four  lords,  or  caciques,  held 
their  courts  in  different  quarters  of  the  same  city,  independently  of 


i 


4 


TREATY  WITH   TLASCALA. 


53 


fnc 


ind  of 
on  his 
ted  of 
ied  by 
ics,  or 
who 
ffices. 
d  the 
huac. 
fria, 
scala, 
n  val- 
of  the 
mil  to 
ahuac 
hip  in 
nment 
,held 
tly  ot 


nch  other,  nnd  yet  mutually  allied  ;  and  under  these  four  chieftains 
the  Tlascalan  population,  nobles  and  commons,  were  ranged  assubjecls 
On  the  approach  of  the  Spaniards,  a  consultation  was   held  among 
the  'I'lusciilan  lords  and  their  counsellors,  as  to  how  the  strangers 
nhoiild  be  received  ;  some  being  inclined  to  welcome  them,  in  hopes 
of  being  able,  by  their  assistance,  to  cope  with  Montezuma;  others 
maintaining  that  the  Spaniards  were  enemies  and  ought  to  be  repulsed 
by  all  means.    The  latter  opinion  prevailed,  and  three  desperate  battles 
were  fought  between  the  Tlascalans,  under  the  command  of  Xico- 
tencatl,  a  brave  and  able  young  chief,  the  son  of  one  of  the  four 
caciques,  and  the  Spanish  invaders.     These  engagements  were  far 
more  serious  than  the  battles  which  the  Spaniards  had  fought  with 
the  Tabascans;    and   it   required   the   utmost  exertion  of  Castilian 
valour,  directed  by  all  the  ability   of  Cortes,  to  gain   the  victory. 
But  Indian    courage   against    the    flower   of   European   chivalry— 
the  maqunhuitl,  or   war-club,  dreadful  instrument  as  it  was,  with 
its   sharp,    flinty    blades,   against    muskets   and    artillery — coatings 
of   war-paint,   or   doublets    of   fealherwork,   against    Spanish    mail 
— were  a   very   unequal  contest;  and,   as   usual,  the   losses  of  the 
Spaniards   were  as   nothing   compared   with   the   fierceness   of  the 
struggle.     But  how  could  the  little  army  hope  to  advance  through  a 
country  where  such  battles  had  to  be  fought  at  every  step  ?    If  such 
were  their  reception  by  the  Tlascalans,  what  might  they  not  expect 
from   the   richer  and   more   powerful  Mexicans?      Such   were   the 
reflections  of  the  Spanish  soldiery.     The  idea  of  their  ever  reaching 
Mexico,  says  Bernal  Diaz,  was  treated  as  a  jest  by  the  whole  army. 
Fortunately,  when  these  murmurs  were   reaching  their  height,  the 
Tlascalans  submitted,  and  sent  ambassadors  to  beg  the  friendship  of 
the  Spaniards;  and  on  the  23d  of  September,  1519,  the  Spaniards 
entered  the  city  of  Tlascala,  a  large  and   populous  town,  which 
Cortes  compared  to  Granada   in  Spain.     Here  they  were  cordially 
received  by  the  four  caciques,  and  especially  by  the  elder  Xicoten 
cati ;  and  in  a  short  time  an  intimacy  sprung  up  between  the  TIas 
calans  and  the  invaders,  and  a  treaty  was  concluded,  by  which  the 
Tlascalans  bound  themselves  to  assist  the  Spaniards  throughout  the 
rest  of  their  expedition.     Her^-,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  Cortes  showed 
his  zeal  for  the  Catholic  {p  ih  by  endeavouring  to  convert  the  na- 
tives ;  and  it  is  probable  t'.iat  the  same  scenes  of  violence  would  have 
taken  place  at  Tlascala  as  at  Cempoalla,  had  not  the  judicious  fathci 


b8 


^ 


54 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


UA3SA0HB     AT    OaOLOLA. 


Mi 


Olmedo  interfered  to  temper  the  more  headlong  fanaticism  of  the 
general. 

While  in  Tlascala,  Cortes  received  various  embassies  from  pro- 
vinces in  the  neighbourhood  anxious  to  secure  his  good  will.  About 
the  same  time,  an  embassy  was  received  from  Montezuma  himself, 
entreating  Cortes  not  to  place  any  reliance  upon  the  Tlascalans, 
whom  he  represented  as  treacherous  barbarians ;  and  now  inviting 
him,  in  cordial  terms,  to  visit  his  capital,  pointing  out  the  route 
through  the  city  of  Cholula  as  the  most  convenient.  This  route 
was  accordingly  adopted,  and  the  Spaniards,  accompanied  by  ai« 
army  of  six  thousand  Tlascalan  warriors,  advanced  by  it  towards 
Mexico.  Their  approach  gave  great  alarm,  and  Montezuma  set  on 
foot  a  scheme  for  their  massacre  at  Cholula,  which,  however,  was  dis- 
covered by  Cortes,  who  took  a  terrible  vengeance  on  the  sacred  city. 
Montezuma,  overawed,  again  made  overtures  of  reconciliation,  and  pro- 
mised the  Spaniards  an  immense  quantity  of  gold  if  they  woulJ  ad- 
vance no  farther.     This  Cortes  refused,  and  the  Spanish  army  with 


i 


5 


-■'■-'-'— ^-   ■"- 


^^A 


MARCH    INTO  THE   INTERIOR. 


56 


pro- 
About 
uiseif, 
calans, 
viling 
route 
route 
by  ai> 
owaids 
set  on 
■vas  dis- 
d  city, 
nd  pro- 
uU  ad- 
ly  with 


the  Tluscalan  warriors  left  Cholula  nnd  proci-oded  on  their  march,  i  lel 
everywhere  by  deputations  from  neighbouring  towns,  many  of  which 
wore  disafiected  to  the  government  of  Montezuma.  The  route  of  the 
army  lay  between  two  gigantic  volcanic  mountains,  and  the  march, 
for  a  day  or  two,  was  toilsome  and  bitterly  cold.  At  last,  "turning 
an  angle  of  the  sierra,  they  suddt-nly  came  on  a  view  which  more 
than  compensated  their  toils.  It  was  that  of  the  Valley  of  Mexico; 
which,  with  its  picturesque  assemblage  of  water,  woodland,  and  cul- 
tivated plains,  its  shining  cities  and  shadowy  hills,  was  spread  out 
like  some  guy  and  gorgeous  panoiama  before  them.  Stretching 
far  away  at  their  feet  were  seen  noble  fcrests  of  oak,  sycamore,  ana 
cedar;  beyond,  yellow  fields  of  maize,  and  the  towering  maguey, 
intermingled  with  orchards  nnd  blooming  gardens.  In  the  centre 
of  the  great  basin  were  beheld  the  lakes,  their  borders  thickly  stud- 
ded with  towns  and  hamlets;  and  in  the  inidst,  like  some  Indian 
empress  with  her  coronal  of  pearls,  the  fair  city  of  Mexico,  with  her 
white  towers  and  pyrauiidal  temples,  reposing,  as  it  were,  on  the 
bosom  of  the  waters — the  far-famed  'Venice  of  the  Aztecs.'  "* 

Descending  into  the  valley,  the  Spaniards  halted  at  Ajutziiico,  a 
town  on  the  banks  of  the  southernmost  of  the  five  lakes.  Mean- 
while, Montezuma  was  in  an  agony  of  indecision.  When  intelligence 
reached  him  that  the  Spaniards  had  actually  descended  into  the  val- 
ley, he  saw  that  he  must  either  face  the  strangers  in  the  field  of 
battle,  or  admit  them  into  his  capital.  His  brother,  Cuitlahua,  ad- 
vised the  former;  but  his  nephew,  Cacama,  the  young  lord  of  Tez- 
cuco,  was  of  the  contrary  opinion,  and  Montezuma,  at  length,  sent 
him  to  meet  the  Spaniards,  and  welcome  them  to  his  dominions. 
Cacama  accordingly  set  out  in  state,  and  arrived  at  Ajotzinco  just 
as  the  Spaniards  were  about  to  leave  it.  When  he  came  into  the 
presence  of  Cortes,  he  said  to  him,  "Malintzin,  here  am  I  and  these 
lords  come  to  attend  you  to  your  residence  in  our  city,  by  order  of 
the  great  Montezuma."  Cortes  embraced  the  prince,  and  presented 
him  with  some  jevjls.  After  a  little  while,  Cacama  took  his  leave 
and  the  Spaniards  resumed  their  march.  Travelling  along  the 
southern  and  western  banks  of  Lake  Chaico,  they  crossed  the 
causeway  which  divides  it  from  Lake  Xochichalco,  and  advanced 
along  the  margin  of  the  latter  to  the  royal  city  of  Iztapalapan,  situ- 
ated on  the  banks  of  the  great  Tezcucan  Lake  over  against  Mexico 

*  Prescott's  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  ii.  p.  47. 


56 


THE    CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


To  the  eyes  of  the  Spaniards,  all  that  tliey  saw  in  their  journey 
seemed  fairy-land. 

It  was  on  the  7lh  of  November,  1519,  that  the  Spaniards  arrived 
Rt  Iztapaiapan  ;  and  here  lliey  sjjent  the  night,  lodged  in  magnifi- 
cent palaces  built  of  stone,  and  the  timber  of  which  was  cedar. 
From  this  position,  the  eye  could  sweep  over  the  whole  expanse  of 
iht  Tezcucan  Lake.  Canoes  of  all  sizes  might  be  seen  skimmirg 
along-  its  surface,  either  near  the  middle  or  close  to  the  banks,  wheie 
the  thick  woods  came  down  to  the  water's  edge.  Here  also,  moving 
slowly  along-  the  margin  of  the  lake,  might  be  seen  a  still  stranger 
sight — the  chinampas,  or  floiiiing-gardens — little  islands  consisting 
of  earth  laid  on  rafts,  planted  with  flowers,  shrubs,  and  fruit-trees, 
containing  a  small  hut  or  cottage  in  the  centre,  ,  ocupied  by  the  jno- 
prietor,  who,  by  means  of  a  lung  pole,  which  he  pushed  against  the 
bottom,  could  shift  his  little  domain  from  place  to  place.  But  what 
fixed  the  eyes  of  the  Spaniards  above  all  else  was  the  glittering  spec- 
tacle which  rose  from  the  centre  of  the  lake — the  queenly  city  of 
Mexico,  the  goal  of  their  hopes  and  wishes  for  many  months  past. 
In  a  few  hours  they  would  be  within  its  precincts — a  few  hundred 
men  shut  up  in  the  very  heart  of  the  great  Mexican  empire  !  Wha' 
might  be  their  fate  there  ! 

The  islet  on  which  Mexico  was  built  was  connected  with  tht 
miinland  by  three  distinct  causeways  of  stone,  constructed  with  in 
credible  labour  and  skill  across  the  lake,  and  intersected  at  intervals 
by  drawbridges,  through  which  canoes  might  pass  and  repass  with 
eaae.  The  causeway  by  which  the  Sjjaniards  must  pass,  connected 
the  island  with  the  southern  bank  of  the  lake,  about  half-way  across, 
to  which  it  branched  i  "nto  two  lines,  one  leading  to  the  city  of 
Cojohuacan,  the  other  nn-cting  the  mainland  at  a  point  not  far  from 
Iztapaiapan,  where  the  Spaniards  were  quartered.  This  causeway 
was  about  eight  yards  wide,  and  capable  of  accommodating  ten  or 
twelve  horsemen  riding  abreast.  It  was  divided,  as  before-mentioned, 
by  several  drawbrit'ges  ;  a  cir'^unislance  which  the  Spaniards  ob- 
served with  no  small  alarm,  for  they  saw  that,  by  mcc^ns  of  the^e 
drawbridges,  '^eir  communication  with  the  mainland  could  be  com 
pletely  cut  ofT  by  the  Mexicans. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  November,  1519,  the  army  left 
Iztapaiapan,  and  advanced  along  the  causeway  towards  the  capital. 
First  went  Cortes  with  his  small  body  of  hurse  ;  next  came  the 
Spanish  foot,  amounting  to  not  more  than  four  hundred  men  ;  aftet 


th  tht 
ilh  in 
Itervali 
s  will, 
ncc.lcd 
cross, 
ity  of 
r  from 
so  way 
ten  or 
ioned, 
Ids  ob- 
the^e 
com 

■ly  left 
liipitnl. 
lie  the 
I;  aftet 


C  O  K  l'  B  8     M  A  B  0  n  I  N  Q     INTO     U  K  X  I  U  O. 


thrill  ciimo  tlie  Indian  (amant's,  carryinn;  the  bagcape;  and  lust  of  ai. 
came  the  TIascalan  warriors,  to  the  number  of  about  five  thousand. 
As  tliey  moved  alonjf  the  causeway,  the  inhabitants  of  the  city 
crowded  in  myriads  to  nraze  at  them,  some  findintr  standing-room  on 
the  causeway  itself,  otliers  skimming  along  the  lake  in  canoes,  and 
clambering  up  the  sides  of  the  causeway.  A  little  more  than  haif- 
way  across,  and  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  city,  the 
branch  of  the  causeway  on  which  tlie  Spaniards  were  marching, 
was  joined  by  the  other  branch  ;  and  here  the  causeway  widened 
fur  a  small  space,  and  a  fort  or  gateway  was  erected,  called  Fort 
of  Xoloc.  On  arriving  at  the  gateway,  the  army  was  met  by  a  long 
procession  of  Aztec  nobles,  richly  clad,  who  came  to  announce  the 
approach  \)(  the  emperor  himself  to  welcome  the  Spaniards  to  his 
ca})ilal.  Accordingly,  when  the  remainder  of  the  causeway  had 
been  almost  traversed,  and  the  van  of  the  army  was  near  the  thresh 
old  of  the  city,  a  train  was  seen  advancing  along  the  great  avenue. 
"Amidst  a  crowd  of  InJian  nobles,  preceded  by  three  officers  o! 
state  bearing  golden  wands,  the  Spaniards  saw  the  royal  palan 
f)uin  of  Montezuma,  blazing  with  burnished  gold.  It  was  borne  on 
the  shoulders  of  nobles,  and  over  it  a  canopy  of  gaudy  featherwork, 
Itowde  red  with  jewels,  and  fringed  with  silver,  and  was  supported 


i 


5H 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


11  i 


by  four  attendants  of  the  same  rank.  They  were  barefooted,  and 
walked  with  a  slow,  measured  pace,  and  with  eyes  bent  on  the 
ground.  When  the  train  had  come  within  a  convenient  distance  it 
halted ;  and  Montezuma,  descending  from  his  litter,  came  forward, 
leaning  on  the  arms  of  the  lords  of  Tezcuco  and  Iztapalapan — the 
one  his  nephew,  the  other  his  brother.  As  the  monarch  advanced 
under  the  canopy,  the  obsequious  attendants  strewed  the  groiyid 
with  cotton  tapestry,  that  his  imperial  feet  might  not  be  contami- 
nated by  the  rude  soil.  His  subjects,  of  high  and  low  degree,  who 
lined  the  sides  of  the  causeway,  bent  forward  with  their  eyes  fast- 
ened on  the  ground  as  he  passed,  and  some  of  the  humbler  class 
prostrated  themselves  before  him."* 

Cortes  and  the  Mexican  emperor  now  '^lood  before  each  other. 
When  Cortes  was  told*  that  the  great  Montezuma  approached,  he 
dismounted  from  his  horse,  and  advanced  towards  him  with  much 
respect.  Montezuma  bade  him  welcome,  and  Cortes  replied  with  a 
suitable  compliment.  After  some  ceremonies,  and  the  exchange  of 
presents,  Montezuma  and  his  courtic  s  withdrew,  the  Spaniards  fol- 
lowing. Advanbing  into  the  city,  wondering  at  all  they  saw — the 
long  streets,  the  houses  which,  in  the  hne  along  which  they  passed, 
belonged  mostly  to  the  noble  and  wealthy  Mexicans,  buih  of  red 
stone,  and  surmounted  with  parapets  or  battlements;  the  canals 
which  here  and  there  intersected  the  streets,  crossed  by  bridges ; 
and  the  large  open  squares  which  occurred  at  intervals — the  Spa- 
niards were  conducted  to  their  quarters,  situated  in  an  immense 
square  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  adjoining  the  temple  of  the  great 
Mexican  war-god.  Montezuma  was  waiting  to  receive  them  ;  and 
the  Spaniards  were  surprised  and  delighted  with  the  princely  gene- 
rosity with  which  he  supplied  their  wants. 

Next  day,  Cortes  paid  a  visit  to  Montezuma  in  his  palace,  attended 
by  some  of  his  principal  officers.  In  the  conversation  which  ensued, 
Cortes  broached  the  topic  of  religion,  and  informed  Montezuma  "that 
we  were  all  brothers,  the  children  of  Adam  and  Eve,  and  that  as 
such,  our  emperor,  lamenting  the  loss  of  souls  in  such  numbers  as 
those  which  were  brought  by  the  Mexican  idols  into  everlasting 
flames,  had  sent  us  to  apply  a  remedy  thereto  by  putting  an  end  to 
the  worship  of  these  false  gods."  These  remarks  seemed  to  Jia- 
please  Montezuma,  who,  however,  made  a  polite  reply. 


i^ 


•  Prescott'a  Conquest  of  Mexico,  vol.  iL  p.  67. 


CORTHS    IN   MEXrrO. 


59 


ittended 

ensued, 

'  that 

that  as 

jers  as 

irlasting 

end  to 

to  Jis- 


AY  after  day,  the  intercourse  between 
Cortes  and  Montezuma  was  renewed; 
the  Spanish  soldiers  also  became  gra- 
dually familiar  with  the  Mexicans 

After  describing  Montezuma's  house* 
hold,  including  a  great  aviary  or  col- 
lection of  birds,  and  a  menagerie,  the 
chronicler  Bernal  Diaz  gives  us  an 
account  of  Cortes's  first  tour  through 
the  city,  acccmpi;nied  by  Montezuma. 
They  first  vi?ited  the  great  bazaar,  or 
market,  held  in  the  western  part  of  the  city,     "When  we  arrived 
there,  we  were  astonished  at  the  crowds  of  people,  and  the  regular- 
ity which  prevailed,  as  well  as  at  the  vast  quantities  of  merchandise 
which  those  who  attended  us  were  assiduous  in  pointing  out.     Each 
kind  had  its  particular  place  of  sale,  which  was  distinguished  by  a 
sign.      The  articles  consisted  of  gold,  silver,  jewels,  feathers,  man- 
tles, chocolate,  skins  dressed  and  undressed,  sandals  and  other  ma- 
nufactures of  the  roots  and  fibres  of  nequen,  and  great  numbers  of 
male  and  female  slaves,  some  of  whom  were  fastened  by  the  neck 
in  collars  to  long  poles.     The  meat  market  was  stocked  with  fowls, 
game,  and  dogs.     Vegetables,  fruits,  articles  of  food  ready  dressed, 
salt,  bread,  honey,  and  sweet  pastry  made  in  various  ways,  were  also 
sold  here.     Other  places  in  the  square  were  appropriated  to  the  sale 
of   earthenware,  wooden   household   furniture,  such   as   tables  and 
benches,  firewood,  paper,  sweet  canes  filled  with  tobacco  mixed  with 
liquid  amber,  copper  axes  and  working-tools,  and   wooden   vessels 
highly  painted.     Numbers  of  women  sold  fish,  and  little  loaves  made 
of  a  certain  mud  which  they  find  in  the  lake,  and  which  resembles 
cheese.     The  makers  of  stone-blades  were  busily  employed  shaping 
them  out  of  the  rough  material ;  and  the  merchants  who  dealt  in 
gold  had  the  metal  in  grains  as  it  came  from  the  mines,  in  transpa- 
rent tubes,  so  that  they  could  be  reckoned  ;  and  the  gold  was  valued 
at  so  many  mantles,  or  so  many  xiquipils  of  cocoa,  according  to  the 
size  of  the  quills.     The  entire  square  was  enclosed  in  piazzas,  under 
which  great  quantities  of  grain  were  stored,  and  where  were  also 
shops  for  various  kinds  of  goods.     Courts  of  justice,  where  three 
judges  sat  to  settle  disputes  which  might  arise  in  the  market,  occu- 
pied a  part  of  the  square,  their  under-officers,  or  policemen,  being 
in  the  market  insiecting  the  merchandise." 


60 


THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO. 


Tax      aRBA.T     TIMPLB     Or     U  B  Z 1 0  O 


Pio./ecding  from  the.  market-place  through  various  parts  of  the 
city,  the  Spaniu  :Js  came  to  the  great  teocalli,  or  temple,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  their  own  quarters.  It  was  a  huge  pyramidal 
structuie,  consistirir  of  five  stories,  narrowing  above  each  other  likr 
the  tubes  of  an  extended  spy-glass,  (only  sq'»are  in  shape,)  so  as  tc 
leave  a  clear  pathway  round  the  margin  of  each  story.  The  ascent 
was  by  means  of  a  stone  stair,  of  a  hundred  and  fourteen  steps. 
Arrived  at  the  summit,  Cortes  and  his  companions  found  it  to  be  a 
large  flat  area,  laid  with  stone ;  at  one  end  of  which  they  shuddered 
as  they  saw  a  block  of  jasper,  which  they  were  told  was  the  stone 
on  which  the  human  victims  were  laid  when  the  priests  tore  out 
their  hearts  to  ofTer  to  their  idols:  at  the  other  end  was  a  tower  of 
three  stories,  in  which  were  the  images  of  the  two  great  Mexican 
deities  Huitzilopochtli  and  Tezcatlipoca,  and  a  variety  of  articles  per 


.*i 


THE  TEMPLE   OP  MEXICO. 


6t 


of  the 
in  the 
raiuidal 

30  as  to 
I  ascent 
steps. 
I  to  be  a 
iddered 
|e  stone 
)re  out 
nver  of 
lexical! 
Ilea  per 


taming  to  their  worship,  "From  the  tnp  of  the  temple,''  says  Bei» 
nai  Diaz,  "we  had  a  clear  prospect  of  the  three  causeways  by  which 
Mexico  communicated  with  the  laml,  and  we  could  now  perceive 
that  in  this  great  city,  and  all  the  others  of  the  neighbourhood  which 
w«re  built  in  the  water,  the  houses  stood  separate  from  each  other, 
communicating  only  by  small  drawbridges  and  by  boats,  and  that 
they  were  built  with  terraced  tops.  The  noise  and  bustle  of  the 
market-place  below  us  could  be  heard  almost  a  league  off;  and  those 
who  had  been  at  Rome  and  Constantinople,  said  that,  for  conveni- 
ence, regularity  and  population,  they  had  never  seen  the  like."  At 
the  request  of  Cortes,  Montezuma,  though  with  apparent  reluctance, 
led  the  Spaniards  into  the  sanctuary  or  tower  whore  the  gods  were. 
"Here,"  says  Diaz,  "were  two  altars,  highly  adorned  with  richly- 
wrought  timbers  on  the  roof,  and  over  the  altars  gigantic  figures 
resembling  very  fat  men.  The  one  on  the  right  was  their  war-god, 
with  a  great  face  and  terrible  eyes.  This  figure  was  entirely  covered 
with  gold  and  jewels,  and  his  body  bound  with  golden  serpents ;  in 
his  right  hand  he  held  a  bow,  and  in  his  left  a  bundle  of  arrows. 
Before  the  idol  was  a  pan  of  incense,  with  three  hearts  of  human 
victims,  which  were  burning,  mixed  with  copal.  The  whole  of  thai 
apartment,  both  walls  and  floor,  was  stained  with  human  blood  in 
such  quantity  as  to  cause  a  very  offensive  smell.  On  the  left  was 
the  other  great  figure,  with  a  countenance  like  a  bear,  and  great 
shining  eyes  of  the  polished  substance  whereof  their  mirrors  are 
made.  The  body  of  this  idol  was  also  covered  with  jewels.  An 
offering  lay  before  him  of  five  human  hearts.  In  this  place  was  a 
drum  of  most  enormous  size,  the  head  of  which  was  made  of  the 
skins  of  large  serpents:  this  instrument,  when  struck,  resounded 
with  a  noise  that  could  be  heard  to  the  distance  of  two  leagues,  and 
so  doleful  that  it  deserved  to  be  named  the  music  of  the  infernal 
regions." 

This  state  of  things  could  not  last.  Cortes,  of  course,  had  no 
intention  of  leaving  Mexico,  now  that  he  had  made  good  his  quarters 
in  it ;  out  as  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  Montezuma  and  his  sub- 
jects would  continue  their  friendly  intercourse  with  him  if  they  sup- 
posed that  he  purposed  to  remain,  he  saw  the  necessity  of  taking 
some  decided  step  to  secure  himself  and  his  men  against  any  out 
break  which  might  occur.  The  step  which  he  resolved  upon  in  his 
own  mind  was  the  seizure  of  Montezuma.  By  having  him  in  their 
power,  he  would  be  able,  he  imagined,  to  maintain  a  control  over 


82 


THE   CO!yQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


the  whole  population  of  the  city — amounting,  it  was  beh'eved,  to 
nearly  three  hundred  thousand.  Nor  was  a  pretext  wanting  to  g'ne 
an  appearance  of  justice  to  the  daring  act  which  they  contero 
plated.  Cortes  had  just  receive'^  intelligence  that  a  battle  had  been 
fought  between  the  garrison  which  he  had  left  at  Villa  Rica,  and  a 
body  of  Mexicans  under  the  command  of  the  Mexican  governor  of 
a  province  adjacent  to  the  Spanish  settlement.  Although  Cortes 
cared  little  for  this  occurrence,  he  resolved  to  avail  himself  of  it  for 
his  purpose;  so,  after  a  night  spent  in  prayer  for  the  blessing  of 
God  on  what  he  was  about  to  do,  he  proceeded  with  five  of  his  offi- 
cers and  theHvvo  interpreters.  Donna  Marina  and  Aguilar,  to  Monte- 
zuma's palace/\  The  monarch,  as  usual,  received  him  kindly ;  but 
when  Cortes,  after^upbraiding  him  with  being  the  cause  of  the  attack 
on  the  Spanish  gammon  at  Villa  Rica,  as  well  as  with  the  attempt 
made  by  the  Cholulans  to  arrest  his  own  progress  towards  Mexico, 
informed  him  that  he  had  come  to  take  him  prisoner,  he  could  no 
longer  contain  himself,  but  gave  full  vent  to  his  rage  and  astonish- 
ment. But  the  rage  of  an  Indian  prince  w£is  impotent  against  the 
stern  resolution  of  the  European  general ;  and  as  the  helpless  mon- 
arch gazed  on  the  unyielding  countenances  of  his  visitors,  whose 
fingers  were  playing  with  the  hilts  of  their  swords,  his  anger 
changed  into  terror:  he  was  seized  with  a  fit  of  trembling,  and  the 
tears  gushed  into  his  eyes.  Without  any  resistance,  he  was  re- 
moved in  his  royal  litter  to  the  Spanish  quarters,  giving  it  out  to  his 
nobles  and  subjects  that  he  went  voluntarily,  on  a  visit  to  Cortes, 
and  desiring  them  to  remain  quiet. 

Another  degradation  awaited  the  unhappy  monarch.  He  was 
obliged  to  surrender  the  governor  and  three  other  chiefs,  who  had 
led  the  attack  on  the  garrison  of  Villa  Rica  ,  ana  these  were  burned 
alive  by  the  orders  of  Cortes,  in  front  of  Montezuma's  palace,  the 
emperor  himself  being  kept  in  irons  while  the  expcution  was  going 
on. 

All  this  took  place  within  ten  days  of  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards 
m  Mexico;  and,  for  three  or  four  months,  Montezuma  continued  a 
prisoner  in  the  Spanish  quarters.  Here  he  was  attended  with  the 
inoEt  profound  respect,  Cortes  himself  never  approaching  him  with- 
out taking  off  his  cap,  and  punishing  severely  every  attempt,  on 
the  part  of  any  of  his  soldiers,  to  insult  the  royal  captive.  Such 
instances,  however,  were  very  rare ;  for  the  kindly  demeanor  of 
Montezuma,  his  gentleness  under  his  misfortunes,  and,  above  all,  his 


■^M 


m 
te 
re 

va 
so 
tfa 

act 

dir 

ext 

Spi 

ion 

the 

hitt 

con 

hav 

beei 

obe( 

Mox 

ever 

that, 

gian 

time 


MEXICO   CEDED   TO   THE   SPANIARDS. 


63 


paniarda 
linued  a 
hvith  the 
Im  with- 
|mpt,  on 
Such 
lanor  of 
all,  hn 


COBTBS     OBDSRINO     MONTI'.  ZrUA    TO     BZ     CHAINHD. 

fiberalit}'  to  those  about  him,  won  the  hearts  of  the  Spaniards.  an<l 
made  him  a  seneral  favourite.  Nor  did  Montezuma  make  any  at- 
tempt  to  regain  his  liberty.  Attended  by  his  officers  as  usual,  he 
received  deputations  and  transacted  business ;  amused  himself  bv 
various  Mexican  games,  and  appeared  to  dehght  in  the  society  of 
some  of  the  Spaniards,  for  whom  he  had  contracted  a  particular  par- 
tiality. 

The  Spanish  general  was  now  absolute  in  Anahuac ;  Montezuma 
acted  under  his  instructions  ;  and  officers  were  sent  out  in  diSerent 
directions  to  survey  the  country,  and  ascertain  the  situatioo  and 
extent  of  the  gold  and  silver  mines,  as  if  all  belonged  to  the  King  of 
Spain.  Nor  was  the  formal  cession  of  the  kingdom  bjr  Montezuma 
long  delayed.  Assembling  all  his  nobles  at  the  instigation  of  Cortes, 
the  Indian  monarch  addressed  them,  desiring  them  to  concur  with 
him  in  surrendering  their  empire  to  the  Spaniards,  who  were  to 
come  from  the  rising  sun.  "  '  For  eighteen  years,'  he  said,  '  that  1 
have  reigned,  I  have  been  a  kind  monarch  to  you,  and  you  have 
been  faithful  subjects  to  me ;  indulge  me,  then,  with  this  last  aot  of 
obedience.'  The  princes,  with  many  sighs  and  tears,  promised 
Montezuma,  who  was  still  more  affected,  that  they  would  do  what- 
ever he  desired.  He  then  sent  a  message  to  Cortes,  telling  him 
that,  on  the  ensuing  day,  he  and  his  princes  would  tender  their  alle- 
giance to  his  majesty,  the  emperor.  This  they  accordingly  did  at  th6 
lime  appointed,  in  the  presence  of  all  the  Spanish  officers  and  mao; 


64 


THE  CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


of  the  soldiers,  not  one  of  whom  coiihl  refrain  fruni  weeping-  on  le- 
holdin<T  the  agitation  and  distress  of  the  great  and  generous  Monte- 
zunia." 

Montezuma  accompanied  the  surrender  of  his  kingdom  with  the 
gift  of  an  immense  treasure,  which  lie  had  concealed  in  an  apart 
ment  within  their  quarters,  desiring  it  to  he  sent  to  Spain,  as  tribute- 
money  to  King  Charles  from  his  vassal  MtntezuMia.  The  sight  ol 
this  treasure  roused  the  avaricious  passions  "f  ilio  Spanish  soldiers, 
and  they  clamoured  for  a  division  of  the  wealili  wliiih  had  been  col- 
lected since  their  entrance  into  Mexico.  Cortes  was  obliged  to  yield 
to  their  demand.  The  whole  wealth  amassed  during  their  residence 
in  Mexico  amounted,  according  to  Mr.  Prescotl's  calculation,  to 
about  one  million  four  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling,  including 
not  only  the  gold  cast  into  ingots,  but  also  the  various  articles  cf 
jewelry,  which  were  of  too  fine  workmanship  to  be  melted  dcv/n. 
The  mode  of  division  was  this: — First,  his  majesty's  fifih  wf.;«  Bet 
aside;  next,  a  fifth  of  the  remainder  was  set  aside  for  Cortes  i  after 
that,  all  the  debts  of  the  expedition  were  to  be  discharged,  in-.luding 
the  amount  vested  in  the  expedition  by  Velasquez,  the  paytnent  of 
agents  in  Spain,  &c. ;  then  the  losses  incurred  in  the  expedition 
were  to  be  made  good,  including  the  expense  of  the  ships  sunk  ofl 
Villa  Rica,  the  price  of  the  horses  killed,  &c. ;  and  lastly,  certain 
individuals  in  the  army,  as  the  clergymen  and  the  captains,  were 
to  receive  larger  allowances  than  the  rest.  "By  the  time  all  these 
drafts  were  made,"  says  Bernal  Diaz,  "  what  remained  for  each  sol- 
dier was  hardly  worth  stooping  for;"  in  other  words,  instead  of 
amounting  to  ten  or  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  as  they  had  expected, 
each  soldier's  share  came  only  to  about  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 
Many  refused  to  take  their  shares,  complaining  of  injustice  in  the 
division,  and  it  required  all  the  skill  and  management  of  Cortes  to 
soothe  the  spirits  of  the  discontented.  Not  a  few,  it  appeared  in  the 
end,  were  no  richer  for  all  the  prize-money  they  had  obtained  than 
ivhen  they  left  Cuba;  for,  as  B'^rnal  Diaz  tells  us,  "  deep  gaming 
went  on  day  and  night  with  cards  miide  out  of  the  heads  of  drums." 

Only  one  source  of  discomfort  now  remained  to  Cortes.  This  was  | 
the  continuance  of  the  idolatrous  woiship  of  the  Mexicans.  Thih 
subject  occupied  his  thoughts  incessantly  ;  and  he  could  not  per- 
suade himself  that  his  efforts  would  be  meritorious  in  the  eyes  of 
God,  or  even  that  he  could  hope  for  permanent  success,  until  the 
false  gods  of  tlie  Mexicans  had  been  shattered  in  pieces,  and  theii 


EXPEPITION   OF   NARVAEZ. 


bb 


lemplcs  converted  into  Christian  sanctuaries.  Not  only  as  a  devout 
Calhclic  did  he  abominate  the  existence  of  a  false  worship  in  a 
country  over  which  he  had  control,  but,  as  a  man,  as  a  native  of  a 
civilized  country,  he  shrunk  in  abhorrence  from  the  bloody  and  sick- 
ening rites  which  formed  part  of  the  religion  of  the  Mexicans — their 
human  sacrifices — accompanied,  strangely  enough,  among  a  people 
so  polished  and  so  advanced  in  ingenious  arts,  by  the  practice  of 
r:ir,nil)alism.  At  length  Cortes  announced  to  Montezuma  that  he 
iiiu'.t  allow  at  least  a  part  of  the  great  temple  to  be  converted  into  a 
Christian  place  of  worship.  Montezuma  had  been  a  priest,  and  the 
proposal  was,  perhaps,  the  most  shocking  that  could  have  been  made 
to  him.  He  gave  his  consent,  however,  and  one  of  the  sanctuuries 
on  the  top  of  the  temple  was  purified,  and  an  altar  and  a  crucifix 
erected  in  it. 

This  last  act  filled  up  the  measure  of  Mexican  endurance.  To 
see  their  monarch  a  prisoner,  to  surrender  their  kingdom  and  its 
treasures — these  they  could  submit  to ;  but  could  they  sit  tamely 
under  an  insult  oflln-ed  to  their  gods?  Hither  and  thither,  through 
the  city,  ran  the  priests,  with  haggard  faces  and  hair  clotted 
with  blood,  stirring  up  the  zeal  of  the  inhabitants,  ana  denouncing 
woes  unless  the  Spaniards  were  expelled.  The  crisis  was  imminent, 
and  every  possible  precaution  was  used  to  prevent  a  sudden  surprise 
by  the  excited  Mexicans. 

It  was  now  the  month  of  May,  1520.  and  the  Spaniards  had  been 
six  months  in  the  Mexican  capital.  Suddenly  the  little  army  was 
thrown  into  consternation  by  intelligence  of  an  unexpected  kind 
received  by  Cortes. 

It  will  be  remembered  that,  before  advancing  into  the  interior  of 
the  country,  Cortes  had  despatched  a  vessel  to  Spain  with  letters  to 
the  emperor,  Charles  V.,  and  a  quantity  of  treasure.  Contrary  to 
the  instructions  of  Cortes,  the  vessel  touched  at  Cuba,  on  its  voyage; 
and  a  sailor  escapmg  conveyed  to  Velasquez  an  account  of  all  that 
had  taken  place  m  the  expedition,  down  to  the  foundation  of  Villu 
Rica.  The  rage  of  Velasquez  exceeded  all  bounds.  He  wrote  let- 
ters to  the  home  government,  and  also  to  the  court  for  colonial  affairs 
established  in  Hispaniola ;  and,  not  content  with  this,  he  instantly 
befjan  to  fit  odt  a  second  expedition,  which  was  to  proceed  to  Mex- 
ico, depose  or  decapitate  Cortes,  and  seize  the  country  for  the  Span- 
ish sovereign  in  the  name  of  the  governor  of  Cuba.  The  fleet  was 
orger,  with  one  exception,  than  any  yet  fitted  out  for  the  navigation 


■ 


66 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


XZPBDITION    or    NARTA.BZ. 


ol  the  seas  of  the  New  World.  It  consisted  of  nineteen  vesseis, 
carrying  upwards  of  a  thousand  foot-soldiers,  twenty  cannons,  eighty 
horsemen,  a  hundred  and  sixty  musketeers  and  crossbow-men,  be- 
sides a  thousand  Indian  servants — a  force  sufficient,  as  it  seemed,  to 
render  all  resistance  on  the  part  of  Cortes  hopeless.  Velasquez,  at 
first,  intended  to  command  the  expedition  in  person ;  but,  as  he  was 
too  old  and  too  unwieldy  for  such  a  laborious  task,  he  intrusted  it  to 
Don  Pamfilo  de  Narvaez,  described  as  a  man  "about  forty-two  years 
of  age.  of  tall  stature,  and  large  limbs,  a  full  face,  red  beard,  and 
agreeable  presence ;  very  sonorous  and  lofty  in  his  speech,  as  if  the 
sound  came  out  of  a  vault ;  a  good  horseman,  and  said  to  be 
Taliant." 

The  fleet  anchored  off  the  coast  of  Mexico,  at  San  Juan  de  Ulloa, 
on  the  23d  of  April,  1520.  Here  Narvaez  received  information 
which  astonished  him — that  Cortes  was  master  of  the  Mexican  capi- 
tal ;  that  the  Mexican  emperor  was  his  prisoner ;  that  the  country 
and  its  treasures  had  been  surrendered  to  the  Spanish  sovereign; 
vnd  that  at  present  his  rival  was  as  absolute  in  it  as  if  he  were  iti 


i 


DEFEAT   OF  NARVAEZ. 


67 


vessels, 
|,  eighty 

en,  be- 
imed,  t(? 
iuez,  at 

he  was 
ited  it  to 

0  years 
lard,  and 

IS  if  the 
id  to  be 

le  UUoa, 
lormation 
^an  capi- 
country 

1  ve  reign ; 
Iwere  iti 


monarch.  This  information  only  increased  his  anxiety  to  come  to  a 
collision  with  Cortes;  and,  with  singular  imprudence,  he  went 
about  among  the  Indians,  declaring,  in  a  blustering  manner,  that 
Cortes  was  a  rebel  against  his  sovereign,  and  that  he  had  come  to 
chastise  him,  and  to  set  Montezuma  free. 

Narvaez's  first  step  was  to  send  three  messengers,  one  of  them  n 
priest,  to  the  garrison  of  Villa  Rica,  to  summon  them  to  surrender. 
The  conmiandant  of  the  garrison,  appointed  shortly  after  the  death 
of  Juan  de  Escalante,  was  Gonsulvo  de  Sandoval,  a  young  officer,  a 
native  of  the  same  town  as  Curtes,  and  who  had  already  won  the 
esteem  of  his  general  and  of  the  whole  army  by  his  valour  and  ser- 
vices. When  the  messengers  of  Narvaez,  arriving  at  Villa  Rica, 
presented  a  copy  of  Narvaez's  commission,  and  summoned  the  gar- 
rison to  surrender,  Sandoval,  without  any  ceremony,  caused  them  to 
be  seized,  strapped  to  the  backs  of  Indian  porters,  and  instantly  sent 
across  the  country  to  Mexico,  in  charge  of  one  or  two  soldiers,  who 
carried  a  note  to  Cortes,  informing  him  of  what  had  happened. 
Cortes,  after  thoroughly  gaining  them  over  by  kind  words  and  pre- 
sents, sent  them  back  to  sow  the  seeds  of  dissension  in  Narvaez's 
army.  At  the  same  time,  he  entered  into  a  correspondence  with 
Narvaez,  which  led  to  no  definite  result.  As  there  was  great  dan 
ger  that  Narvaez  would  succeed  in  alienating  the  Cempoallans  from 
Cortes,  if  he  were  to  remain  in  his  present  position,  Cortes  resolved 
to  leave  Mexico  with  a  part  of  his  men,  march  to  the  sea-coast,  and, 
if  necessary,  give  battle  to  Narvaez.  This  was  a  perilous  step : 
but,  in  the  circumstances,  it  was  absolutely  necessary. 

Leaving  a  garrison  of  a  hundred  and  forty  men  in  Mexico,  undei 
the  command  of  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  who  appeared  by  far  the  fittest 
person  for  so  responsible  a  post,  Cortes  set  out  with  the  rest  of  hi? 
force,  amounting  to  less  than  two  hundred  soldiers,  only  five  o* 
whom  were  cavalry,  and,  by  rapid  marches  reached  die  Totonac 
territories,  where  he  was  reinforced  by  Sandoval  and  his  small  body 
of  men.  Altogether,  Cortcs's  army  did  not  amount  to  more  than  a 
fifth  part  of  that  of  Narvaez.  They  were  veterans  in  service,  how- 
ever, and,  under  such  a  leader  as  Cortes,  were  prepared  to  attempt 
impossibilities.  Narvaez,  in  the  mean  time,  was  in  close  quarters  at 
Cempoalla,  aware  that  his  rival  was  on  his  march,  but  little  suspect- 
ing that  he  was  so  near.  On  the  night  of  the  2Gth  of  May,  1520, 
Cortes  and  his  brave  little  band,  crossing,  with  difficulty,  a  swollen 
tiver  which  lay  between  them   and  their   countrymen,  advanced 


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68 


TDK   CONQUEST  OP   MEXICO. 


SBFaAT    OF    NARVABZ. 


Stealthily  towards  Narvaoz's  quarters,  surprised  the  sentinels,  and 
shouting  the  watchword,  "Espirito  Santo!"  dashed  in  among  the 
half-awakened,  half-armed  foe.  The  struggle  did  not  last  long;  for 
Sandoval,  with  a  small  body  of  picked  men,  springing  up  the  stairs 
of  the  house  where  Narvaez  was  lodged,  succeeded,  after  a  hand-to- 
hand  fight  with  the  general  and  his  followers,  in  making  him  pri- 
soner, after  he  had  lost  an  eye  and  been  otherwise  severely  wounded. 
On  learning  the  fall  of  their  leader,  the  rest  yielded ;  and  when 
daylight  came,  Cortes,  "seated  in  an  arm-chair,  with  a  mantle  of 
an  orange  colour  thrown  over  his  shoulders,  and  surrounded  by  his 
officers  and  soldiers,"  received  the  salutations  and  the  oaths  of  alle- 
giance of  all  the  followers  of  Narvaez.  In  his  treatment  of  these 
new  friends,  his  usual  policy  was  conspicuous:  he  plied  ihem  with 
flatteries,  and  loaded  them  with  gifts,  till  his  own  veterans  began  to 
be  cnrious.     Thus,  by  a  single  bold  stroke,  which  cost  him  but  • 


MEXICAN   REVOLT. 


69 


Is,  and 
ong  thu 
)ng ;  for 

e  stairs 
tiiind-to- 

im  pri- 
iTounded. 

d  when 
lanlle  of 
d  by  his 

of  alle- 

of  these 
lem  with 

began  to 
liiu  but  • 


ew  men,  Cortes  had  crushed  a  formidable  enemy,  and  increased  hid 
:jwn  force  sixfold.  Fortune  favours  the  brave !  His  arrfiy  now 
amourAed  to  thirteen  hundred  men,  exclusive  of  the  garrison  he  had 
left  in  Mexico;  and  of  these  thirteen  hundred  nearly  a  himdred 
were  cavalry.  With  such  a  force,  he  might  now  prosecute  his 
designs  in  Mexico  with  every  prospect  of  success,  and  bid  defiance 
to  all  the  efforts  of  the  Mexicans  to  regain  their  independence. 

He  was  disagreeably  roused  from  these  self-congratulations  by 
intelliffence  from  Mexico.  Some  difference  had  occurred  between 
Pedro  de  Alvarudo  and  the  Mexicans,  the  latter  of  which  had  risen 
en  masse,  and  were  liesieging  the  Spaniards  in  their  quarters. 
Without  loss  of  time,  he  commenced  his  march  towards  the  capital, 
leaving  a  hundred  men  at  Villa  Rica.  At  TIascala  he  was  joined  by 
two  thousand  of  his  faithful  iiiountain  allies  ;  and  the  whole  army 
then  pushed  on  Air  the  Mexican  valley,  anxious  to  relieve  Alvarado, 
whom  the  Mexicans  were  now  trying  to  reduce  by  blockade.  On 
the  84lh  of  June,  they  reached  the  great  lake,  and  marched  along 
the  causeway  without  opposition,  but  amidst  an  ominous  stillness. 
Alvarado  clasped  his  general  in  his  arms  for  joy  ;  and  now,  for  the 
first  time,  Cortes  learned  the  origin  of  the  revolt.  Alvarado,  sus- 
pecting some  conspiracy  among  the  Aztec  nobles,  had  treacherously 
massacred  a  number  of  them  collected  at  a  religious  festival,  and  the  in- 
habitants had  risen  to  take  vengeance  lor  tne  mjury.  Cortes  sharply 
rebuked  his  ofiicer  fur  his  misconduct;  but  the  evil  was  already 
done,  and  to  punish  Alvai?Hr>  would  have  been  attended  with  no 
good  effect.  Moodily  and  bitterly,  therefore,  Cortes  expended  hia 
vexation  on  the  unhappy  Mexican  monarch,  accusing  him  of  being 
concerned  in  the  insurrection,  and  calling  upon  him  to  check  it,  and 
procure  provisions  for  the  Spaniards.  Montezuma  complied  as  fui 
as  lay  in  his  power:  Cortes  also  used  his  best  endeavours  to  allay 
the  storm  ;  ar'"  for  a  while,  it  ajjpeared  as  if  their  efforts  were  sue 
cessful. 

The  calm  was  only  temporary.  The  day  after  the  arrival  of  Cor- 
tes, a  soldier,  who  had  been  sent  on  an  errand  by  him,  returned 
breathless  and  bloody  to  the  Spanish  quarters.  He  had  been  fallen 
upon  by  a  multitude  of  Mexicans,  who  endeavoured  to  drag  him 
away  in  thjir  canoes  for  sacrifice,  and  he  had  only  escaped  after  a 
desperate  struggle.  The  whole  city,  he  said,  was  in  arms ;  the 
drawbridges  were  broken  down ;  and  they  would  soon  attack  .he 
Spaniards  in  their  stronghold. 


70 


THE   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


The  news  was  too  true.  The  Aztecs  poured  alonjT  the  street? 
like  a  fl(Hid,  approaching  the  square  where  the  S|)nniards  vrere 
lodged,  while  the  terraced  roofs  of  all  the  houses  in  the  vicinity 
were  crowded  with  sh'ngers  and  archers,  ready  to  shower  their  mis- 
siles upon  the  besieged.  And  now  commenced  a  struggle  which 
lasted  seven  days,  and  to  which  there  is  no  parallel  in  history.  Day 
after  day,  the  fighting  was  renewed,  the  Spaniards  either  making  a 
sally  upon  the  besiegers,  or  beating  them  back  when  they  advanced 
to  Sturm  or  set  fire  to  their  quarters.  The  only  relaxation  was  at 
night,  when  the  Mexicans  generally  drew  ofl^.  The  Spaniards  were 
always  victorious ;  but  their  losses  were  considerable  in  every  ac- 
tion, and  the  perseverance  of  the  Mexicans  alarmed  them.  Instead 
of  yielding  to  their  first  defeats,  they  seemed  to  act  on  the  conviction 
that  they  mast  be  defeated  continually  until  the  Spaniards  were  all 
slain.  This  resolution  astonished  Cortes,  who,  till  now,  had  under- 
valued the  courage  of  the  Aztecs.  His  soldiers,  especially  those 
who  had  come  into  the  country  with  Narvaez,  heaped  reproaches 
upon  him;  although,  when  they  saw  his  conduct  in  the  fray — the 
bravery  with  which  he  spurred  his  horse  into  the  thickest  of  the 
enemy,  the  generosity  with  which  he  would  risk  his  own  life  to  res- 
cue a  comrade  from  the  hands  of  a  crowd  of  Aztecs — their  re 
preaches  were  lost  in  admiration. 

Wearied  out  by  his  incessant  efl'brts,  and  perceiving  the  hopeless- 
ness of  continuing  a  contest  against  so  many  myriads  of  enemies — 
for  recruits  were  flocking  in  from  the  neighbouring  country  to  assist 
the  Mexicans  against  the  common  foe — Cortes  resolved  to  try  the 
effect  of  negotiation,  and  to  employ  Montezuma  as  his  intercessor. 
At  his  request,  therefore,  Montezuma,  dressed  in  his  imperial  robes, 
appeared  on  a  terraced  roof,  where  he  was  visible  to  the  multitude 
gathered  in  the  great  square.  A  silence  ensued,  and  Montezuma 
was  parleying  with  four  nobles  who  approached  him,  when  suddenly 
a  shower  of  stones  and  arrows  fell  on  the  spot  where  he  was  stand- 
ing. The  Spanish  soldiers  tried  to  interpose  their  bucklers;  but  it 
was  too  late ;  Montezuma  fell  to  the  ground,  his  head  bleeding  from 
the  effect  of  a  blow  with  a  stonj;.  He  was  immediately  removed, 
and  every  means  used  for  his  recovery ;  nor  was  the  wound  of  itself 
dangerous.  But  his  kingly  spirit  had  received  a  wound  which  no 
words  could  heal ;  he  had  been  reviled  and  struck  by  his  own  sub- 
jects, among  whom  hitherto  he  had  walked  as  a  sacred  being :  he 
refused  to  live  any  longer.     He  tore  the  bandages  from  his  head 


DEATH   OF  MONTEZUMA. 


71 


opeless- 
inies— 
to  assist 
try  the 
rcessor. 
1  robes, 
ultiiude 
tezuina 
uJdenly 
s  stand- 
but  it 
ing  from 
emoved, 
of  itself 
A-hich  no 
wn  sub- 
ing:  he 
Ihis  head 


wmd  rejected  all  nourishment;  and  in  a  short  time  the  Spaniards 
were  informed  that  their  unhappy  prisoner  was  dead.  Cortes  and 
iDWjy  of  the  men  could  not  refrain  from  weeping ;  and  the  body 
«u  surrendered  to  the  Mexicans  with  every  testimony  of  res  pect. 

The  fighting  was  now  recommenced  with  greater  fury,  and  pro 
dijines  of  valour  were  performed  by  the  Spaniards ;  but  all  to  nc 
purpciK.  Another  attempt  was  made  to  induce  the  enemy  to  come 
to  terms.  The  only  answer  was  the  threat  that  they  would  all  be 
■acnbced  to  the  gods,  and  the  appalling  information,  "You  cannot 
escape;  the  bridges  are  broken  down."  At  last,  as  death  was 
befure  their  eyes,  it  was  determined  by  Cortes,  and  all  the  officers 
and  soldiers,  to  quit  the  city  during  the  night,  as  they  hoped  at  that 
time  to  find  the  enemy  less  alert. 

Towards  midnight,  on  the  1st  of  July,  1520,  they  left  their  quar- 
ters secrvlly,  most  of  the  soldiers  loading  themselves  with  the  gold 
whkh  i<fmained  over  and  above  the  royal  share,  and  proceeded  as 
nlrntly  as  possible  lowa/ds  the  western  causeway,  leading  to  Tlaco- 
pan,  by  which,  as  being  the  shortest  of  the  three,  (two  miles  long,) 
thej  thought  that  it  would  be  easiest  to  effect  a  passage.  In  this 
causeway,  there  were  three  drawbridges  separited  by  intervals 
nearly  equal;  and  aware  that  these  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Mexi- 
cans, Cortes  had  provided  a  portable  bridge,  made  of  timber,  the 
carriage  of  which  he  had  intrusted  to  forty  picked  soldiers.  The 
Tan  of  the  arm}'  was  led  by  Sandoval,  with  two  hundred  foot  and  a 
body  of  borse  under  his  command  ;  the  baggage,  large  guns,  and 
(  ris^uers  came  next,  guarded  by  Cortes  and  a  band  of  veterans ;  and 
line  rear  was  brought  up  by  Pedro  de  Alvarado  and  Velasquez  de 
Leon,  ooaimanding  the  strength  of  the  infantry. 

The  night  was  dark  and  rainy.  The  Spaniards  reached  the 
causeway  without  being  interrupted.  The  portable  bridge  was  laid 
acrces  the  first  moat  or  gap,  and  a  great  part  of  the  army  had  gone 
over  it  in  safety,  and  were  already  approaching  the  second  gap, 
when,  through  the  stillness  of  the  night,  there  was  heard  the  boom 
of  the  great  drum  from  the  top  of  the  Mexican  war  temple,  the 
rushing  of  myriads  of  pursuers  along  the  causeway  from  behind, 
and  the  splashing  of  the  oars  of  thousands  of  canoes  full  of  war* 
rion,  which  were  advancing  through  the  lake  on  both  sides  of  the- 
causeway.  Showers  of  arrows  fell  on  the  rear-guard  as  they  were 
^tttsing  orer  the  portable  bridge ;  and  the  Aztecs,  clambering  up 
he  sides  of  the  causeway,  grappled  with  the  soldiers  and  tried  ta 


THE  CONQUEST   OP   MEXICO. 


dfSj^  them  into  the  water.  Throwing  ofT  these  assailant?  Bjr  miiEin 
■trengtii,  AJvarado  and  his  men  steadily  and  expe'litioualy  mitwtid 
on.  Jlmnirbile,  the  vanguard  under  Sandoval  having  rnai:  mifi  niLc 
•ecood  gap,  were  waiting  until  the  portable  bridge  ahtuld  be  iji-imrtt- 
up  to  emUe  tfaem  to  cross  it.  Goaded  with  the  arrows  wiiicit  \«h]M> 
diacbatgcd  opoo  them  in  clouds  from  the  Aztec  cam^es..  chf?  xnriv 
impatieiit  o(  the  delay,  and  began  to  cast  anxious  glances  bitui4M)(nin°d 
uking  the  causeway  for  the  appearance  of  the  bridge.  ^^luiiJWiiilx 
the  appalling  oews  was  passed  along  that  the  bridge  hiui  :iaui&  an 
itss  at  the  first  opening  that  it  could  not  be  pulled  up.  Hha  wtt-^jgili]: 
of  the  men  and  the  heavy  oaggage  crossing  it  had  faatentfti!  \h  Jidii 

the  earth  so  firmly  as  to  detr  i*simiicit- 
tion.  When  this  awful  inr«liiir»«aitif 
reached  the  vanguard,  order  aaili  tn(in>- 
niand  were  at  an  end;  uprnair  luui!  (D«m- 
fusion  ensued ;  and,  seized  vwinli)  aibe 
instinct  of  self-preservation^  eauiL  inuni 
tried  to  shift  for  himself.  Flioj^iiur 
themselves  headlong  into  the  goflv.  liht^' 
struiiuled  with  the  Mexican  wmmniiii* 
in  the  water,  upsetting  their  aaai£it!i>  lin 
their  drowninj;  a^nmiea.  Riuik  jriiur 
rank  followed,  each  trampljajr  agr.m  ibe 
bodies  of  its  predecesaorsr  amil  dluuD- 
dering  among  the  canoes  wiLdii  Hay 
between  theui  and  the  oppi:au»'  side. 
Sandoval  and  a  few  of  the  aatwralrj- 
swam  their  horses  across  ;  some  of  the  foot  also  were  able  ttji  mcucb 
the  sde  (d  the  causeway  and  climb  up  ;  but  of  the  vun^uaimfi  tiibf 
great  i^iiajority  were  drowned,  or  slain,  or  carried  oS  wuundtttfl  im  oibe 
Mexican  canoes.  Meanwhile,  on  came  the  re  ,t  of  the  axmy;  mum, 
guns,  baggage,  all  were  swept  into  the  trench^  whiufti  wm 
choked  up  oy  the  wreck.  Over  this  bridge  of  brokea  wiu^oits. 
;  of  coaco,  and  the  dead  bodies  of  their  companions  smf  <«Qe- 
mies,  Coites  and  his  veterans  were  able  to  reach  the  other  si&e  id 
the  trench  with  less  difficulty.  Here,  joining  Sandoval  and!  nlitf  few 
■uitifUH  of  his  band,  they  dashed  along  the  causeway  tuwaijR&  dihe 
third  and  last  opening,  regardless  of  the  darts  and  arrowit  wiiiidki  ttihe 
alexicans  discharged  among  them  from  their  canoes.  Ktoidiiing 
(the  thiid  trench,  they  crossed  it  in  the  same  manner  aa  the  ku^  liut 


c»KXlOTAL. 


ALVARADO  S  LEAP. 


78 


ivithout  80  much  loss,  and  were  rapidly  approaching  the  mainland, 
\vh«-n,  I  oking  back  through  the  dim  morning  twilight,  they  saw 
Alvarado  and  his  rearguard  pent  up  on  the  causeway  between  the 
second  and  third  bridges,  and  almost  o\'erbome  by  the  Mexicans 
who  surrounded  them.  Cortes,  Sandoral,  and  a  few  of  the  horsf. 
instantly  wheeled  round  to  the  rescue;  and.recrossing  the  third  gap, 
bhouted  their  battle-cry  and  interposed  between  the  Spaniards  and 
their  pursuers.  This  timely  succour  enabled  most  of  the  infantrv 
to  esca|)e;  and  at  length  all  had  crossed  the  opening  except  Cortes, 
Suiiduval,  Alvarado,  and  a  few  others.  Cones,  Sanduval,  and  the 
rest  soon  followed,  carried  through  by  their  horses ;  and  only  one 
man  reniaitied  on  the  Mexican  extremity  of  the  causeway.  It  was 
Pedro  de  Alvarado :  his  horse  was  slain:  and  he  was  slandinir  on 
the  brink,  surrounded  by  enemies  ready  to  drag  him  off,  should  he 
plunge  into  the  trench.  Five  or  six  warriors  were  already  advanc- 
ing from  behind  to  seize  him,  when,  casting  one  glance  at  the  oppo- 
site edge  where  his  countrymen  were  waiting  him,  he  planted  the 
end  of  his  lung  lance  among  the  rubbish  which  choked  up  the  gap, 
and,  rising  in  the  air,  cleared  it  at  a  bound.  1  .e  spot  where  this 
tremendous  feat  was  executed  still  bears  the  name  oi  Alvarado' i 
Liitp. 

The  Mexicans  now  desisted  from  the  pursuit ;  and  the  relics  of 
the  Spanish  army,  advancing  along  the  remainder  of  the  causeway, 
entered  Tiacopan.  Here  they  did  not  remain  long,  being  anxious  to 
place  themselves  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Mexicans,  and  to  arrive  at 
Tlascala,  the  city  of  their  faithful  allies.  They  were  now  able  to 
count  the  losses  which  they  had  sustained  during  the  night.  About 
four  hundred  and  fifty  Spaniards,  and  nearly  four  thous.-nd  Tlas- 
calans,  had  been  drowned,  slain,  or  made  prisoners  during  the  pas- 
sage along  the  causeway  ;  a  Joss  which,  added  to  the  numbers  killed 
within  the  city,  reduced  the  army  to  little  more  than  a  fourth  of 
what  ii  had  been  when  it  entered  Mexico  ten  days  before.  But  the 
most  deplorable  part  of  the  calamity,  in  the  eyes  of  Cortes,  was  the 
loss  of  all  the  artillery,  firearms,  and  ammunition,  not  so  much  as 
a  musket  remaining  among  the  five  hundred  who  survived.  Still; 
under  this  accumulation  of  misfortunes,  his  heart  did  not  sink ;  and 
his  resolution  was  taken  not  to  leave  the  country  till  he  had  re 
gamed  his  former  footing  in  it,  and  annexed  it  as  a  province  to  the 
dominions  of  his  sovereicrn. 

His  first  object  was  to  reach  Tlascala,  where  he  might  recruit  tb« 
to  n. 


T4 


THB   CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


OOBTZS    AT    OTUUUA. 


Strength  of  his  men — almost  all  of  whom  were  slifT  with  wounds— 
■ud  arrange  his  future  proceedings.  After  many  difficulties,  anu 
another  great  battle  on  the  plain  of  Otumba,  in  which  he  defeated 
the  Mexicans,  he  reached  it  on  the  9th  of  July,  1520.  They  were 
kindly  received  by  the  generous  mountaineers,  who  withstood  all 
the  solicitations  of  the  Mexican  sovereign,  Cuitlahua,  Montezuma's 
brother  and  successor,  that  they  would  assist  him  in  driving  the 
Spaniards  out  of  the  country. 

It  was  early  in  autumn,  before  Cortes  left  Tlascala.  His  inten- 
tion wxis  6rst  to  punish  several  states  of  Anahuac  which  had  revolted 
during  his  absence  in  Mexico,  especially  the  districts  of  Tepeaca 
and  Cachula ;  and  then,  after  having  reduced  the  whole  country 
east  of  the  Mexican  valley,  to  return  to  the  capital  itself,  and  take  :'. 
by  storm.  With  a  force  so  reduced  as  his,  without  cannons  or  othei 
6nramis,  this  was  an  apparently  hopelesfi  enterprise ;  but  hopeless 
was  a  word  of  which  Cortes  did  not  know  the  meaning.  Fortu- 
natel}',  while  engaged  in  subduing  the  eastern  districts  of  Anahuac, 
he  received  reinforcements  which  he  never  anticipated.  Velasquez, 
ignorant  of  the  fate  uf  the  expedition  which  he  had  sent  under  Nar- 
raez,  and  supposing  that  Cortes  was  by  this  time  a  prisoner  in  the 
hands  of  his  rival,  had  despatched  a  ship  with  stores,  arms,  and 
ammunition  to  the  colony  of  Villa  Rica.  The  vessel  touched  at  the 
port ;  the  captain  and  his  men  disembarked,  suspecting  nothing,  and 
were  instantly  seized   by  the  officer  of  Cortes ;  nor  did  it  require 


CORTES  RETURNS  TO   MEXICO. 


76 


ounds— 
lies,  anu 
defeated 
ley  were 
Istood  all 
tcziiina's 
ng  the 

inten- 
revoUed 
^epeaca 
country 
d  take  :». 
or  othei 
hopeles» 

Forlu- 
A.nahuac, 
elasquez, 
der  Nar- 
r  in  the 
rms,  and 
ed  at  the 
hing,  and 
t  require 


much  persuasion  to  induce  the  whole  crew  to  enhst  under  the  stand- 
ard of  a  man  of  whom  they  had  heard  so  many  eulogies.  A  second 
vessel  sent  by  Velasquez  soon  afterwards  shared  the  same  fate;  three 
■hips  sent  by  the  governor  of  Jamaica  to  prosecute  discoveries,  and 
plant  colonies  in  Central  America,  chancing  also  to  land  at  Villa 
Rica,  their  crews  joined  the  army  of  Cortes ;  and  lastly,  a  merchant 
vessel,  loaded  with  provisions  and  all  the  necessaries  of  war,  arrived 
Bt  the  Mexican  coast  and  was  purchased  by  Cortes — sailors,  cargo 
and  all. 

Having  completely  subjugated  all  Anahuac  to  the  east  of  the 
Mexican  valley,  Cortes  resolved  to  found  a  second  Spanish  colony  in 
the  interior  of  the  country,  which  should  form  a  half-way  station 
between  Villa  Rica  and  the  city  of  Mexico.  The  site  chosen  was 
Tepeaca,  and  the  name  given  to  the  settlement  was  Segura  de  la 
Frontera.  From  this  spot,  Cortes  wrote  a  second  letter  to  Charles 
v.,  giving  an  account  of  the  expedition  from  the  date  of  the  last  let- 
ter down  to  the  foundation  of  Segura,  and  announcing  his  intention 
of  marching  immediately  to  reconquer  Mexico. 

It  was  five  months  after  the  date  of  their  expulsion  from  Mexico 
before  the  Spaniards  were  in  a  condition  once  more  to  march  against 
it.  Part  of  the  necessary  preparations  consisted,  as  we  have  seen, 
in  the  subjugation  of  those  parts  of  Anahuac  which  iidjoined  the 
Mexican  valley  on  the  east ;  but  another  cause  of  delay  was  the  con- 
struction of  thirteen  brigantines  at  TIascala,  under  the  direction  ol 
Martin  Lopez,  a  skilful  shipwright,  who  had  accompanied  Cortes. 
These  vessels  were  to  be  taken  to  pieces,  and  transported,  together 
with  the  iron-work  and  cordage  belonging  to  the  ships  which  Cortes 
had  destroyed  ofT  Villa  Rica,  across  the  mountains  to  the  great  Mexi- 
can lake.  At  length  all  was  ready;  and,  on  the  28th  of  £)ecember, 
lo'<iO,  the  whole  army  left  TIascala  on  its  march  towards  Mexico. 
It  consisted  of  about  six  hundred  Spaniards,  with  nine  cannons  and 
forty  horses,  accompanied  by  an  immense  multitude  of  native  war- 
riors, Tlascalans,  Tepeacans,  and  Cholulans,  amounting  probably  to 
sixteen  thousand  men,  besides  the  tamanes,  who  were  employed  in 
transporting  the  brigantines.  Garrisons  had,  of  course,  been  left  at 
Villa  Rica  and  Segura. 

No  opposition  was  offered  to  the  invaders  on  their  march,  the 
Mexicans  fleeing  at  their  approach ;  and  on  the  1st  of  January. 
1521,  they  took  possession  of  the  city  of  Tezcuco.  Cuitlahua,  Mon- 
tezuma's successor  on  the  throne,  was  now  dead,  and  hia  place  wa£ 


T6 


THL  CONQUEST  OF   MEXICO. 


OLIDl 


orcapied  by  his  nephew,  Guatemozin,  yet  a  young  man,  but  the 
nest  heroic  and  patriotic  of  all  the  .Mexicans.  The  policy  of  Cortes 
was  6rst  to  subdue  all  the  slates  and  cities  on  the  margin  of  the  five 
hkes,  so  as  to  leave  Mexico  without  protection  or  assistance,  and 
then  to  direct  his  whole  force  to  the  reduction  of  the  capital.  F«i 
Ibar  months,  therefore,  Cortes,  Sandoral,  Alvarado,  Olid,  and  his 
other  oflkers  were  employed,  sometimes  separately,  sometimes  in 
concert,  in  reconnoitering  expeditions  into  various  parts  of  the  Mexi- 
can Talley — from  Chalco,  on  the  banks  cf  the  southernmost,  to  Xal- 
tocan,  an  island  in  the  northernmost  lake.  Meantime  three  vessels 
■rrived  at  Vera  Cruz  with  a  reinforcement  of  two  hundred  men, 
eighty  horses,  and  a  supply  of  ammunition,  all  of  which  reached 
the  camp  in  safety,  as  the  communication  to  the  coast  was  open. 
Passing  over  the  account  of  a  conspiracy  among  his  men, 
which  the  prudence  and  presence  of  mind  of  Cortes  enabled 
him  to  quash,  and  of  the  execution  of  the  TIascalan  chief, 
Xicotencatl,  for  deserting  the  Spaniards,  we  hasten  to  the  con- 
clndintr  scene. 

On  the  10th  of  May,  1521,  the  siege  commenced.  Alvarado, 
with  a  hundred  and  fifty  Spanish  infantr}%  thirty  cavalry,  and  eight 
thousand  TIascalans,  trok  up  his  station  at  TIacopan,  so  as  to  com* 
mand   the  western  causeway ;   Christoval  de  Olid,  with  the  same 


•  ■^ 


•rnE  ASSAULT. 


77 


number  of  cavalry  and  Indians,  and  a  hundred  and  seventy-hvfl 
infantry,  commanded  one  of  the  branches  of  the  southern  causeway 
at  Cojohuacan  ;  and  Sandoval,  with  a  force  nearly  equal,  the  othet 
branch  of  the  same  causeway  at  Iztapalapan.  Cortes  himself  took 
the  command  of  the  flotilL.  of  brigantines.  For  several  days,  the 
three  captains  conducted  operations  more  or  less  successfully  at  their 
respective  stations,  one  of  Alvarado's  services  having  consisted  in 
destroying  the  pipes  which  supplied  the  Mexicans  with  fresh  water, 
80  that,  during  the  rest  of  the  siege,  they  had  no  othef  way  of  i)ro- 
curing  a  supply  than  by  means  of  canoes.  The  brigantines,  vvhen 
thev  were  launched,  did  immense  service  in  overturning  and  dis- 
persing the  Mexican  canoes,  and  also  in  protecting  the  flanks  of  the 
causeways  on  which  the  othi-r  detachments  were  pursuing  their  ope- 
rations. At  length,  after  much  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Mexi- 
cans, the  two  causeways,  the  western  and  the  southern,  were  com- 
pletely occupied  by  the  Spaniards ;  and  Sandoval  having,  by 
Cnrtes's  orders,  made  a  circuit  of  the  lake,  and  seized  the  remaining 
causeway  of  Vepejacac,  the  city  was  in  a  state  of  blockade.  But 
so  impatient  were  the  S,)aniards  of  delay,  that  Cortes  res<ilved  on  a 
general  assau't  on  the  city  by  all  the  three  cansewnys  nt  once. 
Cortes  was  to  advance  into  the  city  from  Xoloc,  Alvarado  from  his 
camp  f"  'he  western  causeway,  and  Sandoval  from  his  camp  on 
the  northern;  and  the  three  detachments,  uniting  in  the  great 
square  in  the  centre  of  the  city,  were  to  put  the  inhabitants  to 
the  sword.  The  plan  had  nearly  succeeded.  The  vanguard  of 
Cortes's  party  had  chased  the  retreating  Mexicans  into  the  city,  and 
were  pushing  their  way  to  the  great  square,  when  the  horn  of  Gua- 
temozin  was  heard  to  sound,  and  the  Aztecs,  rallying,  commenced  a 
furious  onset.  The  neglect  of  Cortes  to  fill  up  a  trench  in  one  of 
the  causeways,  impeded  the  retreat  of  the  Spaniards  in  such  a  way 
as  to  cause  a  dreadful  confusion,  and  it  was  only  by  efTorts  almost 
superhuman  that  they  were  able  to  regain  their  quarters.  Their 
loss  amounted  to  upwards  of  a  hundred  men,  of  whom  about  sixty 
had  been  taken  alive. 

This  triumph  elated  the  Mexicans  as  much  as  it  depressed  tli»« 
Spaniards  and  their  allies.  It  was  prophesied  by  the  Mexican 
priests  that  in  eight  days  all  the  Spaniards  should  be  slain  ;  the 
gods,  they  said,  had  decreed  it.  This  prediction,  reported  in  the 
quarters  of  the  besiegers,  produced  an  extraordinary  effect  on  the 
allies.     They  regarded  the  Spaniards  as  doomed  men,  refused  tc 


S3 


78 


THE  CONQUEST   OF   MEXICO. 


fipht  with  them,  nnd  withdrew  to  a  little  Histnnce  from  the  InWe.  In 
this  (lileiiima,  Cortca  showed  his  wonderful  present e  of  mind,  by 
orderinir  n  total  cessation  of  hostilities  for  the  period  specified  by  the 
Mexican  gods.  When  the  eijrht  days  were  puf^sed,  the  allies, 
ashamed  of  their  weakness.  rcUirned  to  the  Spanish  f|uarters,  and 
the  siege  recommenced.  These  eight  days,  however,  had  not  been 
without  their  horrors.  From  their  quarters,  the  Spaniards  could 
perceive  their  fellow-countrymen  who  had  been  taken  prisoners  by 
the  Mexicans,  dragged  to  the  top  of  the  great  war  temple,  compeiied 
to  dance  round  the  sanctuary  of  the  gods,  then  laid  on  the  stone  of 
sacrifice,  their  hearts  torn  out,  and  their  bleeding  bodies  flung  down 
n.to  the  square  beneath. 

tamine  now  assisted  the  arms  of  the  Spaniards;  still,  with  thai 
bravery  of  endurance  for  which  their  race  is  remarkable,  the  Mexi- 
cans continued  the  defence  "f  the  city,  ami  it  was  not  till  it  had  be,en 
eaten  into,  as  it  were,  on  all  sides  by  the  Spat^iards,  that  they  c>,ased 
to  fight.  On  the  14th  of  Auufust,  a  murderous  assault  was  com- 
menced by  the  besiegers.  It  lasted  two  days;  and  on  the  evening 
of  the  second,  some  canoes  were  seen  to  leave  the  city  and  endea- 
voured to  reach  the  mainland.  They  were  chased  and  captured ; 
and  on  board  of  one  of  them  was  found  Guatemozin,  with  his  family 
and  his  principal  nobles.  Guatemozin's  capture  was  the  signal  of 
complete  defeat;  and  on  the  Iflth  of  August,  1521,  the  city  was  sur- 
rendered to  the  Spaniards.  The  population  was  reduced  to  about 
forty  thousand,  and  in  a  few  days  ail  these  had  disappeared,  no  one 
knew  whither.  The  city  was  in  ruins,  like  some  huge  churchyard 
with  the  corpses  disinterred  and  the  tombstones  scattered  about. 

HUS  was  the  ancient  and  beautiful  city  of 
Mexico  destroyed,  and  its  inhabitants  slain  or 
dispersed.  A  monstrous  act  of  unjustifiable 
aggression  had  been  completed.  Following 
up  this  great  blow,  Cortes  pursued  the  con- 
quest of  the  country  generally ;  and  in  this, 
as  well  as  in  organizing  it  into  a  colony  of 
— •'  Spain,  he  did  not  experience  any  serious 
difficulty.  On  proceeding  to  Spain,  he  was  received  with  honour 
by  Charles  V.  He  returned  to  Mexico  in  1530;  and  again  revisit- 
ing Spain  in  1540,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  the  redress  of  real 
or  alleged  grievances,  he  died  in  1647,  in  the  sixty-third  year  of 
his  age.     It  is  very  much  to  be  lamented,  that,  in  the  execution  of  his 


n 


RELIQUKS   or    ANCIENT    MEXICO.  7^ 

purposes  of  colonization,  the  monuments  of  Mexic«.i  civilization 
were  everywhere  destroyed,  leaving  nothing  to  future  generations 
but  the  broken  relics  of  palaces,  temples,  and  other  objects  of  art, 
scattered  aniidMt  the  wilderness.  Some  of  these  ruined  menu- 
ntents,  recently  explored  by  Siejiliens  and  other  traveller.'',  show 
that  the  ancient  .Mexicans  had  made  remarkable  advances  in  social 
/ite  as  well  as  in  the  arts,  more  particularly  architecture ;  and  what 
renderj  all  such  relics  the  more  interesting  to  the  archaH)logist  is,  the 
growing  conviction,  that  the  old  Mexican  civilization  was  of  an 
original  type — a  thing  noway  derived  from,  or  connected  with,  the 
civilizatjun  uf  Egypt,  or  any  ether  nation  in  the  eastern  hemisphere. 


.•■  /■-./:/■/■/■■  /""/ 


^i£SJ  .■/\A/-:./iz\:n^ 


INTZRIOB    OT     A     MBSIOAM     HOTI8B. 


CHAPTER  V. 

RECENT    HISTORY   OF   MEXICO. 

FTER  two  years  of  continuous  and  laborioiu 
warfare,  Cortes   succeeded   in   overturning 
the  empire  of  the  Aztecs,  and  the  smaller 
states  were  subjected  to  the  Spaniards  al- 
most  without   a   struggle.       The    position 
which  the  Spaniards  held  with  respect  to 
the  natives  of  the  country  very  much  re- 
sembling that  of  the  nations  of  German  ori- 
gin who  overturned  the  Roman  empire  and 
st;Uled  in  the  countries  of  Western  Europe.     Like  them,  the  S])n- 
iiiards  were  obliged  to  establish  a  kind  of  feudal  system,  to  protect 
ao 


l!i-. 


COLONIZATION  OF  MEXICO. 


SI 


Ibemselves  against  the  much  more  numerous  native  population.  In 
Europe,  the  victors  and  the  vanquished  in  the  course  of  time  united 
so  as  to  form  one  nation,  but  such  a  change  has  not  taken  place  in 
Mexico,  and  probably  never  will  take  place.  The  Spaniards  and 
natives  belong  to  two  different  races  of  men,  differing  in  colour  and 
in  many  other  respects.  The  Spanish  conquerors  also  had  attained 
a  higher  degree  of  civilization,  while  in  Europe  the  conquerors 
learned  from  the  conquered  the  most  useful  arts  of  civilized  life. 
Even  now,  more  than  three  centuries  since  the  conquest,  the  Spa- 
niards and  natives  constitute  two  perfectly  distinct  classes. 

As  the  number  of  the  conquistadores,  or  companions  of  Cortes, 
was  very  small  in  comparison  with  the  native  population,  they  were 
anxious  to  bring  over  more  of  their  countrymen.  A  considerable 
number  of  Spaniards  accordingly  anr.ually  emigrated  to  Mexico,  and 
there  acquired  great  wealth,  as  officers  of  government,  merchants, 
and  adventurers  in  mining.  As  many  of  these  Spaniards  were  pos- 
sessed of  extensive  property  in  land  within  Mexico,  their  descend- 
ants, the  Creoles,  settled,  of  course,  'n  that  country,  and  their  num- 
bers were  continually  increasing.  '1  he  Spanish  government,  how- 
ever, seems  not  to  have  formed  a  correct  idea  of  their  condition 
among  the  natives,  and  to  have  thought  that  the  government  of  that 
country  could  only  be  entrusted  to  persons  who  considered  Spain  as 
their  native  country  ;  it,  therefore,  excluded  all  the  Creoles,  or  de- 
scendants of  Spaniards  born  in  Mexico,  from  all  offices  of  govern- 
ment, and  even  from  commissions  in  the  army.  Such  exclusion 
excited  in  them  a  considerable  degree  of  ill-will  against  Spain  and 
the  Spaniards,  which  would  probably  have  manifested  itself  in  resist- 
ance and  rebellion,  if  they  had  not  feared  that  the  native  population 
would  take  advantage  of  such  a  circumstance  to  effect  their  own 
destruction.  They  had  still  to  fear  another  enemy  which  had  grown 
up  imperceptibly  among  them.  Few  of  the  Spaniards  had  brough' 
wives  with  them.  From  their  intercourse  with  the  native  women 
sprung  up  a  race  called  metis,  or  mestizos,  wh  ch  increased  still 
faster  than  that  of  the  Creoles,  who,  however,  being  in  possession 
of  great  wealth,  were  well  aware  that  as  long  as  a  regular  govern- 
ment subsisted  they  had  nothing  to  fear  either  from  the  natives  or 
the  mestizos.  This  will  account  for  the  fact,  otherwise  difficult  of 
explanation,  that  no  signs  of  active  dissatisfaction  manifested  them- 
selves in  Mexico  during  the  first  thirty  years  after  the  United  States 
of  North  America  had   obtained    their  Independence,  though  the 


m 


82 


RECENT   HISTORY   OF   MEXICO. 


JOSXFR     BON&PARTI. 


Mexicans  were  well  acquainted  with  the  advantages  which  thcu 
neighbours  had  obtained. 

It  is  even  possible  that  the  political  condition  of  Mexico  would 
not  have  undergone  any  change  for  a  long  time,  but  for  the  events 
in  Europe  and  in  Spain,  in  1808.  By  the  intrigues  of  Bonaparte,  the 
royal  family  were  compelled  to  abdicate  the  throne  of  Spain,  at  A  he 
conferred  the  whole  Spanish  monarchy  on  his  brother  Josepi",  then 
King  of  Naples.  The  Spaniards  in  Mexico  and  the  Creoles  were 
unanimous  in  declaring  their  resistance  to  the  government  established 
by  the  French.  The  viceroy  could  no  longer  receive  orders  from 
Spain,  and  it  was  necessary  to  organize  a  government  which  should 
act  independently  under  a  certain  sanction,  and  with  authority. 
But,  as  to  this  point,  they  disagreed.  The  Creoles  wished  to  esta- 
blish a  national  representation  ;  the  Spaniards  opposed  the  measure 
ind  prevented  the  establishment  of  a  system  of  national  represent? 
lion  for  Mexico 


titll 

Mo 
beil 
Maf 


'''m: 


HIDALGO   AND  MORELOS. 


89 


vhlch  tlicii 

(xico  would 

the  events 

naparte,  the 

lain,  a!  '\  he 
[osepi-.then 

re-'ies  wef^ 
established 
orders  from 
■hich  should 
authority, 
ihed  to  esta- 
he  measure 
|i  represent? 


t 


with  the  Spanish  government. 


"HE  Creoles  submitted  ;  but  the  public 
tnind  had  been  agitated  by  the  dis- 
cussions which  had  taken  place, 
and  soon  afterwards,  in  1810,  the 
natives  and  the  mestizos  rose  against 
the  government.  They  were  headed 
by  Don  Miguel  Hidalgo  y  CastilL', 
the  cura,  or  parish  priest  of  Dolo- 
res, a  SMiall  town  in  the  state  of 
Guanaxuato.  The  Creoles  sided 
Hidalgo,  who  had  soon  an  immense 
loice  with  him,  took  Guanaxuato  by  storm,  and  occupied  Valladolid, 
whence  he  advanced  over  the  table-land  of  Tolucca  to  that  of  Tenu- 
chiitian.  The  Spanish  governor  sent  a  small  corps  against  him, 
which  was  defeated  by  Hidalgo  on  the  30lh  of  October  at  Las  Gra- 
ces, a  pass  in  the  chain  which  separates  the  table-lands  of  Teno- 
chtitlan  and  Toluca.  But,  notwithstanding  this  victory,  Hida.go 
retreated,  and  eight  days  afterwards  was,  in  his  turn,  defeated  by 
Calleja,  at  Aculo.  Hidalgo  retired  to  Valladolid  and  Guadalaxara ; 
and  in  the  neighbuurhood  of  the  last-mentioned  town,  he  was  agair. 
defeated,  and  soon  afterwards  taken  prisoner  and  shot. 

In  the  mean  time,  the  whole  country  had  risen  in  insurrection,  and 
many  leaders  began  to  act  separately.  The  most  remarkable  among 
ihem  was  Don  Jose  iVIaria  Morelos,  cura  of  Nucupetaro,  who,  with 
^rreat  activity,  talents,  and  success,  maintained  the  southern  pro- 
vinces in  rebellion  against  the  governor,  and  formed  a  junta,  or  cen- 
tral government,  which,  in  September,  1811,  assembled  in  the  town  of 
Zatacuaro,  in  the  state  of  Michoacan.  But  that  town  was  soon  after- 
wards taken  by  Calleja,  and  the  junta  were  dispersed.  Calleja, 
however,  was  soon  obliged  to  march  against  Morelos,  who  had  pene- 
trated into  the  table-land  of  Tenochtitlan  from  the  south.  He  was 
attacked  by  Calleja,  in  the  town  of  Cuantia  y  Amilpas,  and,  after 
defending  himself  for  nearly  three  months  with  great  skill  and  gal- 
lantry, he  abandoned  that  place  and  took  Oaxaca. 

The  junta  was  now  increased  by  new  members,  and  under  the 
title  of  the  National  Assembly,  it  declared  the  Independence  of 
Mexico,  on  the  13lh  of  November,  1813.  But,  after  that  event, 
Morelos  had  less  success  in  his  daring  enterprises ;  and,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1815,  he  was  taken  prisoner,  conducted  to  Mexico,  and  shot. 
Many  of  his  companions  in  arms  maintained  the  conflict  for  sorr.e 


M 


RECENT   HISTORY   OF   MEXICO. 


time,  but  they  did  not  act  in  concert  with  one  another ;  especially 
after  one  of  them,  Teran,  had  dissolved  the  Congress,  which  had 
been  transferred  from  Oaxaca  to  Tehuacan  in  the  state  of  Puebla. 
The  viceroy,  Venegas,  supported  by  the  gallantry  and  skill  of  Cal- 
leja,  destroyed  successively  the  armies  of  these  chiefs,  so  that  when 
Don  Xavier  Mioa,  the  famous  Spanish  guerilla  chief,  landed  in 
Mexico,  in  1817,  the  fortune  of  the  insurgents  was  at  so  low  an  ebb 
that  he  was  unable  to  restore  their  cause,  and  he  perished  in  the 
attempt.  The  country  gradually  became  more  tranquil,  and  in  1820 
it  was  restored  nearly  to  the  same  degree  of  order  which  it  had 
enjoyed  before  1808,  to  which  fortunate  results  the  mildness  of  the 
new  viceroy  Apodaca  materially  contributed. 

The  events  which  occurred  in  Spain  in  the  beginning  of  1820, 
suddenly  changed  the  aspect  of  affairs,  and  deprived  Spain  of  the 
most  valuable  of  her  possessions  in  America,  which  it  had  regained 
at  the  cost  of  much  blood  and  treasure.  The  Spaniards  and  the  Cre- 
oles, who  had  formerly  made  common  cause,  were  now  divided  into 
two  parties,  royalists  and  constitutionalists.  Apodaca,  who  inclined 
to  the  former  party,  wished  to  overthrow  the  constituti^-n  of  Mexico, 
and  chose  for  his  instrument  Don  Augustin  de  Iturbide,  a  young 
man,  born  in  the  province  of  Valludolid,  of  respectable  but  not 
wealthy  parents.  He  had  distinguished  himself  in  the  battle  of  Las 
duces,  and  always  shown  great  attachment  to  the  Spanish  part 


ITDRBIDE    DECLARED    EMPEROR. 


86 


Iturbide  had  about  eight  hundred  men  under  his  command,  when, 
on  the  34th  of  February,  1821,  at  the  little  town  of  Iguala,  on  the 
road  from  Mexico  to  Acapuico,  he  issued  a  pr.clamation,  which, 
since  that  time,  has  been  called  the  Plan  of  Iguala.  Its  object  was 
10  conciliate  all  parties.  It  was  to  establish  the  independence  of 
Mexico,  and  still  to  preserve  its  union  with  Spain.  To  effect  this, 
the  crown  of  Mexico  was  to  be  offered  to  the  King  of  Spain,  and  in 
case  of  his  refusal,  to  one  of  his  brothers,  Don  Carlos  or  Don  Fran- 
cesco de  Paulo,  provided  they  would  consent  to  reside  in  the 
country. 

jllOUGH  Iturbide  had  certainly  exceeded 
th,'  powers  which  he  had  received 
from  Apodaca,  the  viceroy,  seeing 
that  this  proposal  met  the  wishes 
W±  of  most  persons,  took  no  stop  to 
crush  Iturbide  ;  and  the  Spaniards 
S^  of  the  capital,  alarmed  at  this  de- 
lay, deposed  him,  and  placed  Don 
Francisco  Novella  at  the  head  of  affairs.  But  the  disorders  which 
alwaj's  attend  such  violent  changes,  gave  Iturbide  Jme  to  unite  hia 
troops  with  those  of  Guerrero,  the  only  insurgent  chief  still  existing 
in  the  country,  and  to  bring  over  to  his  party  all  the  western  and 
northern  provinces.  Before  the  month  of  July,  the  whole  country 
recognised  his  authority,  with  the  exception  of  the  capital,  in  which 
Novella  had  shut  himself  up  with  all  the  European  troops.  At  this 
moment  he  received  intelligence  of  the  arrival  at  Vera  Cruz  of  the 
new  constitutional  viceroy  Don  Juan  O'Donoju.  Iturbide  hastened 
to  the  ccast,  obtained  an  interview  with  U  Donoju,  and  persuaded 
him  to  accept  the  Plan  of  Iguala  as  an  armistice  and  final  settlement. 
if  it  should  be  approved  in  Spain.  This  is  called  the  treaty  of  Cor 
Oova,  from  the  place  where  it  was  made. 

Iturbide  thus  got  possession  of  the  capital,  where  a  junta  and  a 
regency  were  established,  but  in  such  a  form  that  all  power  remained 
in  the  hands  of  Iturbide.  By  a  decree  of  the  cortes,  dated  the  13th 
February,  1822,  the  treaty  of  Cordova  was  declared  to  be  illegal, 
DoiU  and  void  ;  and  Iturbide,  who  had  the  power  in  his  hands,  and 
t  great  number  of  adherents,  found  no  difficulty  in  ascending  the 
throne.  The  army  declared  him  Emperor  of  Mexico,  on  tnc  18th 
•f  May,4S22,  and  he  took  the  title  of  Augustin  I.  He  was  acknow- 
ledged by  the  Mexican  Congress,  which  had  been  opened  on  the 


' 

f< 

t 

tt 

■ 

BECENT    IIISTOUY    OF    MEXICO. 


j4| 


ITOBBIDB. 


S4th  of  February ;  but  a  struggle  for  power  aooa  ams«'  Eterwem 
liailwde  and  the  congress,  which  the  emperor  terminateii  By  ifiiHBoJv- 
ung  ihe  assembly,  in  the  same  manner  as  Cromwell  diiafflsi'iwttfl  xbe 
LMig  Pariiament,  on  the  30lh  October,  I»22.  On  the  ioinit  iluj  l>e 
fxjmued  a  new  legislative  assembly,  cuinpdsed  of  person*  iTawimxaLks 
iw  his  wishes  and  intentions.  But  he  had  not  skill  enou'^ii  tts-  mocan- 
cile  his  companions  in  anns  to  these  changes.  Severail  :f«Deral« 
decSaied  against  his  proceedings,  and  prepared  for  resiscinm^-  ILtur- 
Iriiiiie.  terrified  at  the  storm  which  was  ready  to  burst  om  ajili  sidtx, 
caljed  together  the  old  congress,  abdicated  in  March^  l325li.;mifl  whjdi 
to  Europe,  whence,  however,  he  returned  to  Mexico  nk  E'^sSft.  He 
bad  been  outlawed  by  the  congress,  and  upon  laading  aoi  alLe  ica&sl 
be  «ras  shot  at  Padilla,  in  Tamaulipas. 

Mexico  was  thus  left  without  a  regular  form  of  gnwsinmnrait,  or 
eren  a  constitution,  affairs  being  managed  proviaionaJiy  liy  E3ra"yo, 
Tictona,and  Negrete.  But  on  the  24lh  of  October..  I!3if  t  a  iccuiBti- 
tndcMi  aniting  the  sixteen  original  states  into  a  Federail  Kt^irUic, 
prcdaimed  by  a  national  convention  after  a  sesaium  aS  SimaHeeD 
The  first  congress  assembled  at  Mexico,  (Januaaiy  l«t92&^ 
istfal'ed  General  Victoria  as  President  of  the  ootiuiic 


PARTISAN    WARFARE.  87 

With  the  exception  of  some  discontents  occasioned  by  pronundtt- 
maxlos  of  RoLato,  Padre,  Arenas,  and  olbe'S,  Victoria's  administra- 
tion was  encouraging  to  the  friends  of  repuMicanism,  until  his  terra 
of  office  had  nearly  expired.  All  parties  had  then  merged  into  two, 
the  Escoceses  and  Yorkinos,  or  Scotch  and  York  parties — the  tirsl 
slronoly  opposed  to  republicanism,  the  second  in  favour  of  it.  In 
Dtceniber,  1827,  General  Brcvo  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
Scotch  party,  and  marched  against  the  president ;  but  he  was  de- 
feated by  the  latter  and  banished.  In  the  succeeding  election,  how- 
ever, the  Escocfses  elected  their  presidential  candidate  Gomea 
Pedrazti,  by  a  msiji'rity  of  two  votes.  The  exasperated  republicans 
were  not  disposed  to  submit  to  this  defeat  with  a  good  grace ;  and 
even  before  Pedraza  was  in:>tailt'd,  Santa  Anna  marched  against  bin. 
with  a  small  force.  The  Indians  fl  Krked  to  the  slandord  of  the  in- 
surgents, and,  on  the  4th  of  December,  IS28,  a  pronunciamento 
was  issued  in  favour  uf  Guerrero,  the  president's  political  opponent. 
The  city  of  Mexico  was  rifled,  and  Pedraza  compelled  to  fly  to 
llie  United  States.  Immediately  after,  congress  declared  in  favour 
of  Guerrero  for  jiresidt-nt  and  Bustamente  for  vice-president.  The 
latter  act  was  most  unfortunate.  The  new  administration  had 
scarcely  gone  into  o})eration  when  the  vice-president  raised  an  army, 
induced  Santa  Anna  to  join  him,  overthrew  Guerrero,  and  seized  the 
government.  Not  long  after,  (September  II,  1829,)  Santa  Anna 
broke  the  remaining  Spanish  influence  in  Mexico,  by  the  victory  of 
Barradas. 

Guerrero  was  executed  by  order  of  the  government,  in  1831  ;  and 
in  the  foll(jwing  year,  Santa  Anna  took  up  arms  against  Bustamente. 
After  various  successes,  he  induced  the  president  to  permit  the  recall 
of  Pedraza,  who  was  immediately  elevated  to  his  former  dignity, 
and  served  out  his  term  of  ofllce.  At  its  expiration.  May  15,  1833, 
Santa  Anna  was  elected  to  succeed  him. 

Santa  Anna's  energy  of  character  and  skill  as  a  general  were 
known,  and  dreaded  throughout  Mexico;  but  he  was  subjected  to 
the  same  dangers  from  insurrections,  declarations,  and  other  symp- 
toms of  discontent,  as  his  predecessors  had  been.  The  most  formi- 
dable to  the  constitution  was  the  "Plan  of  Tuluco,"  substituting  a 
central  for  a  federal  republic,  abolishing  '.he  individuality  of  the 
States,  and  constituting  the  chief  mag>trate  a  military  chieftain.  It 
gave  rise  to  the  Texan  revolution,  during  which  the  president 
Diarched  into  the  disufl!ected  department;  and, after  alternate  success 


RKCBNT  HISTORY  OF  MBXICO. 


BUST  AUK  NTS. 


and  'isastA-,  was  entirely  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  at  San  Jacinto. 
On  returning  from  the  United  States,  he  found  his  influence  de- 
stroyed, and  retired  to  his  farm  at  Manga  de  Clavo.  During  hia 
absence  and  retirement,  afiairs  were  conducted  by  Barragan,  Corn, 
■nd  Bustamente. 

The  insurrection  of  Alexia,  in  1838,  afforded  the  first  opportunity  for 
Santa  Anna  to  reappear  in  public  life.  The  insurgents  were  de- 
feated, and  their  leader  put  to  death.  The  blockade  of  Vera  Cruz 
by  the  French,  during  the  ensuing  winter,  was  another  step  towards 
regaining  popularity.  He  there  received  a  severe  wound  in  the  leg, 
which  rendered  amputation  necessary ;  but  this  mischance  he  knew 
well  how  to  appropriate  to  his  own  benefit. 

In  July,  1840,  Urrea  attempted  to  overthrow  the  government,  but 
was  defeated ;  but  one  year  after,  Valentia,  Lombidini,  Akman,  Pa- 
rades, and  Santa  Anna,  pronounced  against  Bustamente.  This  revo- 
lution was  one'  of  the  most  fearful  of  all  that  have  distracted  Mexico 
since  the  days  of  the  viceroys.  The  armit?^  'ouirht  more  than  a 
month  in  the  streets  of  the  capital,  after  which  it  was  subjected  tu 


CIVIL  WAR. 


A.  L  A  U  ik  S. 


bombardment.  The  president  was  finally  overthrown,  and  Santa 
Anna  inaugurated  military  dictator,  (January  1,  1841.) 

The  dictator  held  his  power  with  great  firmness  until  1843,  when 
ne  ordered  Paredes  to  be  arrested  at  Tula,  in  consequence  of  his 
having  joined  Valencia  in  a  proposed  insurrection.  This  measure 
incensed  the  friends  of  Paredes,  and  they  collected  in  small  parties 
preparatory  to  revolting.  The  dictator  then  changed  his  policy,  and 
invited  the  general  to  accept  the  government  of  Sonora  and  Sinaloa. 

This,  however,  was  ineffectual ;  and,  leaving  Canalizo  at  the  capi- 
tal, Santa  Anna  marched  against  the  insurgents.  A  civil  war  was 
the  consequence.  This  was  ended  by  the  indiscreet  zeal  of  Cana- 
L'zo,  who,  on  the  2d  of  December,  1844,  closed  the  sitting  of  con- 
gress, and  declared  Santa  Anna  supreme  dictator.  Incensed  at 
this  act,  the  people  and  arn)y  ruse,  en  masse,  imprisoned  Canalizo, 
and  caused  Herrera  to  be  proclaimed  president,  by  congress.  Santa 
Anna  was  left  almost  entirety  alone,  and,  after  the  most  violent 
efforts  at  the  head  of  a  small  torce,  he  was  taken  prisoner.     Aftei 

12  Hii 


M 


RECENT   HISTORY   OF  MEXICO. 


.ong  drIiLenition,  congress  condemned  him  to  perpetual  exile.  In 
June,  1645,  he  embarked  for  Havana,  in  company  with  his  wife, 
Dtrphew,  and  a  few  friends. 

Congress  non-  proclaimed  a  general  amnesty,  and  passed  a  vote 
recognising  the  independence  of  Texas,  on  condition  of  its  not  be- 
cctning  a  part  of  the  United  States.  This  state  of  quiet  was  of  short 
duration.  The  separation  of  Teias  from  the  jiarent  government 
was,  of  all  measures,  the  most  unpopular  in  Mexico;  and  soon  Pa- 
redes,  aided  by  Arist.i,  was  in  arms  against  Herrera.  The  latter 
was  de|>rsed,  Paredes  assumed  the  reins  of  government,  and  the 
United  States  minister  was  ordered  from  the  country.  In  the  ensu- 
.ig  war,  Paredes  marched  with  the  army  to  the  north,  leaving  the 
u.anagenient  of  aflairs  in  the  hands  of  General  Bravo.  His  efforts 
were  attended  wito  uninterrupted  misfortune,  and  the  nation  again 
turned  its  gaze  towards  Santa  Anna,  as  the  only  one  capable  to 
retrieve  its  disgraces.  Vera  Cruz  and  other  cities  declared  for  him, 
and  General  Sa'as  assuming  provisitnal  authority,  imprisoned  Pare- 
des, and  in\-ited  Santa  Anna  to  return.  He  arrived  at  Vera  Cruz, 
August,  1S46,  and  was  immediately  appointed  president  and  dicta- 
li-r.  His  subsequent  public  career,  together  with  that  of  his  country, 
is  identified  with  the  recent  war  wa^ed  against  the  United  Stales,  of 
which  a  history  will  be  given  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  voluuie 


PBDRO    ALV^RADO 


CHAPTER  VI. 


CENTRAL   AMERICA. 


EIE  term  Central  America  is  usually 
applied  to  the  region  formerly  known 
us  Old  Guatiniala.  In  a  geographical 
sense,  however,  it  may  be  applied  still 
more  extensively,  including  the  pro- 
vinces of  Guatimala.  Yucatan,  and 
the  Balize 

Guatimala  is  an  extensive  region, 
stretching  between  the  Pacific  Ocean 
and  Carribean  Sea,  from  the  southern 
boundary  of  Mexico,  to  the  Isthmus 
of  Darien.  In  its  climate,  soil,  productions,  and  geographical  fea- 
tures, it  much  resembles  the  West  Indies,  except  that  the  Andes 
render  it  one  of  the  most  mountainous  of  American  countries.  The 
Wf-stern  shore  is  subject  to  the  most  violent  earthquakes ;  the  inte 
rior  is  but  little  known.     Politically,  it  is  divided  into  the  states  ol 

Ouatimala,  Salvador,  Honduras,  Nicaragua,  and  Costa  Rica. 

n 


■^ 


M  CENTRAL    AMERICA. 

Giintimnia  was  discovered  nt  the  snme  time  with  Me'xico  ;  but  it 
is  doubtful  whether  it  was  ever  a  part  of  that  empire.  The  origin 
of  its  people  and  of  their  civilization  is  unknown.  The  same  marks 
of  national  industry,  the  same  massive  ruins,  great  cities,  temples, 
and  palaces,  the  same  order  and  regular  government,  prevailed  here 
as  in  the  north  ;  but  over  them  was  thrown  the  same  mystic  veil 
which  hid  from  eager  gaze  the  inner  and  more  interesting  truths  of 
their  origin.  Tradition  among  the  natives  pointed  to  a  party  of 
Tolteras  from  Mexico,  as  the  original  settlers,  and  even  preserves 
the  name  of  Nimaquiche,  as  the  chief  who  led  the  party  from  Tula 
to  their  new  abode.  At  the  time  of  the  Mexican  conquest,  Kicab 
Tanub,  an  alleged  descendant  of  Nimaquicho  reigned  in  Utailan,  the 
principal  seat  of  the  Q,uiches  or  primitive  inhabitanis  of  the  coun« 
try.  This  chief,  who  appears  to  have  been  of  a  most  a.  tive  warlike 
nature,  was  then  engaged  in  hostilities  with  the  neighbouring  nations, 
called  Mams,  Zutugilcs,  and  even  with  Sinacam,  a  king  of  Gua- 
timala. 

After  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  Cortes  despatched  Alvarado  against 
the  southern  countries,  with  three  hundred  infantry,  and  thirty-five 
Norsemen,  two  hundred  Tlascalnns  and  Cholulans,  and  a  hundred 
Mexicans.  His  artillery  numbered  four  pieces.  Such  was  the 
army  destined  to  conquer  provinces  who  numbered  their  warriors  by 
hundreds  of  thousands.  This  army  commenced  its  march  in  1521?, 
moved  through  the  region  of  Socunusco  and  penetrated  to  the  city 
of  Xetulul  in  the  Palahunoh  chain  of  mountains.  This,  togethei 
with  its  fortress,  was  soon  captured.  On  the  banks  of  the  Zomala 
the  troops  were  suddenly  attacked  by  a  numerous  body  of  Indians 
who,  discharging  stones  and  arrows  upon  them,  compelled  the 
auxiliaries  to  fall  back.  A  discharge  of  musketry  soon  drove  the 
assailants  to  their  retreat  in  the  mountains  ;  but  at  short  intervals  they 
renewed  the  attack,  seriously  retarding  the  progress  of  the  invaders. 
HE  news  of  this  formidable  invasion  surprised  Kicab 
Tanub  in  the  midst  of  his  military  operations.  His 
anxiety  at  so  imminent  a  calamity  absorbed  all  other 
feelings,  and  he  determined  immediately  to  conclude 
peace  with  the  neighbouring  chieftains.  A  plan  for 
peace,  and  a  general  coalition  against  the  invaders  was  sent  to  them ; 
but  so  far  was  it  from  being  accepted,  that  Sinacam  openly  declared 
himself  the  friend  and  ally  of  the  Spaniards,  or  gods,  as  they  were 
called.      The  king  of  the  Zutugiles  fiercely  replied  that  he  was 


OPERATIONS   OF   TECUM    DMAX. 


9S 


K  tO&a    T  ANU  a. 


Strong  enough  to  defend  his  own  territory  asrainst  any  enemy;  and 
thus  Kicab  Tanub  saw  himself  re^  iced  to  the  necessity,  not  only  of 
contending  with   his  former  enemies,  but  also  with  the  Spaniards. 

Undismayed  by  the  gathering  storm,  the  king  apph'ed  hitnself 
diligently  to  finding  means  to  avert  it;  but  in  the  midst  of  his  pre- 
parations, he  sickened  and  died.  His  eldest  son,  Tecum  Uman,  ha' 
just  ascended  the  throne,  when  he  received  intelligence  that  the 
Spaniards  had  quitted  Soconusco,  and  were  marching  toward  Xela- 
huh,  (Quczaltenango.)  This  place  was  the  best  fortified  and  most 
important  of  any  in  Utatlan,  containing  a  garrison  of  twenty-five 
thousand  men.  To  maintain  this  position  was  a  matter  of  no  little 
importance ;  and  to  that  end  Tecum  Uman  determined  to  direct  all 
his  efforts. 

He,  accordingly,  issued  from  his  capital  in  great  pomp,  surrounded 
by  the  nobles  of  the  kingdom,  and  at  the  head  of  seventy  thousand 
men,  under  his  best  general,  Ahzol.  Eighty  thousand  joined  him  at 
Cheinequina;  and  at  Gluezaltenango,  where  be  came  in  sight  of  the 
Spaniards,  his  force  was  swelled  to  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand 
fighting  men. 

Without  waiting  for  ofltrs  of  negotiation,  the  king  determined  at 
once  to  give  battle.  His  preparations  for  this  issue  prove  that  the 
iletermination  was  not  a  blind  confidence  in  superior  numbers — the 
too  frequent  error    n  *he  Indian  armies.     He  chose  the  field  of 


m. 


llJ|iM»'Ji",W"l"".i'  "iipfiW'liiiMlif 


94 


CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


# 


Tzaccaha,  and  began  fortifj'ing  it  with  the  greatest  care  and  preci 
sion.     A  wall,  bordered  by  a  deep  ditch,  was  extended  around  its 
entire  circuit;  and  in  front  of  the  ditch  were  planted  rows  of  poi 
soned  missiles,  designed  to  interrupt  and  disorder  an  enemy's  ranks. 
'I'hus  intrenched,  the  Quiches  awaited  the  advance  of  their  power- 
ful antagonists. 

HE  Spaniards  approached  Xelahuh 
with  the  utmost  caution,  in  order  to 
avoid  surprise.  In  winding  through 
the  mountains,  now  known  as  Santa 
Maria  de  Jesus,  they  encountered, 
very  unexpectedly,  a  host  of  Indians 
who  barred  the  passage.  The  table- 
hind  above  was  in  like  manner  swarm- 
ing with  warriors.  Soon  the  wild 
passes  of  the  Cordilleras  rang  with  the  shouts  of  tens  of  thousands, 
and  the  two  armies  joined  in  a  fierce  and  bloody  struggle.  Victory 
declared  for  the  invaders,  and,  filing  through  the  ravine,  they  recom- 
menced their  march.  But  their  toil  had  only  begun.  At  every 
pass,  a  new  battle  was  offered  ;  every  peak  and  crag  rained  down 
showers  of  missiles,  and  the  whole  mountain  range  seemed  con- 
verted into  a  hostile  camp.  Six  engagements  took  place  between 
Zamala  and  the  river  Olintepec.  The  last  was  fought  in  a  defile  on 
the  river  shore.  The  slaughter  was  so  terrible  that  streams  of  blood 
ran  down  into  the  water,  staining  it  for  n  any  yards  along  the  banks, 
thus  giving  rise  to  the  present  significant  name  of  Xiquigel,  or 
bloody  river.  In  a  subsequent  action,  the  Quiches  fought  with  such 
desperate  valour,  that,  forgetting  all  discipline,  they  seized  the 
horses  of  the  Spaniards  by  the  mane,  and  struggled  to  overturn  both 
steed  and  rider.  Two  days  after,  the  victors  entered  Xelahuh  which 
was  found  deserted.  In  a  little  while,  however,  the  inhabitants  re- 
turned and  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  new  occupants. 

The  great  battle  between  Alvarado  and  the  Quiches  took  place  on 
the  following  day.  The  first  shock  was  terrible  ;  and  for  a  time  the 
Spaniards  seemed  in  danger  of  being  defeated ;  but,  as  the  crowds 
of  their  opponents  continued  to  pour  on,  they  became  so  densely 
packed,  that  exertion  was  almost  impossible.  Hundreds  were 
mowed  down  in  passive  slaughter.  The  battle  was  not  restored 
until  the  Spaniards  had  cut  an  opening  into  the  living  mass  with 
their  weapons.     The  vast  multitude  swayed  to  and   fro  like   ilia 


ONSUCCESSFUL   STRATAGEM. 


9b 


DliSlEl 


GREAT     BAT  TLB     BHT^TBBN     AL  VARADO     AND    THB     aOICHlCS 


ocean,  and  a  wild  uproar  rose  upon  the  air,  and  rolled  from  rock  tc 
rock  of  those  lofty  plains.  The  king  behaved  in  a  manner  worthy 
his  cause  and  station;  and,  at  length,  singling  out  Alvarado,  he 
T'lohed  'inon  him  and  engaged  in  a  furi  )us  personal  encounter. 
The  horse  of  the  Spanish  general  was  struck  dead  ;  and,  for  a  while, 
he  was  himself  in  imminent  danger.  He  finally  overturned  his 
opponent  with  his  lance.  But,  instead  of  being  discouraged  by  tht 
death  of  their  king,  th«  Quiches  threw  themselves  upon  the  Spa- 
nish cavalry,  and  grasping  the  horses,  struck  maddened  but  vain 
blows  with  their  hands.  The  steeds  with  theii  riders  plunged 
breast-high  among  piles  of  dead  bodies ;  and  the  ground  in  the  im 
mediate  scene  of  battle  was  one  great  pool  of  blood  Discipline  at 
last  prevailed  ;  and  the  rout  of  that  day  was  total. 

These  great  reverses  were  not  sufficient  to  dampen  the  spirit  of 

i.he  Quiches.     King  Chignauivcelut,  successor  of  Tecum  Uman. 

"^rdered  a  great  council  to  assemble  at  Utatlan,  to  deliberate  upon 

I  iture  measures.     It  was  there  resolved  to  abandon  open  force,  and 

7  '^ 


96 


CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


attempt  to  draw  the  invaders  into  a  snare.  Accordingly,  the  king 
sent  a  solemn  embassy  to  Alvarado,  announcing  the  submission  of 
the  kingdom,  and  offering  a  rich  present  in  gold.  Overjoyed  at  this 
news,  Alvarado  received  the  envoys  with  high  disi  nction  ;  and,  on 
being  invited  in  the  king's  name  to  visit  the  city  and  repose  after 
his  fatigues,  he  cordially  assented,  and  dismissed  them  with  presents 
to  the  monarch. 

On  the  following  day,  the  army  commenced  its  march  for  Utatlan, 
pjated  with  the  prospect  of  speedy  peace.  After  entering,  they  be- 
held, to  their  surprise,  that  their  road  lay  through  a  narrow  street, 
cimmanded  by  heavy  fortifications,  anti  flanked  by  ditches  ;  that  the 
women  and  children  had  all  been  removed  ;  and  that  anxiety  and 
trepidation  displayed  themselves  among  the  inhabitants.  Suspicions 
of  treachery  arose,  and  were  soon  confirmed  by  the  Indians  of  Glue- 
zaltenango,  who  had  discovered  that  the  enemy  had  resolved  on 
firing  the  city  during  the  night.  They  also  affirmed  that  large 
numbers  of  warriors  were  concealed  in  the  neighbouring  defiles, 
ready  to  fall  upon  all  who  should  escape  the  flames. 

*^Y^lN  this  perplexing  extremity,  Alvarado  called  a  coun- 
cil of  war,  and  announced  to  his  officers  the  dangers 
of  their  situation,  and  the  necessity  of  an  immediate 
retreat  from  the  city.  This  was  instantly  agreed 
upon.  Without  any  appearance  of  fear  or  agita- 
tion, the  t'-oops  issued  forth  in  good  order  and  gained 
the  plain.  So  abrupt  a  departure  necessarily  asto- 
nished the  king;  but  Alvarado  excused  himself  by 
alleging  that  the  pasturage  of  the  plains  was,  in  the  evening,  indis- 
pensable to  the  horses.  The  king  still  continued  his  pacific  pobcy ; 
but  in  the  eagerness  to  free  the  land  from  its  invaders,  he  over- 
stepped the  bounds  of  prudence,  and  committed  a  fatal  error.  He 
accompanied  Alvarado  to  the  plain.  Hardly  had  that  leader  placed 
himself  in  safety,  when  he  seized  the  monarch,  brought  him  to 
speedy  trial,  and,  on  the  same  evening,  hung  him  in  the  presence 
of  both  armies.  By  this  decisive  step,  it  was  thought  the  Indians 
would  have  been  awed  into  submission  ;  but  the  result  was  far  other- 
wise. 

The  various  forces  of  the  duiches,  as  though  by  common  consent, 
poured  down  upon  the  Spaniards,  and  a  contest  ensued  in  which 
the  latter  found  themselves  attacked  on  all  sides.  But,  although 
jnpropitious  at  first,  the  battle  soon  turned  in  favour  of  the  inva* 


FOUNDING   OF   ST.    JAGO. 


m 


greed 
agita- 
rained 
^  asto- 
self  by 

indis- 

ol'cy ; 

over* 

r.     He 

placed 

him  to 
resence 
Indians 
r  other' 

Iconsent, 
which 
although 
inva* 


ijere,  and,  broken  down  by  repeated  failures,  the  Indians  now  im 
plored  mercy.  From  that  time  the  empire  of  Utatlan  was  con* 
qiiered. 

This  victory  was  gained  May  14,  1524.  A  small  chapel  wai 
hastily  constructed  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  the  next  day,  being 
Easter,  the  army  attended  a  solemn  celebration  of  mass.  Thus  wa« 
the  Catholic  religion  introduced  into  Guatimala. 

Anxious  to  conciliate  the  Indians,  Alvarado  now  appointed  a  suc- 
cessor to  Chignauivcelut.  About  the  same  time,  he  received  offers 
of  congratulation  and  alliance  from  Sinacum,  whom  he  resolved  to 

visit.  Leaving  Jean  de  Leon  Cardona 
in  command  of  Utatlan,  he  marched 
for  Guatimala,  with  a  numerous  es* 
cort,  met  the  king  on  the  road,  and 
both  leaders  with  their  forces  entered 
the  capital  in  company.  Here,  for 
the  first  time,  the  Spaniards  enjoyed 
that,  rest  of  which  they  had  so  long 
b(>pn  desirous. 

After  remaining  in  the  city  for  some 
time,Alvarado  yielded  to  the  entrea- 
ties of  his  host,  and  accompanied  him 
in  an  expedition  against  the  warlike 
tribe  of  the  Zutugiles.  These  were 
overthrown  in  several  battles,  and  theii 
chief  city  taken.  On  returning  to  the 
capital  by  a  new  route,  the  Spaniards 
Hrrived  (July  24,  1524)  at  a  place  named  Atmulunca,  or  Almolunga. 
The  picturesque  beauty  of  this  place,  the  rich  meadows  extending 
far  into  the  interior,  watered  by  hundreds  of  sparkling  streams,  the 
high  mountains  rising  from  both  sides  of  the  country  and  rushing 
up  to  heaven,  either  wrapped  in  never-melting  snows  or  in  flame 
and  smoke,  so  charmed  the  Spaniards,  that,  with  one  consent,  they 
determined  to  establish  here  a  permanent  colony.  Aided  by  the 
Mexicans  and  the  Tlascalans,  they  laid  the  rough  foundations ;  and 
on  the  25th  of  July,  the  day  dedicated  to  the  great  Spanish  patron, 
the  troops  attended  divine  service  in  the  church  which  they  had 
raised.  The  founding  of  the  city  was  attended  by  rejoicings  which 
Insted  three  consecutive  days.  On  the  29th,  the  alcaydes  and  magis* 
tiates  were  installed  ;  and  on  the  12th  of  August,  the  public  funo 


C  A.  R  r>  O  N  A. 


98 


CENTRAL    AMKRICA 


CBI.IBBATIOB    0»    THB     FOUNDINO    OF    ST.    JAOO. 


tionaries  and   other  persons,  to  the  number  of  eighty-seven,  were 
enrolled  as  citizens.     Such  was  the  origin  of  St.  Jago. 

Alvaradn  now  turned  his  attention  to  the  various  tribes  who  were 
not  yet  conquered,  but  whose  submission  was  essential  to  the  secu 
rity  of  Spanish  authority.  In  the  fullowing  year,  some  of  these 
submitted,  and  others  the  Spaniards  artfully  involved  in  war  among 
themselves  The  province  of  Esquintla,  laying  on  the  Pacific, 
offered  more  serious  resistance  ;  so  that  in  a  great  battle  fought  at 
night,  although  the  Spaniards  had  surprised  the  foe,  their  whole 
force  was  engaged  five  hours  in  hot  contest,  and  was  even  repulsed 
They  then  barbarously  threatened  the  Indians  with  burning  their 
plantations  of  cacao  and  maize.  The  unhappy  natives,  dismayed  at 
the  prospect  of  immediate  famine,  submitted  without  further  resist- 
ance. By  the  end  of  December,  the  campaign  had  terminated. 
Alvarado  returned  to  the  capital  of  the  Cachiquels,  laden  with  wealth 
and  glory.  The  rapidity  of  his  movements  had  been  no  less  sur- 
prising than  the  ease  with  which  he  had  conquered  the  Indian 
armies.  He  had  subjected  the  important  provinces  of  Zonzonate, 
Custatlan,  (San  Salvador,)  and  Chapparaslic,  or,  San  Miguel.  The 
greater  part  of  the  Pacific  shore  acknowledged  the  authority  o' 


CAPTURE   OF   MIXCO. 


1*51 


Spain.  At  the  same  time,  Alvarado's  brother,  Gonzalo,  had  de» 
feated  the  Mams  in  several  battles,  took  possession,  after  a  bloody 
siege,  of  the  important  fortress  of  Socolbo,  entered  Giiegiietenango^ 
and  carried  his  victorious  arms  throughout  the  province  of  Totoni- 
capan. 

HE  fortress  of  Mixco,  which  was 
always  considered  impregnable 
by  the  Indians,  was  situated  on 
a  high  perpendicular  rock,  the 
only  access  to  which  was  so  narrow 
as  to  permit  but  one  man  to  pass  at 
a  lime.  A  small  force  could  de- 
fend it  against  an  entire  army,  by 
merely  throwing  down  rocks  upon 
the  assailants.  The  first  detach- 
ment sent  against  this  place  was  so 
disheartened  by  its  strength  and  the 
apparent  impossibility  of  making  any  impression  upon  the  works, 
that  they  determined  to  abandon  it.  But  the  arrival  of  Pedro  Alva- 
radoin  camp  changed  the  appearance  of  affairs.  That  intrepid  general 
immediately  called  a  council  of  war,  over  which  he  presided  in  per- 
Kin,  and  which  determined  on  a  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  siege. 
The  Spaniards  now  resorted  to  stratagem,  but  in  this  they  were 
ffflled  with  considerable  loss.  Their  cause  now  appeared  hopeless, 
and  it  is  more  than  probable  that  they  would  finally  have  been  com- 
pelled to  relinquish  the  undertaking,  had  not  the  caciques  of  Chig- 
Qinta  appeared  in  camp,  demanded  a  peace,  and  informed  the  Spa- 
nish general  of  a  subterranean  passage  leading  from  the  citadel  to 
ihe  bank  of  a  neighbouring  river,  by  which  the  garrison  could 
escape  should  the  fortress  be  captured.  This  infused  new  life  into 
the  besiegers.  A  general  attack  was  made  on  the  heights  by  the 
army,  marching  in  single  file,  while  a  detachment  posted  itself  at 
the  moatb  of  the  subterranean  passage  to  intercept  stragglers.  The 
fortress  was  finally  carried  by  storm,  and  the  Indians,  with  their 
irires  and  little  ones,  either  killed  or  captured.  The  works  were 
then  entirely  destroyed. 

The  submission  of  the  country  being  now  complete,  Alvarado 
deiennined  on  returning  to  Spain  and  announcing  his  conquests  t< 
Charles  V.  But,  when  on  *,he  eve  of  departing,  he  received  notice 
ihid  Cortes  bad  arrived  in  the  province  of  Honduras ;  and  deeming 


160 


CENTRAL   AMERICA- 


OBABLBS    V. 


■  ka  dntj  to  visit  his  superior,  he  set  out  (February,  I5t3K>  ffiiirttihck 
parpcee.  On  reaching  Choluteca,  he  met  a  detachment  of  Sgranmb 
Hoops  ooiDing  from  Honduras,  and  was  informed  that  tToiitKs  Ifaao 
reuinied  to  Mexico.  Not  being  able  to  follow  him  so  fiir,.  JMkiwrado 
seems  to  hare  abandoned,  for  a  while,  the  idea  of  viaitiair  JEwerupe^ 
and  retonied  to  Guatimala. 

He  fbaod  the  country,  which  had  been  left  so  peacefiiilly;,  ira  a 
tlale  of  the  most  violent  excitement.  (lis  brother,  Gonzuluv  wlbti  Ihad 
mled  in  his  absence,  had,  by  his  cruelty  and  tyranny,,  tisgwcialiy 
toward  the  Indians,  alienated  all  parties  from  him.  The  &ii»^  of 
Quiche,  Sequechul,  with  King  Sinacum,  were  gatherings  u&if  i&ifler- 
cnt  native  tribes  for  a  desperate  effort  to  shake  off  th&  yJktt  of 
boodage. 

Alvarado  immediately  adopted  the  most  energetic  meawnmes  to 
■oppress  so  formidable  a  rebellion.  Confident  of  the  3ap(5ifWi  cif  all 
Spaniards,  be  marched  against  the  Indians,  and  ia  a  gmtiii  battle, 
(Nbrember  22,  1326,)  he  completely  routed  them,  takirn^  tdbe  (two 
kii^  prisoners.  The  unfortunate  princes,  by  fifteen  ye:iE»  ttf  -haru 
eapliritj,  expiated  the  unpardonable  crime  of  having  w^-^etii  ic  le- 
covrr  independence  for  themselves  and  their  oppressed  peopfift. 

Thisrictory  broke  the  spirits  of  the  Indians  inhabiting  thit^ffunigiDered 
pnnmces,  and  from  this  time  they  seemed  willing  to  ackaowdkifi^  tho 
of  Spain.   In  proportion,  however,  as  tbia  danger itenisatBec 


DEATH   OP   ALVARADO 


101 


03   » 

iiad 

ftiffiar- 

at*  to 
tiT  ali 
ftiBtlle, 

IB  aje- 

BBSeC 


a  far  more  formidable  evil  began  to  display  itself.  This  was  dissert* 
sion  among  the  conque/ors — the  almost  inseparable  sequel  to  Spa- 
nish conquests.  The  difficulty  of  defining  boundary  lines  between 
different  provinces  was  one  fruitful  source  of  these  disturbances. 
Either  by  accident  or  design,  petty  rulers  encroached  on  the  terri 
tory  of  others ;  and  several  rich  provinces  were  claimed  simulta- 
neously by  numerous  competitors.  These  claims  kept  the  whole 
country  in  a  state  of  civil  war,  until  December,  1527,  when  Alva 
rado  received  froni  the  emperor  the  office  of  captain-general  of  Gua- 
timala,  an  appointment  which  rendered  him  independent  of  Cortes. 
The  energetic,  and  often  oppressive  rule  of  this  officer  restored  in  a 
great  nioasure  the  general  tranquillity.  The  influences  of  religion 
were  added  to  his  own  efforts.  In  1537,  the  execution  of  a  most 
extensive  plan  for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  was  commenced  by 
a  number  of  missionaries,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  the  celebrated 
Las  Casas.  They  visited  nations  hitherto  unconquerable,  and  by 
inducing  tliem  to  accept  Christianity,  opened  an  easy  way  to  a  cor- 
dial recoi^nition  of  Spanish  authority.  These  labours  were  conti- 
nued through  great  difficulties,  by  themselves  and  successors,  for 
upwards  of  a  century  :  and  to  them,  as  much  as  to  the  mail-clad 
warriors,  was  owing  the  Spanish  ascendency  in  Central  America. 

The  year  1541  was  signalized  by  the  death  of  Pedro  Alvarado. 
After  this  event,  the  emperor  established  an  audience,  (November 
20,  1542,)  or  supreme  tribunal,  of  which  Alonzo  de  Maldonado  was 
named  president.  The  seat  of  this  court  was  fixed  at  Valladolid  de 
Comayagua,  but  subsequently  transferred  to  Gracias-a-Dios.  In 
1555,  it  was  again  removed  to  Guatimafa,  then  to  Panama,  and 
finally  to  the  capital.  The  tranquillity  which  the  genius  of  Alvaradd 
had  secured  to  the  province  was  buried  with  him.  Faction,  exas- 
perated by  the  temporary  obstruction,  broke  out  fiercer  than  ever. 
Public  morals  were  depreciated  to  the  very  lowest  scale.  Justice 
was  but  a  name — crimes  of  the  deepest  and  darkest  dye  were  com- 
mitted with  impunity,  and  the  criminals  bought  off  from  retribution 
by  trifling  sums.  The  Indians  were  treated  as  brutes — in  short,  all 
government  was  at  an  end — anarchy,  crime,  and  reckless  audacity 
rioted  over  the  ruins  of  the  Indian  civilization.  Such  was  the  con- 
dition of  afl^airs  for  a  great  portion  of  the  long  period  of  the  Spanish 
dominion  in  Guatimala,  till  at  last  the  country  was  ripe  for  revo* 
ution. 
The  first  symptoms  of  dissatisfaction  exhibited  by  the  Indiana  and 

l8 


102 


CENTRAL   AMEKICA. 


AX.ONZ0    DS    MALDONADO 


whers,  was  after  the  invasion  of  Spain  by  France,  in  1808.  Tn*) 
deepest  anxiety  was  manifested  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Penin- 
sular War,  and  the  subsequent  continentul  struggles.  But  after  the 
tall  of  Napoleon,  hardly  had  Spain  adopted  a  constitution  when  Qua* 
timala,  anxious  to  extirpate  the  remnant  of  absolute  tyranny,  appro- 
priated the  same  one  to  herself  without  any  alteration.  But  the 
formation  of  a  junto  in  the  following  year,  with  absolute  power  to 
settle  "indispensable"  measures,  gave  rise  to  two  parties,  one  in 
favour  of  entire  emancipation  from  both  Spain  and  Mexico ;  the 
other  advocating  the  installation  of  the  Bourbon  family  on  the  throne 
of  Central  America.  The  old  Spanish  party,  supported  by  Leon, 
the  capital  of  Nicaragua,  and  Comayagua,  capital  of  Honduras, 
were  in  favour  of  the  latter  course  ;  but  the  greater  part  of  the  cities 
and  provinces  adhered  to  the  act  of  independence  proclaimed  by  the 
•unta. 

Such  was  the  situation  of  affairs  when,  on  the  19th  of  October, 
1821,  Ilarbide,  Emperor  of  Mexico,  addressed  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Guatimala  a  manifesto,  in  which,  after  having  complimented  thein 
DO  their  independence,  he  announced,  that  to  consolidate  their  grow- 
ing liberties,  he  would  direct  a  numerous  body  of  troops  to  their 


REPUBLIC   FORMED. 


103 


Tfifl 

enin- 

r  the 

Gua- 

ippro- 

i  tl>e 

er  to 

lie  in 
the 

jhrone 

iLeon, 
uras, 
cities 
y  the 

Itober, 
Ints  of 
tlieiii 
I  groW" 
theii 


fioiitiers.  This  strange  proclainalion  was  not  received  l>y  the  inde- 
pendents as  favourably  as  the  emperor  had  wished  ;  but  I  he  influon 
tial  members  of  the  Spanish  party  solicited  his  protection,  chanj^ing 
the  appellation  of  his  troops  from  that  of  servants  to  imperialists. 
This  faction  chose  us  their  chief,  Filisola,  president  of  the  junta; 
ind  by  him  the  proclamation  of  Iturhide  was  distributed  through- 
out the  dillerent  provinces.  Not  satis-tied  with  this,  he  joined  with 
it  an  invitation  to  the  people,  to  merge  their  nationality  into  that 
of  Mexico;  and  he  even  took  upon  himself  the  respmisibility,  as 
president  oi   the  junta,  to  declare  the   union  effected,  (January  11, 

The  indignation  of  the  people  at  this  arbitrary  streuh  of  power 
rose  to  the  \itmost  pilch.  The  junta  was  dissolved.  The  president 
marched  with  some  troops  against  St.  Salvador,  but  was  completely 
beaten,  (July  3.)  Defeated  a  second  time  by  the  people  of  the  same 
province,  (February  23,  l!S'/i;J,)  he  recommenced  his  march  to  Gua- 
timala,  where  he  received  news  of  the  revolution  which  had  preci- 
pitated Iturhide  from  the  imperial  throne.  The  blow  was  astound- 
ing— his  last  hope  was  gone ;  he  immediately  gave  up  all  resistance 
and  consented  to  the  act  of  independence.  A  national  convention 
having  immediately  assembled,  ordered  the  Mexican  troops  to  leave 
the  country,  Filisola  led  them  out  in  person,  taking  possession, 
during  his  march,  of  the  province  of  Chiapa,  which  he  claimed  fi  i 
Mexico.  This  act  was  afterwards  made  good  by  Mexico,  and  Chi- 
apa has  ever  since  remained  a  fruitful  source  of  dissension  between 
the  two  countries. 

This  obstacle  being  removed,  the  National  Assembly  met  again 
on  the  24ih  of  June,  1823.  Complete  independence  was  declared 
en  the  21st  of  July,  and  on  the  17lh  of  December,  the  basis  of  a 
new  Constitution,  modelled  alter  that  of  the  United  States,  was  pro 
clainud  to  the  nation.  The  republic  was  styled  the  "  United  Pro- 
finces  of  Central  America."  On  the  6th  of  September,  1824, 
Congress  completed  the  basis  of  the  confederation  at  Costa  Rica  , 
nine  days  after,  (15th,)  the  Federal  Congress  was  installed  ;  and  on 
the  22d  of  November,  the  constitution  was  solemnly  signed  by  the 
deputies. 

Thus  Guatimala  had  proclaimed  her  freedom,  and  established  a 
republican  constitution ;  but,  very  soon,  she  was  to  learn  by  bitter 
experience,  that  something  more  than  these  is  necessary  to  secure 
the  tranquillity  and  happiness  of  the  people.    Hardly  had  the  instru- 


104 


CENTRAL  AMERICA. 


I 


FLORSS. 


ment  of  independence  been  signed,  when  fierce  party  spirit  again 
sowed  seeds  of  discord  among  the  populace.  The  citizens  were 
divided  into  aristocrats,  or  Centralists,  and  Federalists.  The  former 
wished  to  consolidate  and  centralize  the  powers  of  the  general  go- 
vernment.  They  were  composed  principally  of  influential  families, 
who,  pampered,  during  the  domination  of  the  Spaniards,  with  pri- 
Tileges  and  exorbitant  monopolies,  had  gradually  imbibed  the  state 
and  feelings  of  the  European  nobility.  The  Federalists,  on  the  con« 
trary,  were  led  by  men,  young  and  energetic,  many  of  whom  were 
actuated  by  an  ardent  love  of  country,  a  desire  to  set  her  free,  and  a 
disgust  at  the  former  civil  oppression.  They  advocated  the  supremacy 
of  the  states,  and  freedom  of  conscience  in  religious  matters.  At  the 
third  session  of  congress,  the  two  parties  came  to  an  open  rupture 
Soon  after,  the  vice-president,  Flores,  visited  the  city  of  Q,uezalte- 
nango,  where  he  had  rendered  himself  odious  by  his  republican 
principles,  and  by  levying  a  contribution  on  its  convent.  Seeing  him 
in  their  city,  the  religious  orders  now  excited  the  common  people 
against  him,  and  soon  an  infuriated  mob  were  before  his  house  ex- 
claiming, "  Death  to  the  heretic."  Flores  ran  to  the  church  ;  but, 
when  entering,  he  was  seized  by  some  women,  his  face  and  heati 
>everely  beaten,  and  his  life  placed  in  the  most  imminent  danger 


REPUBLICANS   AND  CENTRALISTS. 


'106 


By  desperate  exertions,  he  escaped  into  the  church ;  but  even  here 
he  was  not  secure.  The  bell  rung,  crowds  collected  from  all  quar- 
ters, and,  although  opposed  by  the  soldiery,  forced  their  way  into  tho 
church.  Fearful  of  the  result,  the  priest  came  forward  with  a  cru- 
cifix, and  implored  the  people  to  spare  the  officer,  promising  to  send 
him  immediately  from  the  city.  The  unhappy  man  confirmed  these 
words  on  his  knees.  But  ail  was  of  no  avail.  The  populace  rushed 
upon  him,  dragged  him  into  the  convent,  and  delivered  him  into  the 
hands  of  its  women.  He  soon  expired  under  their  dreadful  treat 
ments,  and  the  body  was  submitted  to  the  insults  of  the  mob 
Crowds  then  rushed  through  the  streets,  exclaiming,  "Viva  la  reli- 
gions-death to  the  heretics  of  congress."  Encouraged  by  this  suc- 
cess, the  Centralists  of  the  province  of  Guatimala  rose  in  open 
rebellion,  and  extirpated  the  Republicans. 

These  outrages  roused  the  indignation  of  the  inhabitants  of  St. 
Salvador,  who  resolved  to  avenge  the  patriots  of  Guatimala.  Ac- 
cordingly, on  the  6th  of  March,  1827,  their  army  appeared  before 
the  gates  of  the  capital,  and  threatened  it  with  complete  destruction. 
But  religious  fanaticism  was  too  powerful  to  be  easily  intimidated. 
The  priests  ran,  exhorting  the  people  to  take  arms ;  the  nuns  and 
other  women  assembled  with  knives  in  their  hands,  swearing  that 
every  enemy  of  their  religion  should  perish  by  their  hands.  The 
army  of  St.  Salvador  was  in  the  issue  entirely  defeated. 

The  other  provinces  of  Guatimala  were  in  a  like  condition.  In 
Nicaragua,  the  streets  were  barricaded,  the  chief  Centralist  and  his 
soldiers  massacred,  part  of  the  city  burned  to  the  ground,  and  the 
two  parties  so  exasperated  against  each  other  that,  for  three  months, 
even  an  ambassador  could  not  be  sent  from  one  to  the  other.  At 
Leon  and  Taguzgalpa,  horror  and  desolation  reigned  supreme.  The 
war  continued  with  but  little  intermission  for  two  years,  at  which 
time  (1829)  the  troops  of  St.  Salvador,  und'jr  General  Morazan, 
again  marched  against  Guatimala.  After  three  days'  continual 
battle,  the  city  was  taken.  A  scene  of  ste.n  retribution  followed. 
The  leaders  of  the  Centralists  were  exiled,  'he  convents  opened  and 
sacked,  monastic  orders  abolished,  the  nujs  sent  from  the  country, 
and  the  archbishop  driven  into  exile. 

In  1831,  Morazan  was  elected  president  of  the  republic;  and  for 
eight  years  managed  the  public  affiiirs  with  a  degree  of  quiet  long 
unknown  to  the  country.  But  at  the  expiration  of  his  second  term, 
ligns  of  faction  began  to  reappear.     Many  of  the  banished  Central- 


14 


100 


CENTRAL   AMERICA. 


ists  had  maintained  a  correspondence  with  those  at  home,  some  even 
venturing  to  return.  These  attentively  watched  an  opportunity  to 
recover  their  lost  ascendency.  They  found  a  leader  in  the  notori- 
ous Carrera,  a  mulatto,  who,  from  an  obscure  station,  hnd  raised 
himself  to  the  command  of  numerous  parties  who  infested  liie  high- 
roads. This  iPiiivi'Jiial  kept  the  country  in  a  state  of  continual  fer- 
ment, and,  thorgh  often  defeated,  he  still  managed  to  rally  lound 
him  the  priesi?,  Indians,  and  most  of  the  Centralists.  The  capital 
and  other  cities  were  several  times  taken,  and  shocking  excesses  com- 
mitted on  the  opposite  faction.  Morazan  was  finally  driven  into 
exile,  and  with  him  fell  the  republican  party.  Since  this  time  Gua 
timala  has  exhibited  little  more  than  a  scene  of  national  misrule, 
anarchy,  and  bloodshed. 

Yucatan  is  an  extensive  peninsula  running  up  into  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  between  the  bays  of  Campoachy  and  Honduras.  It  is 
not  remarkable  for  the  fertility  of  its  soil,  and  is  without  mineral 
wealth.  In  the  central  parts,  where  there  are  no  sireams,  when 
the  rainy  season  fails,  the  people  suffer  greatly  from  deficient  crops. 

This  country  owes  its  discovery  to  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis,  and  a  com- 
panion of  Columbus,  named  Vincent  Yanez  Pinzon.  These  adven- 
turers were  fired  by  Ponce  de  Leon's  success  in  Puerto  Rico,  and 
obtained  leave  to  perform  a  voyage  to  the  continent.  As  far  as  the 
island  of  Guanaios,  they  held  the  same  course  that  Columbus  had 
taken  ;  but  standing  thence  to  the  west,  they  discovered  a  new  and 
extensive  province,  and  proceeded  a  considerable  way  along  its  coast. 
This  was  the  modern  Yucatan.  No  settlement  was  at  that  time 
effected,  the  voj'agers  contenting  themselves  with  exploring  portions 
of  the  shore. 

^j-,  *%  OR  some  time  after  this  discovery,  the  Spa- 
niards were  deterred  from  availing  thein- 
selves  of  it,  by  the  disasters  experienced 
by  Ponce  de  Leon,  and  other  adventurers. 
The  prudent  administration  of  Diego  Ve- 
lasquez in  Cuba  had  rendered  it  one  of  the 
most  flourishing  of  Spanish  settlements; 
^  and  many  persons  from  other  colonies  were 
allured  thither.  As  the  ocean  stretch- 
ing to  the  west  of  Cuba  had  not  hithertr 
been  explored,  this  circumstance  invited  adventurers  to  attempt  new 
discoreries.     Instigated  by  the  desire  of  obtaining  sudden  wealth  by 


EXPEDITION   OF  CORDOVA. 


lOT 


3XIKV    DIAZ    DB    SOLta. 


Jeeds  of  daring,  several  officers  who  had  served  under  Pedrarias.  in 
Darien,  entered  into  an  association  to  undertake  a  voyage  of  disco- 
very. Velasquez  not  only  approved  their  design,  but  assisted  in 
carrying  it  on — he  and  an  opulent  planter  named  Cordova,  advanc- 
ing the  money  to  purchase  three  small  vessels,  with  materials  for 
traffic  or  war.  On  board  of  these  a  hundred  and  ten  men  embarked 
and  sailed  from  St.  Jago,  February  8,  1517.  On  the  twenty-first  day 
after  their  departure,  they  reached  Cape  Catoche,  the  most  eastern 
point  of  Yucatan.  As  they  approached  the  shore,  five  canoes  met 
them,  bearing  people  clad  in  cotton  garments — a  circumstance  that 
excited  the  wonder  of  the  Spaniards.  Cordova  oflered  them  small 
presents,  and  endeavoured  to  gain  their  good  will.  Though  evi 
dently  amazed  a*,  their  strange  visitors,  the  Indians  invited  them 
with  an  appearance  of  cordiality,  to  visit  their  habitations.  Accord 
mgly  the  adventurers  landed,  and  as  they  advanced  into  the  country 
were  struck  by  the  sight  of  white  stone  iioises.     But  they  foon 


108 


CENTllAL   AMERICA. 


in 


found  ihnt  if  the  people  had  miiue  progress  in  improvement  bsyond 
their  countrymen,  they  were  likewise  more  artful  and  warlike. 
For  though  the  cacique  had  received  Cordova  with  many  tokens  of 
friendship,  he  had  posted  a  considerable  body  of  his  subjects  in  am- 
hush,  behind  a  thicket,  who,  upon  a  signal  given  by  him,  rushed  out 
and  attacked  the  Spaniards  with  great  boldness  and  some  degree  of 
martial  order.  Fifteen  of  the  latter  were  wounded  ;  but  their  fire- 
arms soon  compelled  the  assailants  to  fly.  Cordova  regained  his 
6hi|)piiig  and  quitted  the  spot,  carrying  with  him  two  natives,  and 
the  wealth  of  a  small  temple  which  he  had  plundered. 

Continuing  their  course  toward  the  west,  without  losing  sight  of 
the  coast,  they  arrived,  on  the  sixteenth  day,  at  Campeachy.  There 
they  were  received  with  more  hospitality  ;  but  water  beginning  to 
fail,  they  ])rocecded  along  what  was  still  thought  to  be  an  island, 
until  they  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  at  Potonchan.  Here  all 
the  troops  were  landed  in  order  to  protect  the  sailors  while  filling  the 
catiks,  but,  notwithstanding  this  precaution,  the  natives  rushed  down 
upon  them  with  such  fury,  and  in  such  overwhelming  numbers,  that 
forty-seven  Spaniards  were  killed  upon  the  spot,  and  the  remainder, 
with  but  a  single  exception,  in  some  manner  injured.  The  com- 
mander received  twelve  wounds;  but  he  conducted  the  reircat  with 
admirable  skill  and  courage.  On  regaining  their  vessels,  they  im- 
mediately set  sail  for  Cuba.  During  the  passage  thither,  their 
wounds,  exposed  to  a  burning  sun,  brought  on  a  sickness,  which 
■was  increased  to  the  most  dreadful  height  by  the  want  of  water. 
Some  died  by  the  way,  and  the  commander  expired  soon  after  arriv- 
ing at  Cuba. 

HESE  disasters  did  not  discourage  the  Spaniards. 
The  sight  of  gold  wrought  into  curious  shapes,  the 
reports  of  nations  advanced  into  civilization,  and  the 
hope  of  suddenly  grasping  a  fortune,  induced  many 
[p  to  offer  themselves  for  a  new  expedition.  Velasquez 
fitted  out  four  ships  at  his  own  expense.  Two  hun- 
dred and  forty  volunteers,  among  whom  were  men  of  rank  and  fo^ 
tune,  embarked  in  this  enterprise.  It  was  commanded  by  Juan  de 
Grijalva,  a  young  officer  of  tried  courage,  who  was  instructed  to 
barter  for  gold,  and,  if  possible,  attempt  a  settlement.  Sailing  from 
St.  Jago,  (April  8,  1518,)  he  steered  in  a  direction  with  the  former 
expedition,  but  was  driven  by  contrary  currents  to  the  island  of 
Oo:;uniel.  the  inhabitants  of  which  fled  at  his  approach.     He  again 


i^jBuii  rill'  irtfch    ^ift 


EXPLORATION   OP  YTJCATAN. 


10« 


puJ  to  Rca,  rounded  Cape  Catouche  and  reached  Polonchan.  Here 
he  di'terniined  to  land  and  avenpe  his  fallen  countrymen  in  such  a 
manner  as  would  strike  terror  among  all  the  surrounding  tribes. 
But,  th(iiii;h  he  employed  all  his  troops  in  this  attempt,  aiding  them 
wiih  some  field-pieces,  the  Indians  fought  with  such  courage  that  a 
victory  over  them  was  gained  with  difficulty.  The  Spaniards  then 
rf-embarked,  and  continued  their  voyage.  The  beauty  of  the  coun- 
try and  the  novelty  of  Indian  towns  and  cities  excited  their  wonder 
and  ailminition.  In  the  numerous  villages  scattered  along  the  coast, 
many  stone  houses  were  observed,  which  at  a  distance  appeared 
while  and  lofty.  In  the  warmth  of  their  feelings,  they  denominated 
the  country  New  Spain,  a  name  by  which  it  was  known  in  Europe 
for  more  than  three  centures. 

Proceeding  to  the  southward,  they  found  the  natives  more  friendly, 
and  at  fJiiazaca  they  wej-e  perfumed  with  incense  of  gnm-copal, 
and  treated  with  the  most  flattering  attentions.  In  six  days,  they 
pxchanged  European  trinkets  for  curiously  wrought  ornaments  of 
gold,  worth  fifteen  thousand  pesos.  The  Spaniards  now  learned,  for 
the  (irst  time,  the  existence  of  Montezuma,  the  great  monarch  to 
whom  this  province  and  the  neighbouring  ones  was  subject.  Re« 
embarking,  Grijalva  continued  his  course  toward  the  west,  and,  on 
the  I'Jlh  of  June,  landed  on  a  small  island,  where  he  beheld,  for 
the  first  titiie,  the  horrid  spectacle  of  human  victims  offered  to  a 
deity.  He  named  this  spot  the  Isle  of  Sacrificios,  and  a  neighbour 
ing  one  San  Juan  de  Ulua.  From  this  place  he  despatched  Pedro 
de  Alvarado,  one  of  his  officers,  to  Velasquez,  with  a  full  account  of 
his  important  discoveries,  and  all  the  treasure  acquired  by  traffic 
with  the  natives.  With  the  remaining  vessels  he  proceeded  along 
the  coast  to  the  river  Panuco;  but  finding  it  impossible  to  plant  a 
colony,  he  returned  to  Cuba,  October  26,  1518. 

Yucatan  was  conquered  by  the  Spaniards  soon  after  the  over- 
throw of  Montezuma's  power  by  Cortes  ;  its  history,  therefore,  forms 
a  part  of  that  of  Mexico  till  the  year  1839,  when  symptoms  of 
dissatisfaction  with  the  policy  of  the  Mexican  republic  began  to  be 
displayed  by  a  party  calling  themselves  Rochclanos.  These  de- 
manded either  a  more  liberal  central  government,  or  entire  independ- 
ence. In  order  to  effect  the  latter,  they  secretly  favoured  the  move- 
ments of  a  faction  calling  themselves  Federalists.  On  the  29th  of 
May,  a  militia  captain,  named  Santiago  Iman,  raised  the  revolutionary 
standard  in  the  village  of  Tizimin,  and  declared  for  the  Constitutiop 


110 


CENTRAL   AMERICA. 


w 


SANTIAOO     lUAN. 


of  1824.  He  then  ni.nrched  to  Espita,  the  cominanda.it  of  >»ii,ch 
had  agreed  to  join  him,  but,  on  making  a  feint  attack,  the  better  to 
conceal  his  design,  Iman  found  himself  drawn  into  a  snare,  and 
immediately  retreated  to  San  Fernando.  Here,  at  the  end  of  twn 
months,  he  was  attacked  by  the  commandant.  The  defenders  ran 
away,  the  assailant  entered  in  triumph,  and  immediately  annou.-ced 
to  his  government,  that  by  a  great  victory  he  had  endi     the  revolt. 

Iman  now  gathered  around  him  a  number  of  Indians,  and  endea- 
voured to  insure  their  co-operation  by  a  promise  of  exemption  from 
religious  contribution.  The  government  then  sent  against  him 
Colonel  Roguena  with  six  hundred  men,  who,  after  another  "  de- 
cisive victory,"  gained  because  the  enemy  ran  away,  entered  the 
place  in  triumph.  Partial  quiet  was  preserved  until  February  11, 
1840,  when  the  insurgents  attacked  the  city  of  Valladolid.  Here 
were  three  hundred  men  under  Lieutenant-colonel  Arans.  This 
officer  appears  to  have  possessed  both  talent  and  energy ;  but  unfor- 
tunately, while  marching  against  the  enemy,  he  was  killed.  His 
troops  immediately  capitulated.  A  band  of  outlaws  then  took  pos<- 
session  of  the  city  and  proclaimed  the  Constitution  of  1824  to  be  in 
force.  The  influence  of  this  proclamation  soon  became  contagious. 
Towns,  one  after  another,  hailed  the  new  order  of  things,  and  were 
Btrengthened  by  the  capital  itself.  In  June,  Rivas,  the  commanding 
generaU  surrendered  the  province  of  Campeachy,  and  for  a  time  the 


INDIAN    W^R    IN    YUCATAN. 


Ill 


country  was  thus  actually  separated  from  Mexico.     A  new  state 
constitution  was  proclaimed  on  the  3 1  st  of  March,  1841. 

During  the  war  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  Yucatan 
declared  her  independence  of  the  latter  power,  and  even  discussed  pro- 
positions of  annexation  to  her  more  powerful  sister  republic.  But  the 
disorders  consequent  upon  these  acts  had  not  yet  subsided,  when  a 
far  more  formidable  danger  than  Mexican  oppression  menaced  the 
country.  This  was  a  general  rising  of  the  Indian  population  —  au 
event  almost  unheard  of  in  the  annals  of  Europa-American  nations. 
Early  in  1848,  all  the  interior  settlements  had  been  abandoned  by 
tlie  whites,  and  an  army  of  sixty  thousand  Indians  was  desolating 
tlie  country,  Valhulolid  and  Izamel,  after  being  defended  for  a  long 
while,  were  abandoned  in  March,  and  the  citizens  fled  to  Merida. 
The  Yucatoes  published  a  statement  of  their  fearful  condition,  and 
earnestly  invited  other  nations  to  help  them.  The  whites  have 
mainly  recovered  their  position,  and  the  country  is  now  compara- 
tively quiet.  Notwithstanding  her  declaration  of  independence, 
V^ucatan  still  continues  a  part  of  Mexico 


rOOATAM     BUT. 


SAN     FRANCISCO.     CAHIORNIA. 

CHAPTER  YIT. 

CALIFORNIA. 

^S>.HE  term  Califdrnia  was  formerly  applied  ex- 
clusively to  the  narrow  strip  of  land  between 
the  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  Californian  Gulf. 
Now  it  designates  the  extensive  country 
ranging  from  latitude  22°  48'  to  42°  north, 
and  between  the  107°  and  124°  of  west  lon- 
gitude. It  is  divided  into  Old,  or  Lower, 
California,  and  New,  or  Upper,  Californi.i. 
Old  California  was  unknown  to  Europeans  until  1534,  at  which 
time  Hernando  Cortes,  the  celebrated  conqueror  of  Mexico,  equipped 
a  small  fleet,  took  the  command  in  person,  discovered  the  Peninsula 
and  Gulf  of  California,  and  ascended  the  latter  about  fifty  leagues. 
He  named  it  the  Vermillion  or  Red  Sea,  and  it  was  subsequently 
styled,  by  bis  countrymen,  the  Sea  of  Cortes.  This  voyage  was 
liii 


DISCOVERY  OP  THE   COUNTRY. 


113 


onfortunate.  By  storms  and  other  disasters  the  conqueror  of  Mexico 
t\-a«  not  only  prevented  from  planting  a  colony,  but  forced  to  retrace 
his  course,  and  even  to  abandon  the  original  design  of  the  expedi- 
tion— a  north-west  passage  to  the  Old  World. 

Pluvious  to  this,  and  during  the  visit  of  Cortes  to  Spain,  Nunez  de 
Guzman  had  marched  with  an  army  from  Mexico  toward  the  north- 
west. In  his  progress,  he  collected  a  large  quantity  of  gold,  and 
received  the  submission  of  many  caciques  ;  but  was  finally  stopped 
bv  a  rugged  mountainous  country,  which  he  named  New  Galicia. 
This  had  induced  Cortes,  prior  to  his  own  expedition,  to  fit  out  an 
armament  at  Acapnlco,  which  he  placed  under  the  command  of 
Hartado  de  Mendoza  ;  but  vioU-nt  storms,  and  the  misconduct  of  the 
officers  emplo3-ed,  defeated  the  objects  of  the  expedition. 

Six  years  after  the  discovery  of  California,  the  viceroy,  Mendoza, 
s^nt  an  expedition  to  continue  the  observations  of  Cortes.  The 
officers  are  said  to  have  reached  the  fortieth  degree  of  north  latitude, 
where'  they  observed  snow-capped  mountains  on  the  coast ;  and, 
acC'crding  to  their  own  statement,  met  vessels  with  gilded  yards,  sup- 
posed to  belong  to  China  or  Japan. 

After  this  period,  the  burden  of  conti- 
nental difficulties  and  South  American  con- 
quests aflx)rded  the  Spaniards  but  little 
opportunity  to  colonize  the  obscure  pro- 
vinces of  the  remote  Pacific.  The  decline 
of  maritime  adventure  in  that  nation  also 
contributed  to  the  neglect  of  California. 
The  coast  was  visited,  however,  by  S  r 
Francis  Drake  and  other  voyagers,  and 
the  northern  coasts  partially  explored. 
The  buccaneers  frequently  touched  upon  it,  and  the  neighbouring 
Tiean  seems  to  have  been  a  frequent  resort  for  whaling  expeditions. 
SvAi,  for  more  than  a  century,  no  settlement  was  attempted ;  and  the 
inierior  of  the  country  remained  as  little  known  as  though  the  coast 
had  never  been  touched  by  a  foreign  vessel. 

Bot,  notwithstanding  this  apathy  with  regard  to  colonization,  a 
field  was  opened  not  long  after  the  discovery,  which,  exciting  that 
ttroDgest  of  all  motives,  the  love  of  gain,  soon  brought  numerous 
visiters  to  the  adjacent  waters.  This  was  the  finding  of  a  rich  pean 
cj«er-bed  on  the  coast.  The  pearls  abound  chiefly  in  the  southern 
part  of  the  peninsula,  in  the  Bay  of  Seralvo,  and  around  the  islands 


e:s  fbascis   dbaki. 


124 


CALIFORNIA. 


h^ 


of  Santa  Craz  and  San  Jose.  The  most  valuable  pearls  in  tAff  jsm- 
jf«as*a«i  of  the  court  of  Spain,  were  found  in  1615  and  I<Tl$5s-  fty  libe 
expediliKSis  of  Juan  Iturbi  and  Bernal  de  Pinadero.  la  ITIfiy  ^umd 
1769,  a  prirate  soldier,  named  Juan  Ocio,  was  enriched  ini  a  sibciri 
time  hy  fishang  on  the  coast  of  Seralvo;  but,  since  that  penmiL  tltt>? 
nnmber  of  CaJifornian  pearls  brought  annually  to  market  has  ftieta: 
ledaced  almost  to  nothing.  The  Indians  and  negroea  who  ffjUliiiMneD 
the  serene  occupation  of  divers,  were  frequently  drowned  at  (flawimawd 
br  sharks. 

T  length,  in  1769,  pursuant  to  tfte  fcinrr"* 
direction.  Admiral  Don  laidcu'  ©tiundu 
undertook  the  conquest  of  Citliffsmnia. 
He  was  accompanied  by  a  auniiRtflr  of 
Jesuit  missionaries,  under  Far&er  Ebbb- 
bio  Francisco  Kino.  The  acuniraOi;  of 
this  undertaking  are  exceedinsily  nueuiirei 
but  the  grneral  owed  hia  ultimaCfr  sniiDefiB 
as  much  to  the  effjrta  of  the  eccfitMutsticB 
as  to  those  of  the  soldiers.  Froim  iia,  Olhe 
caaiinenc<einent  of  the  Spanish  authority  in  this  provincs  ikao^ 
dated.  The  Jesuits  settled  in  the  most  fertile  provincea»am£  vriiitaj  the 
cocnnKCkiDs  occasioned  by  the  appearance  and  designa  of  tliit  wrihhe 
men  bad  in  some  degree  worn  away,  they  entered  ardeatly  mfiim  libe 
tfjing  task  of  proselyting  the  Indians.  Persuasion  anJi  pBHSfoitf 
were  tbe  naeans  commonly  used  ;  where  these  failed,  fiiCGif  was  ire- 
sorted  to.  After  conversion,  each  native  was  required  tU'  gikw  len 
years'  lailhful  service  to  the  missions,  after  which  he  was  ]jjilBrwfl  at 
LbeitT,  and,  on  security  of  good  behaviour,  allotted  a  smalii  gikioe  uf 
buid  li»r  cultivation,  and  a  few  cattle.  But  they  usually  remaiimtid  in 
(he  empbyinent  of  the  missions,  having  become  attachudi  aji  liheii 
masteis  and  occupations.  Their  duties  consisted  cmeily  m  ttalfchin 
care  of  cattle,  labouring  on  the  farms,  gardening,  and  liiiUHftihciJd 
work.  Some  were  taught  trades,  and  others  hired  out  tO'  starvjce. 
The  pc*!ice  of  the  missions  was  strict,  punishment  waa  adinimifitered 
when  required,  and  rewards  were  given  for  good  behaviouar- 

Such  was  the  patriarchal  manner  in  which  Cahtbmia  aaiiiaefl  for 
an  entire  century.  Remote  from  the  source  of  ita  civiliaatoia,  oi  fell 
tittle  of  the  influence  of  the  parent  state,  and,  indeedl..  nsmisiined 
ihoost  onknown  either  to  Spain  or  Europe.  This  accuuoia  fur  the 
canflacting  statements  entertained,   for  a  long  period  t)f  tdnw;.  icud 


^ARLY  COLOSIZATION. 


115 


HON  T  SHE  T.     nFP£B     CAZ-IF^HSZA. 


cerning  its  soil,  riches,  climate,  and  capabilities.  During  the  revolts  in 
1836,  the  Indians  were  mostly  cast  off  from  the  missions,  and  deprived 
of  the  fruits  of  their  labour.  The  countrj'  was  visited,  in  1841,  by 
Captain  Wilkes,  at  the  head  of  the  United  States  Exploring  Expe- 
dition, who  founi'  it  to  be  destitute  of  all  government.  "The 
Indians,"  he  says,  "are  now  committing  acts  of  violence  on  the 
whites;  they  are  becoming  daily  more  daring,  and  have  rendered  a 
residence  in  single  farm-houses,  or  estancias,  not  without  danger. 
In  looking  at  the  state  in  which  these  poor  Indians  have  been  left,  it 
cannot  be  denied  but  that  they  have  cause  to  be  dissatisfied  with  the 
treatment  they  have  received." 

New  California  appears  first  to  have  been  discovered  by  Cobrillo, 
a  Spanish  adventurer.  He  saw  the  south  coast  in  1542,  and  sailed 
for  a  short  distance  towards  the  north.  Tbirty-six  years  after, 
(1578,)  Sir  Francis  Drake  went  over  the  same  ground,  and  pursued 
his  discoveries  much  further  northward.  He  called  the  country 
New  Albion.  In  1709,  it  was  colonized  by  the  Spaniards ;  and  the 
Indians  were  converted  principally  through  the  efforts  of  the  Jesu 
Its ;  and,  until  1836,  remained  a  province  of  Mexico.  In  November 
ol  that  year,  the  citizens  of  Monterey,  the  capital,  took  up  arms, 


116 


CALIFORNIA. 


expelled  the  Mexican  garrison,  and  declared  the  province  indeporiCi 
ent.  A  proTisional  government  was  established,  similar  in  its  gcnt> 
nil  features  to  that  of  the  United  States. 

California  has  taken  an  active  part  in  the  Mexican  war,  against  tha 
L'nlted  Slates.  The  first  military  operations  consequent  to  that  event 
within  the  territor)-,  were  the  result  rather  of  accident  than  design. 

|APTAIN  FREMONT,  of  the  Corp 
of  Topographical  Engineers,  wa 
sent  by  the  United  Stales  govern 
nient  on  an  expedition  to  the  country 
lying  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains 
The  avowed  purpose  of  this  com 
mand  was  to  find  a  new  pass  to  Ore 
gon,  and  part  of  the  route  lay  through 
the  settled  portion  of  California. 

On  the  29th  of  June,  1846,  Fre- 
mont reached  the  neighbourhood  of 
Monterey,  in  the  upper  province, 
where  he  halted  his  command,  and 
proceeded  along  to  the  city,  in  order 
to  acquaint  the  authorities  with  his  plans,  and  request  permission 
to  pass  some  time  in  the  vallej-.  Permission  was  granted  ;  but, 
on  reaching  the  valley  of  San  Joaquin,  he  learned  through  Air. 
Larkin,  the  United  States  agent,  that  General  Castro  was  about 
to  attack  him  with  a  considerable  force.  He  then  took  post  about 
thirty  miles  from  the  city,  and,  raising  the  national  colours,  in- 
formed the  Californians  that  he  would  defend  the  place  to  the  last. 
Castro,  however,  did  not  attack,  and  Fremont,  after  a  tedious 
retreat,  arrived  (May  15,  1846)  at  the  TIamath  lake.  This  place 
he  soon  left,  in  consequence  of  the  appearance  of  hostile  Indians. 
On  retracing  his  steps  to  the  Sacramento  river,  he  ascertained  that 
Castro  was  still  in  arms  against  him,  and  was  even  preparing  an 
expedition  against  the  Americans  who  had  settled  in  the  neighbour' 
hood.  In  these  circumstances.  Captain  Fremont  considered  him- 
self authorized  to  attempt  the  complete  conquest  of  California,  and 
its  annexation  to  the  United  States.  This  was  on  the  6th  of  June. 
War  already  existed  between  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  but  of 
this  fact  the  captain  had  not  yet  been  ap^zed. 

The  movements  consequent  to  this  resolution  were  rapid  and  bril- 
5ani      The  garrison  at  Zanona  was  captured,  together  with  nine 


CONQUEST   BY   THE  AMERICANS. 


117 


Cftfinon  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  muskels.  On  the  25th  of  June, 
a  pari  of  Castro's  army  was  attacked  and  completely  routed.  On 
the  4th  of  July,  Fremont  assefiibled  his  forces  at  Zanona,  and  de- 
dared  the  independence  of  the  province. 

EANWMILE,  the  American  government  had 
^  \Sj2^~  U^  sent  a  fleet,  under  Commodore  Sloat,  to  the 
coast  of  California,  and  ordered  General  Kear- 
ny, with  a  large  force,  to  invade  the  country, 
after  having  conquered  NewMexico.  The  former 
officer,  on  anchoring  his  fleet,  landed  a  con- 
siderable party,  and  took  possession  of  Mon- 
terey. Here  he  was  joined  by  Fremont,  with  a  hundred  and  sixty 
men,  the  captain  being  in  close  pursuit  of  De  Castro.  At  the  same 
time.  Commodore  Stockton  landed  on  the  coast,  and  proposed  a  plan 
to  intercept  the  retreating  general,  by  sailing  down  the  coast  and 
landing  the  troops  at  a  proper  point.  Castro,  however,  evaded  his 
pursuers  and  marched  to  Mexico.  After  this  fruitless  expedition, 
Stockton,  in  company  with  Fremont  and  Mr.  Larkin,  entered  Ciudad 
de  los  Angelos,  and  renewed  the  declaration  of  freedom  for  Califor- 
nia. Soon  after,  General  Kearny  arrived  and  assumed  the  direction 
of  affairs. 

But  the  ease  with  which  the  Californias  had  been  subjected  to 
foreign  influence,  was  but  the  calm  during  which  the  storm  gathers 
its  .energy.  Officers  had  been  appointed  in  all  the  principal  towns, 
and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  duty  as  though  in  one  of  the 
L'nited  States ;  but  they  were  soon  to  learn  that  something  more 
than  a  sudden  revolution  is  necessary  to  insure  to  a  people  the  bless- 
ings of  republican  government.  On  the  15th  of  January,  1847,  tht; 
whole  province  rose  in  arms  against  the  new  system.  At  night, 
Governor  Bent  with  twenty-four  men  were  massacred  at  Fernando 
de  Taos.  Other  murders  took  place  at  the  same  time,  and  in  a  few 
days  a  large  number  of  the  Californians  were  marching  upon  Santa 
Fe.  The  commandant  of  that  place.  Colonel  Sterling  Price,  placed 
himself  at  the  head  of  four  hundred  men,  and  advanced  to  meet  the 
enemy.  He  came  up  with  them,  placed  to  the  number  of  fifteen 
hundred,  in  a  strong  position,  near  Covoda.  Notwithstanding  the 
disparity  of  force,  he  gained  a  complete  victory,  killing  or  wounding 
•hirty-six  of  their  men,  and  losing  but  eight  of  his  own — six  of  them 
wounded.  A  few  days  after  this  battle,  (January  29th,)  a  hundred 
nnd  eighty  of  Price's  men,  under  Captain  Burgwein,  defeated  a  num- 


Vi' 


118 


CALIFORNIA. 


ber  of  Mexicans,  strongly  posted  at  La  Joya.  Their  total  loss,  px« 
elusive  of  prisoners,  was  eighty.  On  the  3d  of  February,  the  vic- 
torious Americans  entered  triumphantly  into  the  toA'n  of  Fernand< 
de  Taos. 

The  Mexican  and  Caliibmian  forces  now  retired  to  the  village  of 
Paebia  de  Taos,  a  strong  position,  whose  churches  and  other  build' 
ings  were  admirably  situated  for  defence.  An  attack  was  made  by 
the  Americans  on  the  afternoon  of  the  3d,  and  renewed  on  the  fol- 
lowing  morning.  At  nine  o'clock,  a  cannon  and  two  howitzers  were 
opened  upon  the  buildings,  and,  after  a  cannonade  of  two  hours, 
two  separate  charges  were  made  under  Captains  Burgwein  and 
Angrecy ;  the  former  was  killed.  The  Americans  attempted  to 
scale  the  walls  but  failed.  They  then  stormed  the  church  through 
a  breach  in  the  wall,  fired  it,  and  commenced  vigorous  measures  for 
the  reduction  of  the  remainincr  buildings.  Hostilities  were  termi- 
Dated,  however,  by  the  submission  of  the  inhabitants.  The  garrison 
lost  about  three  hundred  killed  and  wounded ;  the  Americans  fifty- 
lour. 

GENERAL  KEARNY,  during  these 
movements  of  Colonel  Price,  had 
n.'-.ciied  from  Santa  Fe  with  a 
considerable  force,  and,  after  cross- 
ing plains,  rivers,  mountains,  and 
deserts,  came  up  with  the  enemy, 
(December  6,  1846,)  at  San  Pas- 
cual,  Upper  California.  They 
numbered  a  hundred  and  sixty, 
under  Andreas  Pico.  The  Ame- 
ricans attacked  with  twelve  dra- 
goons, under  Captain  Johnston, 
fifty  under  Captain  Moore,  mount- 
ed on  mules,  twenty  volunteers 
under  Captains  Gibson  and  Gilles* 
pie,  and  two   mountain-howitzers  under  Lieutenant  Davidson. 

At  break  of  day,  (December  6,)  Captain  Johnston  made  a  furious 
charge  upon  the  enemy  with  his  advanced  guard,  and  was  soon 
after  followed  by  the  dragoons.  The  enemy  gave  way.  They  were 
folk}wed  by  Captain  Moore,  and  the  cavalry  mounted  on  mules. 
After  retreating  about  half  a  mile,  the  enemy,  who  were  all  ac'I 
moonted,  suddenly  wheeled  round  and  attacked  the  captain    whose 


SUBJECTED  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


llfl 


•e 


Pas- 

They 

sixty, 

Ame- 
dra- 
hnston, 
mount- 
unteers 

Gilles- 

~|  furious 
jis  soon 
^y  were 
mules. 
[\[    ACH 
whose 


men  were  some  distance  in  advance  of  the  others.  On  account  of 
iheir  vastly  superior  numbers,  few  of  the  advance  remained  un- 
touched. Captain  Moore  and  Lieutenant  Hammond  were  lanced, 
with  several  other  inferior  officers.  The  Mexicans  held  the  ground 
Jor  some  minutes,  but  were  finally  repulsed.  Besides  the  officers 
already  mentioned,  the  Americans  lost  Captain  Johnston  and  sixteen 
i.ien  killed;  and  sixteen  wounded,  including  General  Kearny,  Cap- 
tains Gibson  and  Gillespie,  and  other  officers. 

On  the  7th,  Kearny  resumed  his  march,  and,  after  being  joined 
bv  Commodore  Stockton  of  the  navy,  again  encountered  the  enemy, 
(January  8,  1847,)  at  the  San  Gabriel.  Their  force  is  estimated  by 
the  general  at  six  hundred  men,  and  four  field-pieces,  under  Go- 
vernor Flores.  The  Americans  crossed  the  river  in  face  of  the 
enemy,  stormed  the  heights,  drove  the  enemy  into  the  open  plain,  and 
after  an  action  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  remained  victors  of  the  hard- 
fought  field.     Their  loss  had  been  trifling. 

On  the  9th,  the  Americans  continued  their  march  as  far  as  the 
plains  of  Mesa.  Here  the  enemy,  who,  during  the  day,  had  hung 
on  their  front  and  flanks,  opened  their  artillery,  which  was  answered 
by  that  of  the  Americans.  After  hovering  around  for  about  two 
hours,  and  occasionally  skirmishing,  the  Mexicans  concentrated  their 
forces,  and  charged  Kearny's  left  flank,  but  were  repulsed.  The 
next  day,  the  Americans  entered  Ciudad  de  los  Angelos,  without 
opposition. 

Kearney  and  Stockton  now  took  possession  of  the  province  in  the 
name  of  the  United  States,  and  published  a  proclamation  regulating 
the  government  and  other  matters  of  both  Californias.  By  the  treaty 
of  1848,  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States,  Upper  California 
and  New  Mexico  were  ceded  to  the  latter  power,  and  from  that  pe- 
riod the  history  of  these  countries  is  included  in  that  of  the  United 
States. 


pONoa   oa   Laoi 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


FLORIDA. 


LTHOUGH  the  southern  extremity  of  Florida 
lies  so  near  to  the  West  Indies,  yet  its  existence 
was  unknown  to  the  Spaniards  for  a  consider- 
able time  after  the  voyages  of  Columbus.  It 
is  supposed  to  have  been  visited  by  Sebastian 
Cabot  during  his  celebrated  voyage  along  the 
American  coast ;  but  the  principal  records  of 
this  expedition  being  lost,  precludes  the  possibility  of  establishing 
this  opinion.  The  hope  of  reaching  the  East  Indies,  or  of  discover- 
ing empires  glittering  with  oriental  luxury,  led  the  Spanish  adven- 
turers in  a  southern  or  south-west  course ;  and  it  was  not  till  Terra 
Firma  had  been  examined,  and  Nunez  de  Balboa  had  discovered  the 
Pacific,  that  the  Spaniards  even  suspected  the  existence  of  the 
region  now  forming  the  United  States. 
The  glory  of  discovering  Florida  belongs  to  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon. 

120 


'V 


ADVENTURES   OF   PONCE   DE  LEON. 


121 


nn  nd venturer  who  had  accompanied  Columbus  in  his  second  voy- 
age.  He  had  then  won  such  reputiition  as  to  be  intrusted  with  a 
share  of  the  government  of  Hispaniola.  and  subsequently  with  the 
conquest  of  Porto  Rica.  But  his  claims  as  governor  conflicting 
with  those  of  Columbus,  he  withdrew,  and  obtained,  in  compensa- 
tiun,  Bimini,  one  of  the  Bahamas,  whico  lay  nearest  to  the  conti- 
nent. 

At  this  place,  the  veteran  received  intelligence  which  decided  his 
fiiiuie  destiny.  An  opinion  was  then  prevalent  among  the  Caribs 
that  in  one  of  the  West  Indies  a  fountain  existed  whose  waters  could 
impart  the  gift  of  perpetual  youth.  In  that  age  of  romantic  and 
chivalrous  adventure,  of  new-found  worlds  and  empires,  it  is  not  won- 
derful that  the  eager  knight  should  embrace  almost  any  opmion  con- 
cerning the  mysterious  recesses  of  the  lands  daily  unfolded  to  view. 
Punce  de  Leon  immediately  embarked  in  search  of  the  wonderful 
fount.  Nearly  all  the  northern  islands  of  the  Archipelago  were 
visited,  and  the  eagerness  of  the  voyager  increased  in  proportion  as 
iho  fairy  waters  eluded  his  grasp. 

^ii^^_  ME  industrious  search  after  this  chime- 

rical object  was  rewarded  in  a  manner 
totally  unexpected.  On  the  27th  of 
March,  1512,  the  Spaniards  came  in 
sight  of  an  extensive  country,  hitherto 
unknown.  It  being  Easter,  (Pascua 
Florida,)  they  named  it  Florida ;  and 
having  landed  (April  8)  near  the  pre- 
sent site  of  St.  Augustine,  they  were  delighted  with  its  splendid 
vegetation  and  magnificent  forests.  Elated  with  the  great  discovery, 
Du  Leon,  after  sailing  down  the  eastern  coast  to  the  southern  point, 
repaired  to  Porto  Rico,  and  thence  to  Spain,  where  he  laid  before 
the  king  the  particulars  of  the  new  country,  and  obtained  permis- 
sion to  conquer  and  rule  it. 

Had  Ponce  de  Leon  been  able  to  sail  immediately  on  his  expedition, 
his  fate  and  that  of  the  expedition  would  probably  have  been  different. 
But  circumstances  delayed  his  preparations  so  long,  that  nine  years 
elapsed  before  he  again  appeared  in  the  nei^iibourhood  of  Florida. 
He  was  then  broken  down  by  war  and  misfortunes ;  and  probably 
his  skill  and  vigour  in  planning  and  executing  military  achievements 
had  been  much  diminished. 
The  point  at  which  he  landed  is  uncertain.     His  intention  seemx 

18  L 


'BfjpJW" 


rin»- 


122 


FLORIDA. 


ill  f 


(•« 


PONCK     DE     LEON    WOUNDS  D. 


to  have  been  to  found  a  permanent  colony ;  but  in  the  midst  of  his 
preparations  he  was  attacked  by  a  large  party  of  Indians,  his  men 
routed,  and  himself  severely  wounded  by  an  arrow.  Discouraged 
by  so  unexpected  a  catastrophe,  the  survivors  regained  the  vessel, 
and  sailed  for  Cuba,  where  their  leader  died  of  his  wound. 

Spain  now  claimed,  under  the  title  of  Florida,  the  who'e  coast 
from  Cape  Sable  to  Labrador.  Her  pretensions,  of  course,  wero 
never  enforced  ;  but  Spanish  vessels  continued  to  trade  along  the 
coast  as  far  north  as  Virginia,  mainly  for  the  purpose  of  stealing 
Indians,  who  were  afterwards  sold  as  slaves.  A  company  was  even 
formed  for  this  infamous  purpose  ;  and  under  their  auspices,  Lucas 
Vasques  de  Ayllon  was  sent,  about  the  year  1520,  to  Florida.  He 
discovered  South  Carolina,  and  sailed  up  theCombahee  river,  which 
he  denominated  Jordan.  The  natives  received  him  most  cordially, 
bringing  provisions  and  other  supplies;  but  after  decoying  great 
numbers  on  board,  he  detained  them,  and  the  ships  sailed  for  the 
West  Indies.  Before  reaching  their  destination,  one  of  the  ships 
sunk ;  and  nearly  all  the  captives  in  the  other  died.     A  second  ex- 


EXPEDITION   OF   NARVAEZ. 


128 


pedition,  conducted  by  the  same  leader,  was  attacked  by  the  Indians 
and  almost  annihilated. 

Some  time  after  these  voyages,  Stephen  Gomez,  in  attempting  a 
north-weii  passage  to  India,  reached,  as  is  supposed,  the  latitude  of 
40°  or  41°  north,  which  coast  was  denominated,  by  the  early  Spa- 
niards, the  Land  of  Gomez. 

An  adventurer  now  appeared  who  seemed  worthy  to  accomplish 
that  in  which  the  unfortunate  Ponce  de  Leon  had  failed.  Pamphilo 
de  Narvaez,  the  rival  of  Cortes,  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  deter- 
mined to  attempt  the  conquest  of  Florida.  For  this  purpose,  he  was 
invested  with  the  office  of  adelantado,  which  gave  him  full  power 
to  subjugate,  settle,  and  rule  the  coveted  region. 

In  June,  1527,  Narvaez  sailed  from  St.  Lucas  with  five  vessels  and 
six  hundred  men;  but,  before  leaving  C'lba,  (February  20,  1528,) 
where  he  had  stopped  to  refit,  desertion  and  other  causes  had  re 
duced  the  armament  to  four  vessels,  four  hund    'i  men,  and  eighty 
horses.     He  reached  Florida  in  April,  and  landed  in  sight  of  an 

I'ldian  village,  proba- 
bly near  the  bay  of 
Spiritu  Santo.  Here 
he  erected  the  empe- 
ror's standard,  and 
claimed  the  country 
for  Spain  ;  after  which 
the  village  was  en- 
tered, and  such  things 
seized  as  the  Spa- 
niards had  need  of. 
The  Indians  fled  into 
the  interior ;  and  it 
soon  became  neces- 
sary for  the  invaders  to  pause  and  consider  on  their  future  course. 
Alvaro  Nunez,  narrator  of  the  expedition,  advised  the  commander 
to  re-embark,  and  sail  onwards  till  he  should  find  a  fertile  country, 
and  a  safe  station  to  retreat  on,  should  it  be  necessary.  But  Nar 
vaez  determined  to  push  at  once  into  the  interior;  and,  on  the  1st 
of  May,  at  the  head  of  three  hundred  men,  forty  of  whom  were 
cavalry,  he  commenced  his  march  through  Florida.  After  passing 
through  various  tribes  of  Indians,  some  friendly  and  some  hostile, 
exploring   forests,   swimming   broad    rivers,  and   wading   through 


I.ANDINO     OF    NAHVABZ. 


v 

i 

(.■ 

-i          ^ 

y 

124 


FLORIDA. 


Hi  I 


NARVABZ    IN    FLORIDA. 


;H^ 


marshes,  they  arrived,  at  the  end  of  fifty-seven  days,  near  a  village 
which  the  guides  pointed  out  to  them  as  the  seat  of  a  flourishing 
empire.  The  food  they  had  brought  with  them  was  now  entirely 
consumed — a  circumstance  which  gave  additional  enthusiasm  to  the 
feelings  with  which  they  hailed  the  village,  as  the  fulfilment  of  their 
brilliant  expectations. 

Alvaro  took  posses*sion  of  the  place ;  and,  after  a  series  of  skir- 
mishes with  the  inhabitants,  learning  that  a  town  named  Aute, 
abounding  in  maize,  lay  nine  days'  journey  to  the  southward,  the 
dispirited  adventurers  directed  their  steps  thither.  The  difficulties 
of  the  way  were  greater  than  any  they  had  yet  experienced  ;  bul 
they  reached  their  destination,'  and  secured  a  valuable  store  of  maize. 
Another  day's  journey  brought  them  to  a  river,  opening  upon  u 
bioad  arm  of  the  sea,  probably  the  Bay  of  Appalachicola.  Here, 
while  gazing  upon  the  broad  extent  of  waters,  and  reflecting  on  the 
wilderness  through  which  they  had  passed,  the  loneliness  and  utter 
wretchedness  of  their  situation  burst  upon  them  ;  and  many  a  bold 
heart,  which  foi  years  had  struggled  for  glory  even  in  the  jaws  of 
fate,  now  sighed  like  a  child  for  home. 

The  situation  of  the  party  was  indeed  distressing.  A  third  of 
their  number  had  perished,  and  disease  was  rapidly  thinning  ths 
remainder.  To  recede  into  the  interior  would  be  folly ;  and  it  was 
impossible  to  remain  alive  on  the  coast.     No  resource  remained  bul 


JOURNEY  OP  ALVARO. 


V25 


the  almost  hopeless  one  of  constructing  barks  to  sail  along  the  const. 
Narvaez  and  his  companions  set  themselves  diligently  to  work,  and 
between  the  4th  of  August  and  20lh  of  September,  five  boats  were 
built,  each  capable  of  carrying  fifty  men.  They  were  constructed 
of  light  wood,  and  held  together  by  twisted  oakum  and  the  gum  of 
trees.     The  shirts  of  the  Spaniards  served  as  sails. 

After  embarking,  they  seized 
'5f::^^'>  five  Indian  canoes,  which  mate- 
^  rially  improved  their  condition  ; 
and  at  the  end  of  more  than  a 
month,  landed  at  a  village  where 
they  were  hospitably  received. 
At  n)idnight,  an  attack  was 
made  by  the  inhabitants,  and 
the  invaders  were  forced  tn  their  boats  with  loss.  They  met  a  like 
reception  at  annther  island.  The  provisions  were  now  nearly  ex- 
hausted;  and  the  canoes  in  such  a  miserable  condition  that  they 
could  scarcely  be  got  forward.  In  this  forlorn  situation,  Narvaez 
abandoned  his  brave  companions,  and,  pushing  ahead  in  the  best 
vessel,  left  Alvaro  and  the  others  to  ti;ke  care  of  themselves.  He  is 
supposed  to  have  perished  at  sea. 

Thus  deserted  by  the  man  who  had  led  them  to  ruin,  Alvaro, 
after  a  great  variety  of  adventures,  finally  led  a  small  remnant  of 
his  companions,  by  a  circuitous  route,  across  the  Mississippi  and  Rio 
Grande,  to  Mexico.  He  was  well  received  at  Culiazzan,  by  Go- 
vernor Diaz,  and  also  at  the  city  of  Mexico ;  and  having  there  re- 
cruited himself  by  a  stay  of  two  months,  he  set  sail,  and  arrived  a^ 
Lisbon,  August  9,  1537. 

Alvaro  found  his  own  country  intoxicated  with  the  recent  acquisi- 
tion of  an  empire,  which  had  realized  all  the  golden  dreams  that  had 
cost  so  much  blood  and  anxiety.  Peru,  discovered,  conrjuered,  and 
rifled  by  Pizarro  and  Almagro,  with  a  handful  of  adventurers,  had 
given  a  new  impulse  to  adventure,  Ferdinand  de  Soto,  a  princi- 
pal actor  in  this  grand  drama,  had  returned  to  Spain,  laden  with 
fame  and  wealth;  and,  on  hearing  of  Ponce  de  Leon's  adventures, 
he  solicited  permission  to  conquer  Florida,  and  was  immediately 
constituted  adelantado. 

At  this  juncture,  Alvaro  arrived  with  his  doleful  tale;  but  nothing 
could  damp  the  ambition  of  De  Soto.  His  fame  drew  together  a 
vast  company  of  adventurers,  from  whom  he  selected  nine  hundiea 

l9 


126 


FLCRIDA. 


i      \i 


!»■ 


d 


A.  L  U  A  a  B  O. 


and  fifty  of  approved  character  ;  and  on  the  6th  of  April,  1538,  em- 
Darked  in  ten  vessels  for  Cuba.  He  there  spent  a  year  in  prepara- 
tion, during  which  time  he  was  joined  by  Vasco  Porcalho,  a  veteran 
who,  like  himself,  had  gained  an  immense  fortune  by  his  sword.  He 
was  appointed  lieutenant-general. 

Soto  reached  Florida  May  25,  1538,  and,  on  the  30th,  landed  in 
the  bay  of  Spiritu  Santo.  Four  individuals  were  sent  out  to  ascer- 
tain the  fate  of  the  former  expedition  ;  but  these  were  seized  by  a 
neighbouring  cacique  and  condemned  to  lingering  death.  Other  dif- 
ficulties followed  in  such  rapid  succession,  that  Porcalho  became  dis- 
couraged and  returned  to  Cuba. 

It  was  unfortunate  for  De  Soto  that  an  expedition  had  preceded 
him  in  Florida.  He  came  with  a  sincere  desire  not  to  provoke  the 
Indians  by  acts  of  cruelty ;  and  as  he  had  the  reputation  of  being 
one  of  the  most  humane  of  all  the  Peruvian  conquerors,  there  is 
room  to  believe  that  his  desire  would  have  been  attended  with  th« 
wished-fnr  harmony.     In  fact,  the  measures  that  he  adopted  at  hnd- 


V- 


.lfc# 


ABVENTTJRES   OF   SOTO. 


lot 


»:t3  appoistid  adilantado   bt  thk    cooncil    of  Taa    indibj 


•nj  were  admirably  conducive  to  this  effect.  But  the  natives  still 
reirieoliered  the  perfidious  crueltj''  of  Narvaez ;  and  they  looked 
opon  the  new-comers  only  as  a  fresh  band  of  robbers  and  murderers. 
Had  Florida,  like  Mexico,  been  under  one  great  government,  this 
dlScuhy  would  not  have  been  so  formidable  ;  for  then  Soto  could 
hare  beaten  its  army,  entered  the  capital,  and  been  master  of  the 
countr}-.  But  he  struggled  against  a  multitude  of  fierce  petty  tribes, 
trho,  although  offering  no  point  at  which  an  effective  blow  could  be 
r.rack,  never  left  him  master  of  more  than  the  spot  on  which  his 
anay  stood. 

After  the  departure  of  Porcalho,  Soto  commenced  his  march  into 
tie  interior — a  march  which  has  no  parallel  in  the  history  of  Ame- 
rcan  adventure.  The  people  either  met  him  with  showers  of 
ajTows  or  fled  into  the  interior,  leaving  the  region  through  which  he 
fasse<il  little  better  than  a  barren  waste.  In  the  district  of  Acali,  his 
iten  were  attacked,  while  crossing  a  large  stream,  by  the  entire 
popaialion.     The  chieftain  of  Vitachuco  laid  a  plot  for  their  utter 


V 


a 


:« 


FLORIDA. 


y 

r    .i 


ixtemunalion  ;  but  intelligence  of  it  was  received  throutrft;  OBtlSi:_«r 
that,  on  the  day  appointed,  the  Spaniards  were  armed  and  piwpBiKid 
for  the  onset.  When  it  was  about  to  begin,  a  party  surroumfiflil  and 
seizrd  the  cacique.  The  savages,  undismayed,  rushed  on  wicli)  Ikmd 
ih(mt5;  and  Soto  rashly  galloping  into  the  crowd,  his  hixms  fell 
pfereed  irilh  three  arrows.  The  rider  himself  would  have  Besai  anm 
to  pieces  but  for  the  exertions  of  his  cavalry.  The  ffown^Tr  aff  dibe 
Indiian  iramors  now  plunged  into  a  large  pond,  where  dlHy  Ifcepi 
themselTcs  afloat,  and  though  the  invaders  surrounded  it  siis  ift^ep, 
they  refased  to  surrender.  In  the  morning,  they  were  (cmttiDired. 
when  almtist  dead  with  cold  and  fatigue. 

Nc-twithstanding  the  violence  of  this  attack,  the  Spanish  a^nwral 
extended  a  general  pardon  to  the  offenders,  and  even  ad\micosfl  ^ihf. 
caciqae  to  his  table.  Soon  after,  however,  he  apportioned  vSar  icap- 
tiTcs  as  servants  among  his  men — a  measure  in  the  highest  iflejcTee 
impdhic,  since  nothing  could  have  been  more  mortifying  m  olbiiffi 
free  chieftains  than  the  idea  of  servitude. 

A  sudden  attack  was  made  upon  the  Spaniards,  while  aC  (ffrnnsr, 
doring  which  several  of  the  Europeans  were  killed,  inifi  ifl&BTF 
•eceieij  injured ;  but  they  finally  mastered  their  infuriuflBi  a^o- 
Dents. 

Solo  now  abandoned,  in  a  great  measure,  his  concihatoty  asmrm. 
all  Indians  he  met  with,  and  compelling  them  to  act  as  ser 


T^riT' 


8UAKCU   FOR   GOLD. 


12« 


vants.  It  should  be  recorded,  however,  to  his  honour,  that,  notwith- 
standing the  srenes  of  wholesale  butchery  to  which  he  had  been 
familiarized  in  Peru,  he  never  imitated  them  in  Florida;  and,  indeed, 
rarely  trifled  with  human  life,  except  in  battle. 

On  reaching  Appo.lachen,  Soto  seized  the  cacique,  hoping  thereby 
to  compel  the  inhabitants  to  submission  through  fear  for  their  sove- 
reign's safety.  The  chief  was  of  a  most  unwieldy  lulk  ;  but,  not- 
withstanding this  circumstance,  and  the  vigilance  with  which  he  was 
guarded,  his  subjects  managed  to  steal  him  away,  and  fled  hastily 
into  the  interior.  Soto  was  mortified,  but  not  discouraged.  His 
inoughts  still  dwelt  on  some  sunny  chme  where  temples,  and  walls 
and  princely  palaces  glittered  with  burnished  gold,  where  the  same 
precious  metal  sparkled  amid  the  sands  of  limpid  streams,  and 
where  the  very  air  was  soft  and  subduing  with  the  copious  gushings 
of  priceless  gums  and  balsams.  For  this  El  Dorado,  the  fatal  syren 
which  had  misled  so  many  noble  spirits,  he  had  sacrificed  home, 
fortune,  comfort,  and  health  ;  and  still,  as  it  gliiied  from  his  grasp, 
he  bore  up  against  experience  and  the  convictions  of  common  sense, 
and  reached  onward  the  more  eagerly,  in  proportion  as  his  eftbrts 
appeared  useless.  The  reports  of  some  captains,  who  had  seen,  in 
great  abundance,  a  yellow  and  a  white  metal,  seemed  to  keep  up  the 
illusion  ;  and  Soto  determined  to  push  forward  with  all  possible  alac- 
rity. In  passing  a  rather  barren  regiog,  in  the  present  State  of 
Georgia,  his  men  were  reduced  to  such  misery  for  want  of  provi 
sions,  as  gladly  to  devour  the  dogs  presented  them  by  the  natives 
On  arriving  at  the  Savannah  river,  they  learned  that  a  kingdom, 
named  Cofaciqui,  lay  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  that  its  sovereign 
was  a  woman.  Ere  long,  an  ornamented  bark  was  seen  moving 
from  the  other  side,  containing  the  princess  herself.  She  enchanted 
them  by  her  beauty,  grace,  and  courtesy ;  presented  a  triple  row  of 
pearls  to  the  general,  and  carried  the  whole  party  across  the  river  in 
canoes.  On  being  interrogated  concerning  the  yellow  and  white 
metal, she  instantly  produced  specimens;  but  how  gr  a  was  the  dis- 
appointment of  the  adventurers  to  find  the  anticipated  gold  nothing 
but  a  gilded  stone,  and  the  silver  white  clay,  or  quartz.  It  is  pro- 
bable, however,  that  the  stone,  considered  worthless  by  the  Spaniards, 
was  really  gold  ore. 

Sick  with  repeated  vexations,  many  of  the  adventurers  expressed 
»  wish  to  give  up  the  search  for  wealth,  and  settle  in  their  present 
quarters.     To  this,  Soto  would  not  listen,  but  departed  in  the  bc^ia- 

17 


> 


»   w 


180 


FLORIDA. 


*,   't 


% 


ningof  May.  Considering  it  impossible,  however,  to  mnrch  throuffii 
ihe  country  without  being  attacked,  he  seized  the  queen,  and  obliged 
her  to  issue  orders  that  the  Spaniards  should  be  supplied  with  what- 
ever her  territory  afforded.     She  escaped  near  the  frontier. 

HE  Spaniards  now  passed  through  the  Chero- 
^  kee  region,  and  over  a  barren  territory,  to  the 
land  of  Coosa.      Here  they  were  met  by  the 
cacique  in  the  most  friendly  manner — a  kind- 
ness requited  by  seizing  his  person.     The  same 
^  ^  system  was  practised  on  the  cacique  of  Tusca- 

V  \  loosa,  a  person  of  gigantic  statYire,  fierce,  proud, 

knd  ruling  over  extensive  territories.  On  finding  himself  a  prisoner, 
he  dissembled  his  real  sentiments,  until  the  invaders  had  reached 
Mauvila.  (Mobile.)  a  large  town,  strongly  palisaded,  and  containing 
numerous  families.  Soto,  having  entered  by  invitation,  was  enter- 
tained with  dances  and  other  kinds  of  gayety  ;  yet,  while  surrounded 
with  these  flattering  demonstrations,  he  received  notice  that  the 
houses  were  filled  with  armed  warriors,  collected  from  every  quar- 
ter; that  the  children  had  been  removed,  and  even  the  women,  ex- 
cept many  who  had  also  prepared  for  battle.  Strange  to  say,  in  the 
face  of  this  evidence,  and  notwithstanding  his  past  bitter  experience, 
the  general  contented  himself  by  merely  directing  his  followers  to 
be  on  their  guard. 

He  was  scon  undeceived.  Order  was  succeeded  by  uproar,  terror, 
and  death.  Yells  from  thousands  of  infuriated  savages  appalled  the 
stoutest  heart,  and  clouds  of  arrows  darkened  the  day.  Unable  to 
breast  the  storm,  Soto  shouted  to  his  men  to  fall  back — a  movement 
which  continued,  under  galling  showers,  until  they  reached  their 
horses.  One  after  another  was  loft  behind,  the  victim  of  Indian 
vengeance,  and  many  of  the  survivors  were  pierced  by  arrows.  But 
once  on  horseback,  they  regained  their  superiority,  and  easily  drove 
back  their  pursuers.  The  palisade  being  strong  against  a  force 
■vilhout  artillery,  some  time  elapsed  before  the  gate  could  be  forced 
open.  Even  then,  the  Indians  were  found  so  strongly  posted  in 
ihe  houses,  that  they  could  not  be  overcome  except  by  the  dreadful 
expedient  of  firing  the  town.  The  scene  that  followed  was  terrible. 
In  that  warm  climate,  houses  constructed  entirely  of  reeds  and 
branches,  flamed  like  tinder,  and  suddenly,  as  by  magic,  both  armies 
were  involved  in  volumes  of  fire  and  smoke.  As  the  natives  rushed 
funvard,  many  fell  a  sacrifice  either  to  the  flames  or  the  sword 


! 


Sittii 


DISCOVERT   OF  THK   MISSISSIPPI. 


131 


Those  who  escaped  to  the  fields  endeavoured  to  renew  the  battle, 
and  even  the  women  lent  their  assistance;  they  were,  however, 
finally  obliged  to  seek  safely  in  a  general  flight.  Difle'ent  accounts 
slate  their  loss  at  from  two  thousand  five  hundred  to  t  in  thousand. 
The  Spaniards  had  eighteen  killed,  a  number  severely  wounded,  and 
all  their  baggage  consumed  in  the  flames. 

After  this  melancholy  affair,  S.jIo  fuught  his  way  into  the  great 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  hitherto  unknown,  and  reached  Chicasaw, 
the  small  capital  of  the  wail.ke  nation  of  the  Chicasaws.  Here  h« 
passed  the  winter.  On  the  return  of  spring,  he  had  apparep'.'.y 
removed  all  cause  of  dispute  with  the  Indians,  whom  he  now  re- 
quested to  lend  him  two  hundred  of  their  number  to  carry  his 
biiggage.  A  storm,  however,  was  about  to  burst  upon  him,  of  which 
he  was  little  aware.  The  Indians  had  long  been  seeking  an  oppor- 
tunity for  surprise,  and  now  taking  advantage  of  a  dark,  stormy 
night,  passed  the  Spanish  sentinels,  penetrated,  undiscovered,  into 
their  cantonments  and  set  them  on  fire.  At  dead  of  night,  the  troops 
were  roused  from  slumber,  by  the  crackling  of  flames  and  the  yells 
of  their  assailants.  They  would  probably  have  been  entirely  cut 
ofT;  but  that  the  horses  rushing  with  w>ld  neighings  from  place  to 
place,  were  mistaken  for  mounted  troops,  and  caused  the  Chicasaws 
to  fly  in  disorder.  Eleven  Spaniards  were  killed,  fifty  horses,  and 
nearly  all  their  hogs.  The  clothes  which  had  escaped  at  Mauvila 
were  burned,  and  the  iron  armour  damaged. 

In  this  forlorn  condition,  the  Spaniards  again  pushed  forward, 
until  their  progress  was  arrested  by  the  Mississippi.  This  great 
etream  is  accurately  described  by  the  survivors  as  more  than  a  mile 
broad,  rapid,  muddy,  extremely  deep,  and  with  many  large  trees 
floating  on  its  surface.  Solo's  passage  being  opposed,  it  was  twenty 
days  before  he  could  construct  barges  to  contain  his  men. 

It  would  be  tedious  to  follow  the  intrepid  Soto  through  the  whole 
of  this  astonishing  expedition.  Fle  appears  to  have  wandered  far 
north,  into  what  is  now  the  state  of  Missouri,  everywhere  toiling 
and  fighting,  amid  dangers  apparently  insurmountable.  At  Auti- 
amque  (Utiangue)  on  the  Upper  Washita,  he  passed  his  fourth 
dreary  winter.  In  the  spring,  his  condition  was  so  wretched,  that  he 
determined  on  the  measure  from  which  his  mind  had  so  long  re- 
volted, of  returning  to  the  coast,  and  seeking  reinforcements  from 
Cuba  or  Mexico.  He,  therefore,  hastily  descended  the  Washita  to 
ts  juncture  with  the  Red  River,  and  the  latter  stream  to  its  conf  u- 


ft' 


^■•-r 


\a2 


FLORIDA. 


r5r  ;a 


ence  with  the  Mississippi.  Here  he  found  himself  in  the  territory 
if  Gauchoya,  which  contained  a  brave  and  numerous  population  ; 
his  men  being  reduced  to  less  than  five  hundred,  and  the  horses  to 
forty.  He,  therefore,  announced,  himself  as  the  child  of  the  sun  ; 
and  takincT  adranta^re  of  their  astonishment  at  seeing  theniselves  in 
a  mirror,  he  announced' that  that  glass  would  display  to  him  what- 
ever they  did  at  any  distance,  and  thus  detect  any  plot  which  might 
be  formed  against  him.  He  was  now  informed  that  the  sea  was  yet 
iar  off;  and  the  road  thither  greatly  obstructed  by  streams  and 
entangled  woods.  Amid  these  anxieties  and  distresses  he  wt*? 
seized  with  fever,  which  closed,  in  a  few  days,  his  earthly  career 
The  death  of  the  commander  who  had  shared  with  thera  so  ma 


iii^ 


DEATH   OF   SOTO. 


i8d 


toils,  and  whose  voice  hud  been  their  rullyinjr  power  in  hours  uf 
(l;vrliness,  fell  with  stunning  force  on  his  hitlu  bund.  Moscoso,  hn 
successor,  endeavoured  to  conceul  liie  event  from  the  Indiuns,  pre- 
tending that  the  generul  hud  merely  gone  on  a  visit  to  heuven, 
whi-nre  he  would  quickly  return.  Lest  an  ordinary  burial  mij,'ht 
lead  to  other  conclusions,  it  was  determined  to  sink  the  body  in  the 
Mississippi.  At  dead  of  night,  with  nothing  around  but  a  few 
broken  men,  the  silent  stars,  and  the  rolling  flood,  the  chivalric  Sotu 
was  committed  to  his  watery  grave.  He  who  had  made  caj)tive 
the  mighty  Inca  of  Peru,  who,  to  grasp  an  empire's  wealth,  had 
battled  among  tens  of  thousands,  and  whose  fame  hud  drawn  to  hi 
banner  the  most  splendid  army  hitherto  beheld  in  the  New  World 
was  robbed  by  fortune,  even  of  that  little  spot  where  friends  couk. 
console  themselves  by  reflecting  that  they  wept  over  his  remains. 
Alter  his  death,  tliL-  adveiilurers  wandered  about  for  a  long  while 
over  an  immense  tract  of  country,  and  finally  constructed  boats,  de 
scended  the  Mississippi,  and  sailed  to  Panuco.  Of  the  entire  com- 
pany that  had  sailed  from  Cuba,  only  three  hundred  and  eleven 
were  left.  After  marching  four  years  over  live  thousand  miles  of 
savage  and  hostile  regions,  they  had  achieved  nothing,  nor  left  even  a 
vestige  of  their  route,  save  the  track  of  blood  by  which  it  hud  been 
too  oiten  stained. 

Thus,  the  first  three  Spanish  exjiedilions  to  Florida  did  not  establish 
ior  that  nation  one  single  fort,  notwithstanding  that  more  blood  and 
treasure  hud  been  expended  on  them  than  on  the  combined  outfits  of 
L'ulumbus,  Cortes,  and  Pizarro.  Such  reverses  diminished  the 
attractions  of  Florida  to  Spanish  eyes;  and  the  idea  of  colonizing  it 
seems  to  have  been  for  some  '.ime  abandoned.  A  Dominican  mis- 
sionary, however,  named  Canceilo,  visited  the  country  for  the  pur 
IJose  of  converting  the  Indians,  and  received  t-nple  encouragement 
trom  government;  but  he  and  his  companions  were  massacred. 
The  Spaniards,  however,  continued»to  claim  Florida,  and  even  the 
»hole  of  North  America. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  so  preposterous  a  claim  would  long 
•emain  undisputed  by  the  more  powerful  European  nations.  Fran- 
ks I.,  the  great  rival  of  the  Spanish  emperor,  was  ambitious  of  esta- 
Jlishing  a  colony  in  North  America,  which  might  act  as  a  check  to 
ais  antagonist's  power  in  that  quarter ;  and  with  this  view,  he  sup- 
plied Giovanni  Verazzano,  a  noble  Florentine,  wi'h  four  vessels  fc 
America.     This  adventurer,  after  being  driven  back  by  a  storm  lo 

M 


IM 


FLORIDA. 


7ZRAZZ  A  NO 


fitted  his  fleet,  and  engaged  in  some  successful  naval  operations  on 
;he  Spanish  coast.  He  was  then  given  command  of  the  Dolphin, 
<vith  fifty-eight  men,  provisioned  for  eight  months,  to  prosecute  his 
original  plan  of  discovery.  After  encountering  a  severe  tempest,  he 
came,  in  the  middle  of  March,  upon  a  coast  supposed  to  be  that  of 
North  Carolina.  After  sailing  along  the  coast  for  some  time  in 
search  of  a  harbour,  he  landed  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Fear,  and 
held  some  friendly  intercourse  with  the  natives.  He  coasted  what 
is  now  Virginia  and  the  Middle  States,  sailed  up  the  Hudson, 
touched  at  Martha's  Vineyard,  and  other  portions  of  New  England, 
visited  Nova  Scotia,  and  seems  to  have  gone  as  far  north  as  Labra- 
dor; but  his  provisions  being  exhausted,  he  was  obliged  to  sail  for 
France.  Verazzano  subsequently  made  another  voyage  to  America, 
where  he  was  killed  by  a  party  ef  the  natives. 

After  the  death  of  Francis  I.,  the  celebrated  Admiral  Colign'*  de- 
termined to  found  a  settlement  in  America,  which  might  afford  an 
asylum  to  his  Protestant  brethren,  whom  persecution  obliged  to  flee 
from  their  own  country.  In  1562,  he  furnished  John  Ribault  of 
Dieppe,  an  experienced  seaman,  with  two  vessels,  and  directions  to 
reach  the  mouth  of  the  river  called,  by  Ayllon,  the  Jordan,  (Camba- 
hee.)  Steering  in  too  low  a  latitude,  that  lavigator  reached  the  St 
Johns,  and  discovered  other  rivers  which  he  named  after  tho««  oi 


FUENCU   EXPEDITIONS. 


138 


ADU1HA.L     COLlaNL 


his 

he 

of 

in 
and 
'hat 
son, 
anil, 
ibia- 
l  for 
rica, 

de- 
d  an 

flee 
It  ot 
Ins  to 
Imba- 
le  St 

if,  oi 


Fiance.  The  scenerj-  at  Port  Royal  so  delighted  him  that  he  landed 
and  chose  it  as  the  site  of  his  colony.  Having  erected  a  fort  and 
placed  the  settlement  in  a  promising  condition,  Ribault  left  twenty- 
six  men  and  returned  to  France  for  reinforcements  and  supplies. 
Unfortunately,  the  new  governor,  Albert,  was  a  rash  and  tyrannical 
officer;  who,  finding  it  diflicult  to  maintain  authority  where  all 
thought  themselves  nearly  equal,  enforced  it  in  the  most  violent 
manner  He  addressed  them  in  opprobrious  language,  hanged  on«! 
with  his  own  hand,  and  threatened  others  with  the  same  fate.  Mu- 
tiny was  the  consequence.  The  conmiander  was  put  to  death,  and 
Nicholas  Barre,  being  appointed  in  his  stead,  so<^tn  restored  tran- 
quillity. In  consequence  of  the  great  civil  war  in  France,  no 
reinforcements  reached  the  little  colony ;  and  the  colonists  at 
length  constructed  a  brigantine  to  return  to  their  own  country. 
The  slender  stock  of  provisions  was  soon  exhausted,  and  after  being 
reduced  to  the  last  extremity,  they  were  picked  up  by  an  English 
vessel. 

Some  time  elapsed  before  Coligni  could  resume  his  scheme  of 
colonization  ;  but,  in  1564,  he  succeeded  in  fitting  out  three  vessels, 
abundantly  supplied,  and  commanded  by  Rene  Laudonniere,  an  able 
companior  of  Ribault.     Sailing  round  the  Canaries  and  West  Indies, 


13(i 


FLOIUD.V. 


SATUHIOVA    SHOWINO    LAUDONNIERB     RIBA.DLT    3    MONUMENT. 


he  readied  the  St.  John's  river,  and  determined  there  to  stop  and 
seille.  He  was  cordially  received  by  Satiiriova,  the  Indian  cacique, 
who,  flattered  by  the  deference  shown  him  by  the  French,  led  Lau- 
donniere  to  the  monument  erected  by  Ribauh,  which  had  been  deco- 
rated with  flowers  and  supplied  with  ample  prorisiona  for  the  new 
visitors.  A  fort  named  La  Carolina  was  erected,  and  expeditions 
sent  up  the  river,  where  small  quantities  of  gold  and  silver  were 
seen.  Reports  were  likewise  received  of  a  mountainous  country  in 
the  interior  where  these  metals  abounded.  These  illusory  prospects 
diverted  the  colonists  from  more  sober  pursuits  ;  and,  in  a  short  time, 
a  number  of  the  more  reckless,  seized  with  a  sudden  desire  to  grow 
rich,  formed  the  cruninal  resolution  of  becoming  pirates.  Confining 
ihe  commander,  they  rifled  Iiis  stores,  and  setting  sail  captured  a 
richly  laden  vessel,  having  the  governor  of  Jamaica  on  board. 
They  imprudently  sailed  to  that  island,  where  they  were  surrounded 
and  one  of  their  vessels  captured.  The  others  were  obliged,  through 
want  of  food,  to  return  to  the  settlement,  where  Laudonniere  con- 
demned four  of  the  ringleaders  to  be  executed. 

Meanwhile,  the  colonists  neglected  agriculture,  and  continued 
the  pursuit  after  unknown  treasures.  They  were  soon  obliged  to 
depend  for  food  entirely  on  the  Indians,  a  miserable  resource,  parti" 
cularly  in  Florida.  Dispirited  by  so  dreary  a  situation,  they  began 
to  construct  vessels  to  return  home  ;  and,  although  cheered  by  a 
visit,  and  a  liberal  supply  of  provisions  from  Sir  John  Hawkins,  thev 
did  not  intermit  their  task.  But  when  on  the  point  of  sailing, 
^August  28,  1565,)  several  ships  were  observed  ipproaching.     It 


FRENCH   AND   SPANISH   EXPEDITIONS. 


137 


specls 

time, 

grow 

ining 

ired  a 

board. 

jundeil 

1  rough 

con- 

iiinued 
ged  to 
parti* 
began 
by  a 
s,  thev 
sailing, 
.     It 


was  a  new  expedition  under  Ribauu,  who, 
having  been  appointed  to  supersede  Laudon- 
niere,  had  brought  with  him  a  numerous  rein 
forceinent  and  ample  supplies.  Tiie  idea  of 
returning  was,  therefore,  abandoned.  To 
them,  the  resolution  was  a  fatal  one. 

Don  Pedro  Menendez,  a  Spaniard,  now  de« 
termined  to  conquer  Florida.  He  sailed  from 
San  Lucas  with  eleven  ships  and  a  thousand 
iiR  JOHN  uAWKiNs  men,  and  repaired  to  the  river  St.  Augus- 
tine. He  there  founded  a  settlement,  considered  the  oldest  town 
now  in  the  United  States,  and  forthwith  prepared  for  operations 
airainst  the  heretic  French. 

Ilibault,  on  learning  the  arrival  of  this  formidable  enemy,  thought 
it  must  advisable  to  become  tlie  assailant  without  delay,  before  they 
could  fortify  their  position.  This  conduct  has  been  censured,  but 
perhaps  too  much  with  reference  to  the  fatal  even*.  Leaving  Lau- 
doniiiere  with  eighty-live  men  in  tiie  fort,  he  sailed  on  the  8lh  of 
September,  and  arrived  i.n  the  lOih  at  the  mouth  uf  the  St.  Augus- 
tine;  but  was  there  uverlaktm  by  a  tremendous  storm,  which  drove 
hiai  far  out  to  sea.  Menendez.  concluding  that  this  expedition  must 
have  comprised  the  flower  of  the  French  troops,  and  that  those  left 
in  the  fort  were  few  in  nund)er,  hastily  formed  the  resolution  to 
attack  them.  Selecting  five  hundred  of  his  best  men,  he  led  them 
across  a  wild  country,  iiUersected  by  broad  streams,  swamps,  and 
forests,  encouraging  thein  to  proceed  by  an  appeal  to  all  the  sentiments 
of  honour  and  religion.  On  the  fourth  evening,  the  place  was  des- 
cried, but  the  night  was  spent  in  the  neighbourhood,  amid  a  dread- 
ful leniptst,  which,  while  it  inflicted  severe  suffering,  also  lulled  the 
enemy's  suspicions.  At  daybreak,  the  three  gates  of  the  fort  were 
seen  open,  and  only  a  single  Frenchman  outside,  who  was  lured 
into  the  camp  and  killed.  Menendez  then  ordered  his  followers  to 
rush  forward,  and  enter  before  any  discovery  could  be  made.  But 
a  soldier,  chancing  to  be  on  the  rainjiart,  gave  the  alarm  ;  though, 
before  Laudonniere  could  be  roused,  the  enemy  were  in  the  fort,  and 
had  coiiimenced  an  indiscriminate  massacre.  That  chief,  with  seve- 
ral companions,  leaped  from  the  wall,  ran  into  the  woods,  and,  after 
wandering  some  time,  found  a  little  bark,  in  which,  under  severe 
want  and  imminent  perils,  they  made  their  way  to  Bristol.  Spanish 
ff; Iters  assert,  that,  after  the  slaughter  had  continued  some  time,  ao 


18 


m2 


138 


FLORIDA 


HIBAniT    WKBCSaD. 


order  was   issued   to  spare  the  women  and  children,  and  that,  whiU 
two  hundred  perished,  seventy  were  saved. 

Ribault,  meanwhile,  after  being  driven  out  to  sea,  saw  his  vess^ela 
completely  wrecked  among  the  rocks  in  the  Bahama  Channel.     He 
escaped  on  shore  with  nearly  all   his  men;  but  their  condition  was 
most  deplorable,  and,  in  endeavouring  to  reach  their  settlement  by  a 
march  of  three  hundred  miles,  through  a  barren  country,  the  most 
extreme  hardships  were  endured.     At  length,  on  the  ninth  day,  they 
beheld  the  river,  and   the  fort  on  the  opposite  side  ;  but  what  was 
their  dismay  to  see  on  the  ramparts  Spanish  colours  flying !     Their 
leader  made  a  solemn   pause   before  he  could  resolve  to  place  any 
trust  in  men  known  to  be  imbued  with  the  most  ferocious  bigotry. 
Seeing,  however,  no  other  hope,  he  sent  two  of  the  party  to  represent 
that  their  sovereigns  w-ere  at  peace  ;  that,  agreeably  to  instructions, 
they  had  strictly  avoided  interfering  with  any  of  their  settlements; 
they  asked   only  food   and  a  vessel  to   convey  them   home.     Thoir 
reception   is  very  difTerently  reported.     According  to  the   French,  it 
was  most  kind,  and  ample  pledges  of  safety  were  given.     The  Spa- 
niards, on  the  contrary,  allege  that  Menendez  acquainted  them  with 
his  object,  and  the  bloody  treatment  he  had  given  to  their  countr*^ 
men  ;  but  added,  that  if  they  would  lay  down  their  arms,  and  plat 
themselves  at  his  mercy,  he  would  do  with  them  whatever  God  in 
his  grace  might  suggest.     We  cannot,  however,  believe  that  without 
some  more  positive  pledge,  Ribault  would  have  agreed  to  surrender. 
Having  delivered  their  arms,   his  men  were  conveyed   across  the 
river  by  thirty  at  a  time.     They  were  dismayed  to  find  themselves 
bound  two  and  two  together,  with  their  hands  behind  their  backs; 
but  this,  they  were  assured,  was  only  a  temporary  precaution.     A' 


DOMINIQUE   DE   QOUKGUES. 


189 


length,  they  were  drawn  up  in  front  of  the  castle,  when  the  Spanish 
chief  with  his  sword  drew  a  line  round  them  on  the  sand,  and  on  a 
si£fnal  given,  the  soldiers  commenced  the  work  of  slaughter,  with 
every  excess  of  cruehy  and  indignity  ;  the  military  band  playing 
the  whole  time  to  drown  the  cries  for  mercy  and  the  shrieks  of  the 
dying.  Ribault,  amid  vain  remonstrances,  was  struck  in  the  back 
and  fell  covered  with  wounds.  When  the  work  of  blood  was 
finished,  the  assassins  suspended  to  a  tree  a  number  of  the  mangled 
limbs,  attaching  the  inscription,  "Not  because  they  are  Frenchmen, 
but  because  they  are  heretics  and  enemies  of  God." 

This  dismal  tragedy,  when  announced  in  France,  gave  birth  to  a 
mingled  sentiment  of  grief  and  rage,  accompanied  by  a  loud  cry  for 
vengeance.  These  feelings  were  the  more  deep  among  the  Hugue- 
nots, from  the  suspicion  that  they  were  not  shared  by  the  sovereign 
Charles  IX.,  who  was  closely  united  with  Philip  in  relentless  enmity 
to  the  Protestant  name.  Yet  a  remonstrance  was  presented  from 
fifteen  hundred  widows  and  orphans,  calling  on  him  to  avenge  this 
dreadful  deed,  and  vindicate  the  honour  of  his  country.  The  king 
made  only  formal  remonstrances,  and  accepted  a  superficial  apology; 
but  there  was  a  spirit  in  the  nation  itself,  which,  independently  of 
his  will,  provided  the  means  of  punishment. 

.5£i^^tf"^^^%,   vers. 

daring  warrior.  He  had  fought  success- 
"-^^~^  fully  both  against  the  Spaniards  and 
Turks,  by  the  former  of  whom  he  had 
been  held  some  time  a  prisoner,  treated 
with  the  utmost  indignity,  and  compelled 
'^c.»s,'>4v,,-,'  ^Q  work  as  a  galley  slave.     On  receiving 

intelligence  of  the  Floridan  catastrophe,  his  own  wrongs,  together 
with  those  of  his  countrymen,  took  full  possession  of  his  mind ;  and 
he  devoted  his  whole  energies  to  the  work  of  vengeance.  By  sell- 
ing his  little  property,  and  borrowing  from  friends,  he  equipped 
three  ships,  with  two  !. -ndred  and  thirty  soldiers  and  sailors,  mostly 
chosen  adherents,  who  had  often  conquered  along  with  him.  Care- 
iully  concealing  his  object,  he  obtained  a  license  for  the  shve-traOe, 
and  sailed  on  the  22d  of  August,  1567;  but  on  approaching  the 
Cape  de  Verd  islands,  he  changed  his  course,  and  stood  across  the 
Atlantic.  It  was  not  before  reaching  the  western  point  of  Cubi. 
hat  he   unfolded  to  the  whole    par.y  their   dreadful   destinatiou 


%: 


OMINiaUE  DE  GOURGUES  was  uni- 

''■'  )^^   versally  distinguished   in  that  age  as  a 


110 


FLORIDA. 


Some  were  disposed  to  shrink ;  but,  beino;  persuaded  by  the  real 
they  at  length  joined  in  a  unanimous  consent. 

De  Gourgues,  in  sailing  along  the  coast  of  Florida,  passed  impru- 
dently near  to  San  Matheo,  of  which  he  was  warned  by  his  squad 
ron,  who  had  found  themselves  saluted  as  Spaniards ;  whereupon 
he  hastened  to  anr.ther  river  fifteen  leagues  distant,  and  landed  as 
secretly  as  possible.  Finding  the  natives  as  usual  imbued  with 
deadly  hostility  towards  the  subjects  of  Philip,  he  engaged  their  co- 
operation ;  and  learning  that  the -enemy  had  built  two  small  forts, 
he  made  a  rapid  march  and  spent  the  night  at  a  short  distance  from 
them.  In  the  morning,  he  was  alarmed  to  see  the  whole  garrison  in 
m  ition  on^  the  ramparts;  but  they  had  assembled  from  some  acci- 
dental cause,  and  soon  withdrew.  The  French  then  advanced 
through  a  thick  wood,  which  brought  them  almost  close  to  one  of 
the  smaller  forts.  On  emerging  from  the  forest,  they  were  seen,  the 
alarm  was  given,  and  two  guns  fired  ;  but,  rushing  f  )rward  with  wild 
impetuositj',  they  scaled  the  ramparts,  an  Indian  chief  being  foremost; 
the  garrison,  seized  with  terror,  ran  out  in  every  direction,  and  were 
nearly  all  killed  or  taken.  Those  in  the  next  station  followed  their 
example,  and  soon  shared  their  fate  ;  but  the  main  fortress  was  still 
untouched,  and  defended  by  troops  far  more  numerous  than  the  assail 
ants.  A  small  party,  however,  having  rashly  sallied  out,  were  sur- 
rounded and  nearly  cut  off;  whereupon  the  whole  body,  struck  with 
the  general  panic,  at  once  abandoned  their  stronghold,  and  sought 
safety  in  the  woods.  Being  eagerly  pursued,  most  of  them  were 
taken  ;  and  De  Gourgues  had  given  strict  orders  to  bring  in  as  many 
alive  as  possible.  He  then  led  them  all  together  to  the  fatal  tree  on 
which  the  remains  of  his  slaughtered  countrymen  yet  hung,  and 
having  upbraided  them  in  the  strongest  terms  for  their  treachery 
and  cruelty,  he  hanged  them  all;  suspending  a  number  of  their 
bodies  on  the  same  trunk,  and  substituting  for  the  former  one  the 
following  inscription: — "Not  because  they  are  Spaniards,  but  be- 
cause they  are  traitors,  robbers,  and  murderers."  Had  this  execu- 
tion been  confined  to  a  few  of  the  ringle!"':-is,  it  might  have  been 
held  as  a  just  retribution ;  but  being  inflicted  on  so  large  a  stale. 
It  almost  rivalled  the  atrocity  which  it  was  meant  to  avenge. 

De  Gourgues  had  not  come  with  any  intention  of  settlement. 
Embarking,  therefore,  with  whatever  was  valuable  in  the  forts,  he 
sailed  for  Rochelle,  and  was  received  in  that  Protestant  capital  with 
the  Joudcst  acclamations.     His  reception  at  Bordeaux  was  equally 


RECENT   HISTORY. 


Ill 


fluttering;  but  it  was  very  different  at  Paris,  where  Charles  showed 
110  little  inclination  to  transmit  his  head  to  Philip,  who  loudly  de- 
manded it.     Steps  were  even   taken   for  bringing  him  to  trial ;  but 
ihey  were  found  so  exct'ssively  unpopular,  that  it  was  deemed  expe 
dient  to  withdraw  them,  and  allow  him  to  retire  into  Normandy. 

Amid  many  vicissitudes  of  fortune,  Florida  remained  in  the  Spa- 
nish possession  until  1703,  when  it  was  ceded  to  Great  Brit&in.  In 
I7*(l,  Di  n  Galvez  conquered  West  Florida;  and  by  the  treaty  cf 
Paris,  nSi,  brith  Fkiridas  were  restored  to  Spain.  In  IS  19,  nego- 
tiations were  commenced  between  the  United  States  and  Spain, 
which  resulted  in  a  treaty  ceding  the  whole  territory  to  the  former 
country.  It  was  ratified  by  Spain  in  October,  1820,  and  by  the 
United  States  in  the  ensuing  February.  In  July,  General  Jackson 
took  formal  possession  of  it,  since  whiih  time  its  history  is  included 
n  that  of  the  United  State?-. 


Ittlement. 

forts,  he 

)ital  with 

equally 


i: 


m 


JAGC  3  3    CABTiaa. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

CANADA  UNDER  THE  FRENCH. 

'  N  the  year  1497,  John  Cabot  a:mJ  Ifaia  fnn 
Sebastian  reached  the  continent  niff3i»tirui 
America,  being  the  first  Europtfiumfi  -who 
^_^:  had  touched  there  since  the  i?t)mlii;n>en. 
^  In  the  following  year  Sebiiatinia)  ■per- 
formed  a  most  extensive  eiplotsificrgr  Tor- 
age  along  the  greater  part  of  tdiie  fast- 
ern  coast,  from  latitude  56^  or 3*^  mtmii. 
to  Florida ;  and  in  1517,  H*  aiQered 
Hudson's  Bay,  with  the  hope  sS  Amco- 
reiing  a  north-west  passage  to  India.  A  mutiny  of  the  crew  dftiiin^d 
hiin  to  retnm. 

After  the  return  of  the  Cabots  to  Europe,  and  the  (£iat&  <fff  aibf  it 
n>Tal  patron,  Henry  VIl.,  the  English  grew  careless  of  fijm«ir7n  dis- 
coTeries;  but  the  French  entered  upon  them  with  all  die  eacftiiHfiiafini 


k^^itfi. 


DISCOVERIES  OF  CARTIER. 


143 


-      '^C*'^ 


bniien. 

•eafit- 
3d 


OARTIBR    TAKINO    P033I33tOS    OF    »  I  W     F  3  A  N  C  X. 

necessary  for  success.  Notwithstanding  the  difficulties  under  which 
Francis  I.  then  laboured,  he  commissioned  Giovanni  Verazzano,  a 
Florentine  navigator,  to  explore  the  eastern  shores  of  North  Ame- 
rica. In  virtue  of  his  discoveries,  the  coast  from  Carolina  to  Nova 
Scotia  was  claimed  by  the  French  monarch,  and  named  New  France. 
A  second  expedition  under  Verazzano  was  unfortunate;  but  ten 
years  after,  Jaques  Cartier,  a  bold  and  able  mariner,  made  two  voy- 
ages, in  the  l-'.'.ter  of  which  he  ;iscended  ihe  St.  Lawrence  as  far  as 
the  site  cl  Montreal.  In  1310,  the  same  officer  was  employed  under 
the  Sieur  de  RoH'  il,  who  also  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
erected  a  fort  where  Q,uebec  now  stands.  The  two  leaders  could 
not  agree,  and  parted  ;  but  nine  years  after,  while  sailing  to  Ame- 
rica with  a  similar  design,  Roberval  and  his  brother  perished,  as  is 
supposed,  by  shipwreck. 
10 


114 


CANADA  UNDER  THE  FRENCH. 


If- 

w 


These  failures,  together  with  the  distracted  condition  of  France, 
withdrew  the  attention  of  government  from  schemes  of  transatlantic 
colonization.  Yet  the  merchants  of  the  great  commercial  towns 
had  opened  communications  and  even  established  posts  fdr  the  pro- 
secution of  the  fur  trade  ;  thus  keeping  alive  the  spirit  of  adven- 
ture until  a  more  propitious  season  should  occur  for  its  develop- 
ment. 

Accordingly,  on  the  restoration  of 
tranquillity  under  Henry  IV.,  the  Mar- 
quis de  la  Roche  undertook  to  settle 
America  on  a  large  scale.  Not  only 
did  he  receive  the  countenance  of  the 
liberal  monarch,  but  was  also  ju- 
thorized  to  levy  troops,  make  >»ar, 
build  forts  and  cities,  enact  laws,  and 
to  create  lor  Is,  dukes,  barons,  and 
similar  dignities.  Several  vessels 
were  equipped,  and  crews  provided, 
in  part,  from  the  prisons.  Notwith- 
sland'-^g,  however,  these  favourable 
auspices,  the  expedition  proved  a  total 
failure.  Forty  colonists  were  left  on  Sable  Island ;  and  being 
neglected,  suffered  such  hardships  as  caused  them  to  sigh  even  foi 
their  dungeons.  In  this  deplorable  condition  they  remained  seven 
years,  at  which  time  they  were  visited  by  the  Norman  pilot,  Che- 
dotel,  who  found  but  twelve  alive.  These  were  taken  to  France 
and  munificently  rewarded  by  the  king.  Meanwhile,  La  Roche. 
being  thwarted  in  his  plans,  died  of  vexation. 

Some  time  after  this  ill-starred  enterprise,  two  settlements  were 
attempted  by  Chauvin  of  Rouen  and  Pontgrave  of  St.  Malo.  Some 
houses  were  built,  and  trade  established  with  the  Indians ;  but  no 
permanent  station  was  built. 

These  repeated  failures  could  not  damp  the  spirit  of  the  French 
people;  and  now  a  more  propitious  era  was  dawning  upon  them. 
The  Commander  de  Chaste,  governor  of  Dieppe,  planned  an  enter- 
prise, in  which  he  was  joined  by  several  merchants,  among  whom 
was  Samuel  Champlain,  "  the  father  of  the  French  settlements  in 
America."  He  and  Pontgrave  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  as  far  as 
the  Sault  St.  Louis;  but,  finding  it  impossible  to  pass  that  cataract 
they  with  some  difficulty  reached  the  height  above  it,  making  the 


E  i  N  H  T     IT. 


FOUNDINQ   OF   QUEBEC. 


14.') 


OHAMPLAIN    ASCBNDINO    THB    ST.    LAWHSNOB. 


Irench 

Ithem. 

lenter- 

Iwhom 

us  in 

I  far  as 

ig  tbe 


best  observations  they  could  on  the  river  and  country.  On  return- 
ing to  France,  he  found  De  Chaste  dead ;  but  he  was  flatteringly  re- 
ceived by  the  king,  and  ever  after  exerted  much  influence  in  the 
colonial  affliirs  of  the  crown. 

An  opulent  gentleman,  and  especial  favourite  of  Henry,  namrd 
De  Monts,  now  undertook  to  prosecute  the  enterprise  commenced  ly 
De  Chaste.  His  expedition  was  on  a  more  extensive  scale  than 
any  preceding  one  ;  and  its  success  was  proportionate  to  the  wishes 
of  the  proprietor.  The  first  voyage,  however,  was  disastrous : 
although  the  company  left  on  Nova  Scotia  were  ultimately  the 
means  of  founding  the  important  colony  of  Acadia. 

De  Monts  was  prevented  from  accompanying  the  second  expedi 
tion,  which  consisted  of  two  vessels,  and  the  command  was  intrusted 
to  Champlain.  He  sailed  from  Honfleur  on  the  13th  of  April,  1608.. 
and  on  the  3d  of  June  reached  Tadoussac.  The  port  of  this  place 
was  tolerably  safe  ;  but  the  shore  consisted  only  of  dreary  rocks  and 
sands,  scantily  clothed  with  larch  and  pine.  Ascending  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  company  passed  the  isle  of  Orleans,  and  soon  after 
reached  a  hill  called,  by  the  natives,  Quebec.  On  this  spot,  Cham- 
plain  laid  the  foundations  (July  13,  1608)  of  the  modern  capital  of 
British  America.  Here  they  passed  the  wintftr,  and  sowed  8om« 
grain,  for  which  they  found  the  soil  well  adapted. 


w 


N 


146 


CANADA  UNDER  THE  FREXCH. 


As  scon  as  the  season  admitted,  Champlain  resumed  his  voyage 
ap  the  river,  between  banks  covered  with  noble  forests.  At  the  isle 
of  St.  Eloi,  twenty-five  leagues  above  Quebec,  he  met  a  number  of 
Algonquin  Indians,  who  were  proceeding  against  the  Iroquois. 
L'hampiain,  with  a  zeal  strangely  contrasting  with  his  former  pru- 
dence, j'jined  this  party,  and  after  a  tedious  journey,  the  allied  forces 
came  in  sight  of  their  enemy  (June  29).  The  Iroquois  were  de- 
feated, and  Champlain,  with  his 
new  allies,  returned  to  Q,uebec. 
Not  long  after,  he  returned  to 
France,  in  order  to  solicit  more  ad- 
venturers. 

During  his  absence,  important 
changes  respecting  his  colony  had 
been  transpiring.  De  Monts's  com- 
mission had  been  revoked,  and  with 
it  the  exclusive  monopoly  of  the 
fur  trade.  This  having  formed  a 
principal  motive  among  the  settlers, 
its  repeal  was  regarded  as  exceed- 
ingly disastrous,  if  not  fatal,  to  their 
future  prospects.  The  energy  of 
Champlain  overcame  this  difficulty. 
An  agreement  was  made  with  some 
traders  at  Ruchelle,  to  give  them 
ihe  use  of  his  building  at  duebec,  as  a  depot  for  their  goods ;  while 
ihey,  by  way  of  recompense,  engaged  to  assist  him  in  his  plans  of 
roiunization.  By  this  means,  in  1610,  Champlain  was  fitted  out 
with  a  considerable  reinforcement  of  men  and  supplies. 

On  his  return  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  he  received  an  application 
from  the  Algonquins  to  assist  them  in  a  fresh  dispute — they  promis- 
ing to  join  him  with  four  hundred  men  at  the  mouth  of  the  Iroquois 
river.  He  complied  with  the  request,  marched  with  his  allies 
against  the  hostile  tribe,  and,  after  a  severe  battle,  utterly  defeated 
them.  Champlain  soon  after  sailed  for  Europe,  taking  with  him  a 
native  Indian. 

lu  1611,  Champlain  again  reached  America,  bringing  with  him 
the  young  Indian.  On  the  28th  of  May,  he  arrived  at  the  place  of 
rendezvous  appointed  for  another  warlike  expedition  ;  but,  not  find- 
ing the  savages,  he  employed  his  time  in  choosing  a  spot  for  a  new 


AS     IHOQ'DOIS    INDIA.  :J. 


bAi^ 


FOUNDING  OF  MONTREAL. 


147 


FLACK     D    AKMBS,     MONTRBA.I. 


settlement,  higher  up  the  river  than  duebfc.  After  a  careful  sui 
vey,  he  fixed  upon  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  an  eminence,  which  he 
denominated  Mont  Royal;  and  the  choice  has  been  amply  justifie'l 
by  the  prosperity  to  which  this  place,  now  named  Montreal,  hue 
attained.  He  cleared  a  considerable  space,  sowed  some  grain,  and 
enclosed  it  by  a  wall  of  earth  A  distressing  accident  soon  after 
wards  occurred,  by  which  Savignon.  the  Indian  who  had  accom 
panied  him  to  Fiance,  Louis,  a  European,  and  a  native  chief  named 
Outetoncos,  were  toGsed  in  a  whirlpool,  while  descending  tlie  river, 
and  both  the  latter  drowned  On  coming  to  the  spot,  Champlain 
could  scarcely  believe  it  possible  that  any  person  should  have 
attempted  to  pass  so  formidable  a  rapid 

On  the  13th  of  June,  a  party  of  friendly  Indians  appeared  and 
evinced  much  pleasure  at  the  sight  of  their  countryman,  who  gave 
the  most  favourable  report  of  the  treatment  he  had  received  in 
France ;  the  allies  then  unfolded  the  cause  of  their  delay  in  meeting 
ut  the  time  appointed  A  prisoner  having  escaped  the  previous 
year,  had  spread  the  report,  that  the  French,  having  designed  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  Iroquois,  were  coming  in  great  force  to 
exterminate  the  Algonquin  nation.  The  French  leader  bitterly  com- 
plained of  their  having  listened  to  such  a  rumour,  which  all  his 
actions  belied.     A  perfect  reconciliation  was  then  effected,  and  both 


148 


CANADA  UNDER  THE  FRENCH. 


I 


;'■"  I 


partiej  solemnly  declared  their  delertninalion  of  ndhering  to  their 
alliance,  and  aiding,  to  the  utmost  of  their  power,  the  design  of  the 
French  leader  to  penetrate  into  the  interior. 

Champlain  received  from  his  allies  very  extensive  information 
respecting  the  rontinent,  as  far  south  as  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  They 
acquiesced  in  his  proposal  of  returning  with  forty  or  fifty  of  his 
people  to  prosecute  discoveries,  and,  if  possible,  to  form  settlements 
in  the  interior.  For  some  reason  nd  explained,  the  war  with  the 
Iroijuois  appears  to  have  been  dropped  ;  but  the  Algonquins  re- 
quested that  a  French  youth  shijuld  accompany  them,  and  make 
observations  upon  their  territory  and  tribe.  They  asked  their  visitor 
to  use  his  influence  in  order  to  dissuade  one  of  their  bravest  war 
riors,  who  had  been  three  times  niade  prisoner  by  the  Irotjuois,  and 
as  often  escaped,  to  relinquish  the  purpose  he  had  now  formed  of 
setting  out  with  only  nine  companions,  to  attack  the  enemy,  and 
avenge  his  former  wrongs.  Attempts  were  made  to  divert  him  from 
so  rash  a  purpose  ;  but,  exhibiting  his  fingers  partly  cut  ofK  and  his 
whole  body  covered  with  wounds,  he  declared  it  impossible  to  live 
unless  he  obtained  revenge. 

Champlain  now  returned  to  France,  where  he  found  the  interests 
of  the  colony  in  a  very  unsettled  state.  De  Monts  resigned  the 
whole  business  into  his  hands,  who  was  fortunate  enough  to  secure 
an  influential  patron  in  the  Count  de  Soissons,  who  was  appointed 
Ueutenant-general  of  New  Frxnce,  the  functions  of  which  high 
office  were  delegated,  by  a  formal  agreement,  to  Champlain.  Soon 
after,  the  count  died  ;  but  his  place  was  well  supplied  by  the  Prince 
of  Conde.     Champlain  was  confirmed  in  his  former  authority. 

f^Sf^D'  ^^  FRANCE  was  again  visited  by  Champlain.  In 
Nttif'V  the  beginning  of  March,  1013,  he  sailed  from  Hon- 
r\V|  ^^  fleur,  and  arrived  at  Quebec  on  the  7th  of  May.  His 
Ij^P^^L,  aim  was  now  different  from  that  of  former  expeditions. 
"~"  Among  the  objects  of  adventure  in  that  age,  a  favour- 
ite one  was  a  north-west  passage  to  China,  and  every  thing  connected 
with  the  report  of  a  sea  beyond  Canada  inspired  the  greatest  hopes. 
A  Frenchman,  named  Nicholas  de  Vignau,  who  had  spent  a  winter 
among  the  savages,  reported  that  the  Ottawa  river  issued  from  a 
lake  connected  with  the  North  Sea ;  that  he  had  visited  its  shores 
and  beheld  there  the  wreck  of  an  English  vessel.  This  news  ap- 
peared so  doubtful  that  the  man  was  compelled  to  sign  his  declara- 
tion before  two  notaries,  and  with  the  assurance  of  being  hung  io 


DISCOVERIES   OF   CUAMPLAIX. 


1!!) 


MM  of  bfing  detected  in  an  attempt  to  deceive.  Champlnin  then 
recommenced  his  voyage,  and,  on  the  2Isl  of  May,  arrived  at  tlio 
Fall  of  St.  Louis.  Here,  with  but  two  canoes  containing  foul 
frenchmen  and  one  native,  he  pushed  forward,  on  an  unknown 
river,  boiling  with  eddies  and  cataracts,  skirted  by  craggy  rocks, 
whose  forests  stretched  an  unknown  distance  into  the  interior,  and 
where,  for  every  mile,  they  knew  not  but  that  an  enemy  wu,i 
tiilenlly  following  them  as  they  glided  into  some  snare.  At  length, 
they  reached  the  abode  of  Tessonat,  a  friendly  chief,  whose  country 
was  only  eight  days'  sail  from  that  of  the  Nipissings,  where  the  sup- 
posed shipwreck  occurred. 

pie  received  the  French  adven- 
turer courteously,  calling 
together,  at  his  request,  a 
solemn  council.  With  re- 
luctance, however,  that  body 
consented  to  aid  his  expe- 
dition ;  and,  on  being  a 
second  time  assembled,  the 
chiefs  demanded  on  what 
grounds  so  momentous  an 
enterprise  was  to  be  under- 
taken. On  hearing  of  De  Vignau,  they  called  on  him  to  say  if  he 
had  ever  made  such  a  journey  '  and  when,  after  long  hesitation,  he 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  they  raised  loud  and  fierce  cries,  de- 
claring that  he  was  speaking  falsely,  having  never  passed  beyond 
their  country,  and  that  he  should  be  tortured  to  death  for  having  sc 
grossly  deceived  his  chief.  Seeing  his  follower  confused,  Cham- 
plaiu  took  him  aside,  and  adjured  him  to  tell  the  truth.  Recovering 
confidence,  he  persisted  in  his  former  declarations;  and  the  com- 
mander, on  returning  to  the  <  luncil,  referred  to  the  interior  sea,  the 
shipwreck,  and  other  confirmations  of  his  subordinate's  report.  At 
this,  they  shouted  louder  than  ever,  and  commenced  a  close  interro- 
gation of  the  alleged  traveller.  The  latter  finally  conlessed  that  he 
had  been  attempting  to  deceive,  and  thus  Champlain  found,  to  his 
great  mortification,  that  during  the  whole  summer  he  had  been  toil- 
ing for  nothing.  There  was  no  alternative  but  to  return  down  the 
Ottawa:  in  doing  which  he  was  joined  by  a  considerable  number 
of  Indians  who  rendezvoused  at  the  fall  of  St.  Ijouis.  After  leaving 
"vo  Frenchmen  with  them  to  obtain  a  knowledge  of  the  country. 

h3 


150 


CAN4DA  UNDER  THE  FRENCH. 


LAKE    0S0R3B. 


Chainplain  sailed  to  Tadoussac,  and  hence  to  St.  Malo,  where  he 
arrived  August  26,  1014. 

He  was  soon  enabled  to  equip  another  expedition,  with  which  he 
arrived  at  Tadoussac,  May  25,  1615.  From  hence  he  sailed  to  Glue- 
bee,  and  thence  to  the  place  of  rendezvous,  at  St.  Louis  Falls.  He 
found  his  allies  prepared  to  embark  in  an  expedition  against  the  Iro- 
quois, and  without  hesitatior  '"■irnished  them  with  a  plan  for  the 
campaign.  After  a  tedious  \  ^  .ige,  the  united  forces  reached  Lake 
Nepissing,  and  were  received  by  the  tribe  inhabiting  its  shores  with 
cordiality.  Proceeding  onward,  they  reached  a  large  body  of  water, 
named,  by  the  Indians,  Attigouantan,  which  appeared  to  be  three 
hundred  leagues  in  length,  by  fifty  in  breadth.  It  was,  probably 
Lake  Huron. 

After  quitting  th's,  they  struck  into  the  interior,  and  came  to  a 
smaller  expanse  of  water,  finely  diversified  by  islands,  which  seems 
to  be  Lake  George.  On  its  banks  was  the  Iroquois  fort,  which,  in 
expectation  of  an  attack,  had  been  rendered  particularly  strong.  A 
brisk  fire  from  the  European  weapons  soon  drove  the  garrison  into 
their  inner  works,  where,  however,  they  defehdcd  themselves  with 
1  courage  as  heroic  as  it  wis  unexpected.  The  Indian  allies  soon 
b«?came  discouraged,  and  retired,  leaving  the  brunt  of  the  battle  ta 


sit". 


'■n:-' 


DISCOVERIES   OF   CHAMPLAIN. 


151 


K  1  C  U  E  L  I  E  D. 


oe  sustained  by  Champlain  and  his  few  lollowers.  He  was  twice 
bounded  in  the  leg ;  and  an  expected  reinforcement  of  five  hundred 
warriors  having  failed  to  arrive,  the  assault  was  discontinued.  The 
whole  party  soon  after  effected  a  precipitate  retreat.  In  the  follov\ 
ing  spring,  Champlain  again  sailed  for  Europe,  and  arrived  at  Hon- 
fleur,  September  10,  1610. 

The  scheme  of  colonization  was  now  interrupted  by  the  intestir.  - 
tumults  of  the  mother  country.  The  Prince  of  Conde  was  dis- 
graced, and  finally  obliged  to  sell  his  share  in  Canada  to  the  Duke 
de  Montmorency.  Champlain  was  continued  as  lieutenant;  but  it 
was  not  until  1G20,  ihut  he  was  enabled,  in  company  with  his  family, 
to  return  to  Canada.  Two  years  after,  the  Duke  de  Ventadour  took 
charge,  as  a  viceroy,  of  the  affairs  of  New  France,  and,  for  th  !  pur- 
pose of  converting  the  Indians,  sent  some  Jesuits  to  Canada.  At 
the  same  time,  a  number  of  Calvinists,  under  their  leader  the  Sieur 
de  Caen,  were  actively  engaged  in  the  fur  trade;  and  the  disputes 
between  the  two  parties  concerning  religion  greatly  retarded  the 
prosperity  of  the  settlements. 

With  a  view  to  obviate  all  cause  of  dissension,  the  Cardinal  dc 
Richelieu  established  the  company  of  New  France.  It  consisted  of 
one  hundred  associates,  engaged  to  send  three  hundred  tradesmen  to 
Canada,  and  supply  their  settlers  with  food,  clothing,  and  imple- 
ments for  three  years,  and  with  land  after  that  time.  The  priests 
kveie  to  have  all  expenses  defrayed  for  fifteen  years.     The  kin^ 


-"m 


lo2 


CANADA   UNDER   TUE  i-RENCH. 


■  XPBDITIOH     OF    Sia     DiVID    KIIIKB 


reserved  to  himself  supremacy  in  matters  of  fiiitli ;  homage  as  sove- 
reign of  the  country  ;  the  nomination  of  all  commanders  and  offi- 
cers of  the  forts;  and  the  appointing  of  all  officers  of  justice,  when 
it  should  be  necessary  to  establish  courts  of  law.  The  company, 
and  their  successors  for  ever,  received  the  fort  and  settlements  of 
Gluebec,  all  New  France,  including  Florida,  with  the  countries  along 
the  course  of  the  great  river  of  Canada,  and  all  rivers  emptying 
into  it,  or  into  the  sea,  on  both  the  eastern  and  western  coasts  of  the 
Continent,  with  all  the  harbours,  islands,  mines,  and  rights  of  fish- 
pry.  Two  fihips  of  war  were  presented  to  the  company  by  the 
king,  the  value  of  which  was  to  be  refunded  if  the  company  failed 
in  sending  at  least  fifteen  hundred  French  inhabitants,  of  both  sexes, 
to  New  France,  during  the  first  ten  years. 

This  insitrument  was  signed  April,  1627,  and  created  among  the 
friends  of  colonial  prosperity  the  most  flattering  expectations.  The 
administration  under  a  viceroy  being  omitted,  Champlain  was  con- 
tinued as  governor  of  Canada.  At  first,  the  colony  was  reduced  to 
great  distress,  particularly  through  the  capture  of  the  first  vessels 
sent  fronri  France  with  stores.  This  was  efl^ected  by  some  English 
ships  unc'ler  Sir  David  Kirke.      That  officer  even  appeared  with 


DEATH   OF   CHAMPLAIN. 


153 


his  squadron  before  Quebec,  and  had  the  famished  condition  of  the 
carrison  at  that  time  been  known,  he  could  easily  have  compelled  a 
surrender.  Besides  the  dangers  from  a  foreign  source,  the  prosper- 
ity of  the  colony  was  retarded  by  the  folly  or  corruption  of  the 
company's  directors  in  France,  so  that  even  Champlain's  powerful 
mind,  so  fertile  in  expedients  on  occasions  of  difficulty,  was  sub- 
jected to  vexatious  mortifications,  by  orders  and  restrictions  from  the 
old  country,  and  unfortunate  circumstances  in  the'new. 

In  the  midst  of  these  perplexities,  while  Ci.'amplain  was  reduced 
to  the  utmost  extremity  by  the  want  of  food,  cloti'iing,  and  imple- 
nienls,  and  exposed  to  repeated  attacks  fron:  the  Iroquois,  Sii 
David  Kirke,  at  the  head  of  an  English  squadron,  again  appeared 
before  Quebec.  The  deplorable  situation  of  the  colony,  and  the  very 
honourable  terms  proposed  by  the  assailants,  induced  Champlain  to 
surrender  the  fortress,  with  all  Canada,  to  the  crown  of  England. 
Kiike's  generosity  to  the  colonists  induced  them  to  remain  ;  and,  in 
1G32,  the  treaty  of  St.  Germains  restored  the  whole  territory  to 
Fiance.  In  the  following  year,  Champlain  arrived  with  a  squadron 
and  all  necessary  supplies.  Measures  were  immediately  adopted 
for  maintaining  harmony  among  the  inhabitants,  especially  in  reli- 
gious matters,  and  affairs  speedily  assumed  a  more  prosperous  aspect. 
The  efforts  of  the  Jesuits  to  inculcate  morality  among  the  inhabit- 
\nls,  and  their  extraordinary  perseverance  in  making  discuveries 
ind  establishing  missions — 'he  regulation  of  their  great  college, 
"ounded  in  103.5,  by  Father  lieni,  Rubault,  and  the  fiefs  which  they 
ibtained,  contributed  in  no  little  degree  to  this  result. 

iN  1035,  Canada  met  with  an  irreparable  loss  in  the 
death  of  Champlain.  In  establishing  and  supporting 
the  colony,  this  energetic  man  had  surmounted  diffi- 
culties which  few  would  have  encftiiflkered.  His 
comprehensive  grasp  of  intellect  and  sound  judg- 
ment enabled  him  to  divine  the  future  greatness  of  a 
rt'giun  like  Canada,  and  stimulated  him  to  untiring  perseverance  in 
prosecuting  the  vast  design  of  its  settlement.  His  sole  object  during 
the  greater  part  of  his  life  was  to  found  a  colony,  which  he  felt  con- 
fit'ent  would  eventually  attain  to  extraordinary  power  and  grandeur. 
He  was  succeeded  b}'  M.  de  Mcmtinagny,  a  well-meaning  officer, 
bit  totally  deficient  in  the  experience,  knowledge,  and  abilities  of 
"lis  predecessor.  The  colony,  in  consequence,  began  to  decline. 
About  this  time,  the  Jesuits  were  busy  in  establishing  schools  and 


lU 


CANADA  UNDER  THE  FRENCH. 


it'.'-      '!t 


V'  w 


1 


KSW   ca:;hbdrau  montbial. 


colleges  throughout  the  province.  In  1630,  an  institution  for  ilie 
instruction  of  the  Indians  was  founded  at  Sillery,  near  Quebec 
This  was  followed  by  the  Convent  of  St.  Ursula.  The  order  of  St. 
Sulpicius  sent  a  mission  to  Canada,  and  a  seminary  was  consecrated 
with  great  ceremony  at  Montreal.  The  Hotel  Dieu  was  founded  in 
1644;  the  College  of  St.  Sulpicius,  in  1650  ;  and  the  order  of  the 
Gray  Sisters,  in  1652.  All  the  ancient  religious  edifices,  however 
are  surpast;"d  by  the  recently  erected  Cathedral  of  Montreal. 

The  company  of  New  France  almost  entirely  neglected  the  terms 
of  their  charter;  ano  he  Iroquois,  taking  advantage  of  the  conse 
quent  derangement  of  the  colony,  continued  to  harass  the  inhabit 
ants  with  unabated  ferocity.  The  actual  extinction  of  the  settlement 
at  Montreal  was  prevented  only  by  the  arrival  of  M.  d'Ailleboul 
(1647)  with  a  reinforcement  of  a  hundred  men.  More  than  ten 
years  after,  the  Marquis  d'Argenson  was  appointed  governor-general, 
and  soon  after,  in  company  with  the  Abbe  de  Montigny,  the  apostolic 
vicar  of  the  province,  he  landed  at  Quebec. 

Still  the  condition  of  the  colony  was  wretched.  The  company 
entirely  abandoned  it.  The  Iroquois,  who  had  spread  terrible  de- 
struction among  their  old  enemies,  the  Algonquins  and  Hurons,  seemed 
also  determined  to  exterminate  the  French.  Several  hundreds  of 
their  warriors  kept  Quebec  in  a  state  of  almost  actual  siege,  «.vhile 
unother  band  massacred  a  great  number  of  the  settlers  at  Montreal. 


SMALL-POX   AMONG    THE    INDIANS. 


155 


In  this  miserable  condition,  the  energy  of  one  man  probably  saved 
lie  colony      This  was  the  Baron  d'Avangour.     He  was  stern  and 

rigid  in  the  performance  of  duty; 
but  these  qualities  are  necessary 
in  such  an  extremity.  He  became 
governor  in  1601,  and  commenced 
his  administration  by  transmitting 
to  the  king  an  accurate  account  of 
the  beauty  and  importance  of  the 
country,  and  its  defenceless  condi- 
tion. So  influential  was  this  state- 
ment to  the  king,  that  he  immedi- 
ately ordered  four  hundred  troops, 
with  the  necessary  supplies,  to  Ca- 
p\da,  accompanied  with  a  special 
commission.  Their  arrival  infused 
new  spirit  among  the  colonists,  en- 
abling them,  for  the  first  time,  to 
cultivate  their  lands  with  security. 
The  5th  of  February,  1G63,  is 
memorable  for  the  occurrence  of  a 
fearful  earthquake,  which  was  felt  at  intervals  with  more  or  less  in- 
tensity for  six  months,  and  extended  throughout  the  province. 

From  this  lime  until  1670,  'he  affairs  of  the  colony  continued  to 
improve,  although  occasionally  disturbed  by  inroads  from  the  Indians. 
In  that  year,  the  Church  of  Quebec  was  constituted  a  bishopric,  and 
imponant  measures  were  adopted  for  the  better  government  of  the 
Cfi'jntry,  and  the  maintenance  of  peace  with  the  savages.  But  the 
enthusiastic  efforts  of  the  clerical  orders  for  the  conversion  of  the 
(ndians,  were  suddenly  interrupted  by  a  fearful  calamity,  previously 
jnVnowu  in  the  western  world.  The  small-pox  made  its  appearance 
iraong  the  tribes  north  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  and,  together  with  the 
jue  of  ardent  spirits,  destroyed  a  greater  number  of  the  aborigines 
of  North  America  than  war  or  all  the  diseases  to  which  they  were 
preTiousIy  subjected. 

In  1672,  Fort  Frontenac  was  built  on  the  spot  where  Kingston 
new  stands ;  and,  not  long  after,  the  illustrious  man  whose  name  it 
l*ai?,  was  appointed  governor  of  Canada.  During  his  administra- 
L-m,  and  that  of  his  predecessor,  M.  de  Courcelles,  the  .French  ex- 
P  -red  the  greater  part  of  Canada,  and  the  savages  were  taught  to 


tVDI&N    WARRIOH. 


.■i 


!  7  -gpii 


V^ 


CANADA   UNDER   THE   FRENCH. 


ciTAT'Si.   or  ximasTON   vbou  tbb   ar.   LAwasircrai 


regard  the  Europeans  with  some  degree  of  awe.  M.  Peinmitt,  an 
indebtisable  trareller,  visited  all  the  nations  in  the  vicinity  (tif  ibe 
Great  JLakes.  The  Falls  of  St.  Mary  were  surrendetred!  ttp  tthe 
French  sorereign,  and  a  cross  erected  there,  on  which  wemt  piianefl 
the  national  arms. 

Toirard  the  close  of  Frnntenac's  administration,  fresh  (CiffimiikieK 
occarred  with  the  Iroquois,  chiefly  through  the  inflneafn?'  tiif  the 
English  traders,  who  were  anxious  to  secure  the  fur  trade- tsii  affaflro- 
selres.  M.  de  la  Barre  succeeded  Frontenac,  in  1682,.  all  wrftridi 
time  the  Iroquois  had  assumed  such  a  tone  of  defiance,.  oDrifi  anafle 
such  formidable  preparations,  that  a  general  war  with  the-  ImfiiaiK 
seemed  inevitable.  The  new  governor  found  himself  in  a  oritical 
sitnation,  more  especially  as  the  West  India  Companjr,  iiii  ^idhtse 
bands  Canada  had  been  placed,  cared  little  for  their  trust.,  ao)  lltm^  ue 
they  coald  mon<^polize  the  fur  trade.  The  whole  popaliitii!™  luuro- 
Itere^  but  nine  thousand  inhabitants.  To  prevent  the  utCtw  «steT- 
mination  of  these,  some  decisive  measure  was  necessary;  and,  bd- 
eurdiogly,  De  la  Barre  determined  on  invading  the  hoatillff  ImfliauB 
themselres.  This  he  did  with  one  thousand  troops;  but  cite  ffxpe- 
diiion  resulted  in  nothing  more  than  an  unsatisfactory  aggnniiiiitm 
The  iiiari)uis  was  soon  afterwards  succeeded  by  M.  de  NaawHBp 


f  I 


WARS   WITH   THE   IROQUOIS. 


157 


This  officer  appears  to  have  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  station 
i\ith  a  fixed  (ictermination  to  destroy  the  Irwjuois  as  a  nation.  The 
means  he  toi  k  to  accomplish  this  object  were  as  active  as  they  were 
unsciupulnus.     Having  brought  with  him  a  considerable   reinforc  ;- 

ment,  he  proceeded  with  two  thou- 
sand troops  to  Cataraqui,  where, 
through  the  influence  of  the  Jesu- 
its, he  induced  many  of  the  hostile 
chiefs  to  meet  him  at  Fort  Fronte- 
nac.  These  were  immediately 
seized,  loaded  with  irons,  and  sent 
to  France  to  be  employed  in  the 
galleys.  After  this  act,  the  go- 
vernor began  the  erection  of  a  fort 
at  Niagara,  notwithstanding  his 
being  notified  of  a  treaty  having 
been  concluded  b.  ween  France 
and  England,  and  in  lirect  opposi 
tion  to  the  remonstrance  uf  the  go- 
vernor of  New  York. 
rKMALK  IROQOOI3.  Thcse    proccedlngs  aroused   the 

whole  nation  of  Iroquois  to  arms.  Fort  Frontenac  was  attacked  by 
their  warriors,  and  the  surrounding  plantJitions  d*>sola^*"d  ;  and  a 
French  bark,  laden  with  provisions  and  stores,  was  captured  on  Lake 
Ontario.  These  successful  effi)rts  were  attended  by  a  policy,  singu- 
larly contrasting  with  the  usual  want  of  system  characteristic  of 
savage  warfare.  Deputies  were  sent  to  treat  with  De  Nouville  ;  but 
they  were  attended  by  five  hundred  warriors  ;  while,  in  case  of  the 
rejection  of  their  terms,  no  less  than  twelve  hundred  held  themselves 
in  readiness,  near  Montreal,  to  fall  upon  the  settlements,  set  fire  to 
the  buildings  and  cnrn-fields,  and  scalp  the  inhabitants.  Under  these 
circumstances,  the  lofty  tone  of  the  Indian  orator,  in  staling  the  con- 
dition of  his  nation,  formed  no  obstacle  to  the  speedy  acceptance  of 
the  proffered  peace,  and  of  the  demand  that  the  chiefs  then  in  sla- 
very should  be  sent  for  without  delay. 

Thus,  to  all  appearances,  the  difficulties  under  which  the  colony 
had  long  laboured  were  soon  to  be  adjusted;  an  unforeseen  event 
dissipated  these  hopes,  and  rekindled  the  flames  of  war.  Le  Rat. 
the  principal  chieftain  of  the  Hurons,  perceived  the  danger  to  which 
his  tribe  would  b  5  exposed,  should  their  o'd  »»neniy  conclude  a  peace 


] 


138 


fir 


CANADA  UNDER  THg  FKHNCn. 

•7 


bk     RAT. 


wtD  the  French  ;  and  with  a  refinement  of  treachery  which  woitIq 
not  disgrace  the  most  artful  pol'licinn  of  Europe,  he  formed  a  scheine 
to  prevent  it.  Learning  that  a  party  of  the  Iroquois  deputies  were 
to  land  at  the  cascades  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  on  their  way  to  Mon- 
treal ;  he  and  a  party  of  his  countrymen  lay  in  ambush  and  killed 
or  captured  them  as  they  successively  disembarked.  He  th>'n  in- 
formed the  prisoners  that  this  crime  had  been  committed  at  the  insti- 
gation of  the  governor,  and  that  they  were  to  be  conveyed  to  Mon- 
treal and  hung.  On  being  informed  of  the  treaty,  he  feigned  the 
greatest  astonishment,  and  loudly  exclaimed  against  the  Frenchman's 
treacher}',  which  had  made  him  its  tool.  Ke  then  sent  them  home, 
retaining  one  to  supply  the  place  of  a  warrior  whom  he  had  lost. 
The  governor  was  entirely  ignorant  of  this  triinsaction,  and  still 
waited  for  the  deputies  of  his  new  allies.  In  this  frame  of  mind,  he 
was  visited  by  Le  Rat,  and  through  the  artful  representations  of  thai 
warrior,  induced  to  shoot  the  Iroquois  who  had  been  substituted  for 
the  slain  Huron.  Le  Rat  took  care  that  an  old  Iroquois  slave  in  his 
p'ttsession  should  witness  this  execution,  although  J|je  causes  of  il 


WARS  wrrn  the  iROQUOia. 


159 


OANiDIAN     LOO     HUT 


frere  carefully  concealed  ;  and  he  was  then  sent  immediately  to  his 
own  tribe  to  report  that  even  this  solitary  Iroquois,  notwithstanding 
all  the  remonstrances  of  Le  Rat,  could  not  be  saved  from  the  go- 
vernor's fury. 

It  is  easy  to  conceive  the  indignation  of  the  Iroquois  when  they 
heard  of  the  massacre  at  the  Cascades ;  but  the  last  stroke  of  Le 
Rat's  policy  roused  every  element  of  war  and  destruction.  The 
whole  tribe  rushed  to  arms ;  and  descending  on  the  island  of  Mon- 
treal, laid  it  waste  by  fire  and  sword,  carrying  off  two  hundred  pri- 
soners. The  Fort  at  Cataraqui,  like  that  at  Niagara,  was  blown  up 
and  abandoned. 

The  colony  was  now  in  a  perilous  condition ;  its  very  existence 
was  threatened  ;  and  some  officer  possessing  energy  of  character 
and  address  in  dealing  with  the  savages,  was  now  imperatively  de- 
manded. These  qualities  were  united  in  the  Count  de  Frontenac, 
who,  during  his  former  administration,  had  made  himself  both  be- 
loved and  feared  by  the  surrounding  tribes.  The  few  errors  which 
led  to  his  recall,  experience,  it  was  hoped,  would  enable  him  to 
ivoid.  He  took  out  with  him  the  captive  chiefs  which  his  prede- 
cessor had  so  unjustly  seized,  behaving  towards  them  in  so  fascmal- 
ing  a  manner  as  completely  to  gain  their  favour.  Oureouhare,  tho 
principal  one,  remained  ever  after  most  stronjrly  attached  to  him 
11 


160 


CANADA  UXDKR  TOB  PRENCn. 


UUKIOCB  ABS. 


'*r 


Frontenac  arrived  in  lf»S9,  and  endeavoured  to  open  a  negotiation 
with  the  Iroquois,  in  which  he  was  seconded  by  the  captive  chiefs. 
The  Iroquois,  however,  refused  to  treat.  They  complained  of  the 
former  governor's  treacherj',  and,  aUhough  professing  respect  for  the 
count,  they  argued  that  they  were  unable  to  perceive  how  the  gover- 
norship coul'j  ever  be  given  into  different  hands.  A  second  attempt 
on  the  part  of  Frontenac  was  attended  with  like  success.  Two  cir- 
cumstances eml)oldened  the  Iroquois  to  assume  this  high  tone.  One 
was,  the  war  between  France  and  England,  consequent  to  the  former 
power  esoousing  the  cause  of  James  II.,  and  which  enabled  the 
Five  Nations  to  depend  on  the  cordial  co-operation  of  both  the  Eng- 
lish and  Dutch.  The  other,  the  treaty  lately  concluded  with  the 
Ottawas,  by  which  that  tribe  had  severed  themselves  from  the 
French. 

Under  these  perplexing  circumstances,  Frontenac  formed  the  bolJ 
resolution  to  ivvade  the  English  colonies,  and,  by  striking  a  sudden 
blow,  to  teach  the  savages  that  they  were  dealing  with  an  enemy 
who  could  "rramand  their  respect.     Accordingly,  he  fitted  out  thret 


FRENCH  AND  ENnLISH  WARS. 


161 


erpeditions  (1090)  destined  to  net  against  Maine,  Now  York,  and 
New  Hampshire.  Casco  and  Salmon  Falls  were  surprised  and 
burnt;  and,  soon  after,  the  third  party  entered  Schenectady  at  dead 
of  nijxht,  completely  surprised  it,  burnt  the  dwellings,  and  massacred 
many  of  the  inhabitants. 

.  This  daring  measure  roused  the  English  colonists,  and  a  project 
was  formed  for  the  complote  reduction  of  Canada.  An  expedition, 
under  Sir  William  Phipps,  sailed  from  Boston  against  duebec;  and 
a  second  proceeded  by  land  towards  Montreal.  After  capturing 
Acadia  and  Newfoundland,  Phipps  appeared  before  Quebec,  and 
Bummnned  it  to  surrender.  Although  the  garrison  had  been  almost 
completely  surprised,  a  haughty  refusal  was  returned  ;  and  al'ter  some 
vain  efforts  both  by  sen  and  land,  the  expedition  returned  in  disgrace. 
A  like  result  attended  the  attack  on  Montreal.  A  similar  invasi(m  the 
next  year  by  the  English  and  Mohawks,  under  Major  Schuyler,  was 
also  unsuccessful. 

These  attempts  were  followed  by  inconsiderable  efforts  of  both 
parlies,  until  the  year  1096,  when  Frontenac  resolved  on  an  invasion 
of  the  English  territory  with  his  whole  force.  Crossing  Lake  Onta- 
rio and  up  the  Oswego,  he  entered  the  country  of  the  Onondagas, 
laid  it  waste,  together  with  that  of  the  Cayugas,  and  then  returned, 
with  but  little  interruption,  to  Montreal.  The  peace  of  Ryswick 
(1079)  put  an  end  to  these  desultory  invasions  and  soon  after  nego- 
tiations were  commenced  with  the  Iroquois.  Frontenac  died  in  1098, 
but  a  treaty  was  concluded  by  his  successor,  Callieres,  in  1700,  and 
the  prisoners  of  both  parties  released. 

Queen  Anne's  war,  in  1702,  renewed  the  dangers  and  exertions  of 
the  American  colonies.  The  English,  intoxicated  by  their  successes 
in  Europe,  commenced  a  systematic  plan  for  the  complete  reduction 
of  Canada.  The  Iroquois,  however,  refused  to  join  them,  wisely 
niaintainmg  a  strict  neutrality.  Their  efforts  were  signally  unsuc- 
cessful, and  the  French  power  in  the  New  World  was  established 
on  a  firmer  base  than  ever.  A  harassing  war  with  the  Fox  Indians 
interrupted  the  intercourse  with  Louisiana,  but  these  savages  were 
at  length  totally  defeated. 

From  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  (1713)  until  the  commencement  of 
the  Seven  Years'  War,  Canada  continued  to  advance  in  prosperity, 
and  finally  secured  the  friendship  and  co-operation  of  nearly  all  the 
neighbouring  Indians.  Various  forts  were  erected  at  different 
places,  and  circumstances  were  already  favouring  the  grand  scheme 


21 


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162 


CANADA  UNDER  THE  FRENCH. 


of  uniting  Canada  and  Louisiana,  which,  at  a  subsequent  perioa 
was  fully  accomplished,  and  which  eventuated  in  the  loss  of  Canado 
and  Its  neighbouring  provinces. 

The  events  which  immediately  preceded  the  conquest  of  Canada 
by  the  united  forces  of  Great  Britain  and  her  colonies,  will  be  fully 
narrated  in  a  subsequent  chapter,  in  connection  with  the  history  of 
those  British  colonies  which  eventually  formed  the  republic  of  the 
United  States. 


i\  \  rf 


OANOI    OrOA,IIADIAH     HABITAM* 


BAT  or  gasBso. 


CHAPTER  X. 


MINOR  PROVINCES   OF  BRITISH   AMERICA. 
I.    NOVA    SCOTIA. 

^HE  British  possessions  in  America,  exciu 
sive  of  Canada,  may  be  divided  into  two 
portions.      One    -"nibraces    the    maritime 
provinces  of  N^»v  tJrunswick,  Nova  Sco- 
tia,  Newfoundland,   and   the    islands   in 
their  vicinity.     These  are  all  of  political 
and  financial    importance,  commensurate 
with  their  size   and  natural   advantages. 
The  second  portion  includes  the  vast  re- 
gion lying  north  of  Canada,  a  part  of  the 
continent  little  known,  inhabited   by  numerous  tribes  of  Indians,  and 
hitherto  valuable  only  for  its  furs.     It  is  divided  by  Hudson's  Bay 
into  Labrador  and  New  Britain. 
These  shores  were  the  first  towards  which  voyages  of  discovery 


164 


BRITISH   PB0VIKCE8. 


INDIAN     VILLAUB    ON    THS     ST.     LAVBXNO] 


in  North  America  were  directed.  The  Cabots,  Cortereal,  and  Ver 
azzano,  pursued  their  course,  exclusively,  either  along  them  or  the 
neighbouring  part  of  the  United  States.  The  unsuccessful  attempt* 
of  Mr.  Hore  and  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  in  153G  and  1578,  will  be 
noticed  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

Their  want  of  success  damped  for  a  while  the  spirit  of  enterprise 
among  the  English.  Other  nations,  however,  had  long  looked  toward 
the  northern  and  middle  shores  of  America  with  greedy  eyes.  The 
French,  under  Verazzano,  as  we  have  already  seen,  had  sailed  along 
the  coast,  now  forming  the  boundary  of  the  United  States,  from  Flo- 
rida to  New  England  ;  and  the  Spanish  were  only  prevented  from 
following  the  same  track,  by  their  inordinate  grasping  after  wealth, 
which  invariably  precluded  any  permanent  friendly  intercourse  with 
the  natives.  France  resumed  her  efforts  before  the  close  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  In  IGO!),  a  gentleman,  named  De  Monts,  obtained 
from  Henry  IV.  privilege  to  settle  and  govern  the  country  near  New- 
foundland, with  the  monopoly  of  the  fur  trade.  He  sailed  with  foui 
vessels,  and  on  the  16th  of  May,  1604,  reached  Nova  Scotia.  Here 
he  confiscated  the  vessel  and  effects  of  a  French  captain,  whom  he 
found  engaged  in  trade.  After  entering  the  Bay  of  Fundy  and 
making  a  fruitless  attempt  to  penetrate  through  it  into  the  St.  Law 


KOVA   SCOTIA. 


165 


•  STTLXUS^T    or    POST    ROT/lt, 


rence,  he  fixed  on  an  island  near  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Croix,  a»  a 
place  of  settlement.  The  crew  cuhivated  a  piece  of  ground,  tn<l 
erected  a  fort  with  neat  apartments  and  a  chape.'.  But  winter  set  in 
with  a  severity  for  nrhich  they  were  unprepared.  Their  fuel  was 
soon  exhausted.  They  were  compelled  to  drink  snow-water,  and 
subsist  entirely  on  salted  provisions,  which  at  leni,'lh  brou<jht  on  the 
scurvy  in  its  most  aggravated  form.  Their  sufferings  during  th*? 
winter  were  appalling. 

At  the  end  of  this  season,  De  Monts  sailed  southward  in  search  of 
«  milder  climate.     He  reached  Cape  Cod,  but  the  numerous  trib«s 
of  hostile  Indians  in  this  neighbourhood  were  too  strong  for  his 
small  party.     He  returned  to  St.  Croix,  and,  having  obtained  a  sea 
sonable   reinforcement,   removed   to  a  spot  on  the   Bay  of  Fundy 
which,  when  formerly  passed,  had  appeared  very  desirable      This 
he  inmed  Port  Royal.     The  whole  country,  including  New  Bruns- 
wick, was  styled  Acadia.     De  Monts  then   repaired  to  France  for 
lur'.hpr  supplies ;  but  bis  people  having  raised  grain  and  vegetables 
and  procured  abundance  of  venison,  passed  two  winters  very  agree- 
ably.    But  these  fl-i'tering  prospects  were  blasted  by  an  act  of  go- 
vernment, depriving  De  Monts  of  all  his  privileges.     Soon  after. 
Captain  Argall,  being  on  a  voyage  in  that  region,  invaded  the  pro- 


166 


BRITISH    PROVINCES, 


mi 


Ml 


vince  without  the  least  provocation,  attacked  a  small  settlenicrit 
named  La  Have,  and  carried  the  inhabitants  to  Virginia.  He  at- 
tempted to  excuse  this  act  by  alleging  that  they  were  pirates ;  but 
when  the  authorities  of  Jamestown  would  have  hung  them,  he  con 
lessed  the  real  nature  of  his  act.  So  far  from  discountenancing  this 
piece  of  injustice,  the  British  adopted  it  as  a  ground  to  claim  the 
whole  of  Acadia. 

HESE  efforts  of  England's  great  rival  rouserl 
^  the  spirit  of  the  British.  In  1621,  Sir  William 
Alexander  received  a  grant  of  the  territory 
from  the  St.  Croix  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  together 
with  the  usual  extravagant  and  ridiculous 
powers.  He  sent  out  an  expedition  in  1622. 
In  consequence  of  various  delays,  the  naviga- 
tors could  not,  in  the  first  year,  pass  beyond  Newfoundland,  where 
they  were  obliged  to  winter.  In  the  following  spring,  they  coasted 
■long  the  ceded  country,  but  found  ail  its  principal  points,  including 
Port  Royal,  re-occupied  by  French  settlers.  They,  therefore,  re- 
turned to  England  and  spread  the  most  flattering  reports  of  the 
ralue  and  beauty  of  Acadia.  T'his  result  so  far  pleased  the  proprie- 
tor, that,  when  war  broke  out  with  France,  he  sent  out  a  squadron 
(1027)  under  his  eldest  son,  by  which  the  French  settlements  were 
speedily  reduced.  The  subsequent  conquest  of  Canada,  in  1629, 
gave  Great  Britain  full  possession  of  this  part  of  the  continent. 
It  was  restored  to  France  by  the  treaty  of  St.  Gerinains,  1632. 

The  court  of  Paris  having  regained  possession  of  the  territory. 
divided  it  (I634^  among  three  individuals.  A  young  man,  named 
La  Tour,  received  the  middle  districts ;  one  Denys  the  northern  ; 
and  Razillai  the  southern.  The  latter  was  succeeded  by  Daubre  de 
Charnise,  between  whom  and  La  Tour  there  arose  an  inveterate 
feud.  The  contest  was  waged  with  relentless  animosity.  La  Tour 
leceired  some  assistance  from  Boston,  but  more  from  his  wife,  who, 
being  attacked  during  her  husband's  absence,  beat  off  the  assailants 
with  great  loss.  She  was  afterwards  surprised  by  Charnise,  the 
fort  taken,  and  the  garrison  hanged.  Madame  de  la  Tour  was  her- 
self so  ill-treated,  that  she  died  with  vexation. 

Soon  after  this  perfidious  transaction,  Charnise  died,  and  La  Tour 
returned  to  France.  Here  he  sought  to  heal  the  feud  by  marrying 
die  widow  of  his  rival ;  but  when  affairs  appeared  in  an  amicabie 
tmin,  Le  Borgne,  an  assumed  creditor  of  Charnise,  appeared,  cL*  r^ 


KOVA   SCOTIA. 


167 


mg  bis  posse&iions,  and  accusing  La  Tour  of  heresy.  He  ihus  mn* 
naged  to  strip  the  latter  of  his  rights,  nnd  then  attacking  Denys,  he 
look  him  prisoner,  destroyed  La  Have,  took  possession  of  Port 
Royal,  aud  prepared  to  attack  La  Tour  in  St.  John.  But  a  new 
rival  was  at  hand,  far  more  powerful  than  either  or  both  of  the 
French  prv^prietors. 

OLIVER    CROMWELL,   having    seized    the 
reins  of  puw<;r  in  England,  declared  war  against 
France,  and   waged  it  vigorously,   with  the  spe- 
cial  view   of  extending    his    foreign    possessions. 
[m<.^^W\/ //^   In    1654,    he   despatched   an    expedition   against 
v^\/pf^^Jr        ^°^^  Sco»ia,  under  the  command  of  Major  Sedge- 
'^-'*—  ^^  '  wick.     There  was  not  sufficient  force,  even  if  it 

bad  been  united,  to  resist  that  officer;  so  that,  after 
defeating  La  Tour,  he  advanced  against  Port 
Royal,  where  La  Bt-rgne  by  no  means  made  that  resistance  which 
had  been  expected  from  h's  previous  resolution.  He  soon  yielded 
the  place,  and  his  son,  endeavouring  to  fortify  himself  at  La  Have, 
was  made  prisoner. 

La  Tour,  who  always  accommodated  himself  to  circumstances, 
(Being  the  country  in  possession  of  the  English,  hastened  to  make 
his  submission,  and  urged  bis  claim,  founded  on  former  transac 
tions  between  his  father  and  Lord  Stirling.  He  was  favourably  list* 
ened  to;  and  in  conjunction  with  Temple,  afterwards  Sir  Thomas, 
ind  William  Crowne,  persons  probably  of  great  interest  with  the 
Protector,  obtained  a  grant  of  the  greater  part  of  the  country.  The 
former  bought  up  the  share  of  La  Tour,  spent  £10,000  on  fortifica- 
tions, and  opened  a  very  advantageous  trade  and  fishery.  But  all 
his  prospects  were  blasted  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  concluded  by 
Charles  II.  in  HHi7,  by  virtue  of  which  Nova  Scotia  was  again  niado 
over  to  France.  Temple  endeavoured  to  save  something  by  insist- 
ng  on  a  distinction  between  the  limits  of  Nova  Scotia  and  Acadia ; 
out  not  being  supported  by  his  government,  he  was  obliged  to  deliver 
up  all. 

The  French  thus  resumed  full  possession  of  the  colony,  which,  in 
tact,  they  had  almost  exclusively  occupied,  though  in  a  slight  and 
careless  manner;  for,  from  the  absence  of  gold  and  silver,  and  even  ul 
any  rich  marketable  produce,  it  was  viewed  as  a  barren  and  unpro- 
mising settlement.  A  few  straggling  immigrants  stationed  them- 
lelves  from  time  to  time  along  the  coast ;  and  yet,  according  <.o  av 


168 


BRITISH   PAOVINCKd. 


FISHlXa     STATION    ON    TBI     00&3T    OF    VOVA.    SOOTIA 


i:M 


enumeration  made  about  1680,  the  whole  population  did  not  exceed 
nine  hundred.     Even  the  fishery,  the  only  productive  branch,  was 
carried  on  by  the  English.     A  few  forts  were  scattered  at  wide  inter- 
vals ;  but  so  weak  and  small,  that  two  of  them  were  taken  and  plun 
dered  by  a  single  piratical  vessel  of  no  great  force. 

In  this  situation,  after  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  consequent 
upon  the  Revolution  of  1688,  Acadia  appeared  an  easy  conquest. 
The  achievement  was  assigned  to  Massachusetts,  the  resources  of 
which  were  by  no  means  ample ;  but  the  commander.  Sir  William 
Phipps,  contrived  to  equip  an  expedition  of  seven  hundred  men 

On  the  20th  of  May,  1690,  he  appeared  before  Port  Royal.  It 
soon  surrendered  on  advantageous  terms,  which  Phipps,  discovering 
that  the  place  was  weaker  than  he  had  supposed,  did  not  faithfully 
observe.  He  merely  dismantled  the  fortress,  and  left  the  country  a 
prey  to  pirates,  by  whom  it  was  unmercifully  ravaged.  The  Che- 
valier Villabon,  therefore,  who  arrived  soon  after  from  France,  re- 
conquered it,  by  simply  pulling  down  the  English  and  hoisting  the 
French  flag.     The  neighbouring  Indians,  ahvays  partial  to  bis  coun- 


MUYA   SCOTIA. 


169 


MARLBOBODOU. 


trvmcii,  were  easily  induced  to  join  them  against  the  enemy,  and 
Bided  in  capturing  the  strong  frontier  fortress  of  Peniaquid,  where 
these  savage  warriors  were  guilty  of  some  of  their  usual  acts  of 
cruelty.  The  Bostonians,  thus  roused,  sent  a  body  of  five  hundred 
men  under Cohnol  Church,  who  soon  regained  the  country,  with  the 
exception  of  one  fort  on  the  St.  John.  He  then  called  on  the  Aca- 
dians  to  join  him  against  the  Indians,  their  former  allies,  and  on 
iheir  refusal,  plundered  and  burned  many  of  their  habitations.  The 
situation  of  these  colonists,  while  passing  continually  from  hand  to 
hand,  was  truly  lamentable.  They  were  naturally  and  strongly  at- 
tached to  France,  their  native  country  ;  yet  the  English,  after  the 
most  slight  and  partial  conquest,  claimed  of  them  all  the  duties  of 
British  subjects,  and,  on  failure,  inflicted  the  wonted  penalties  of 
rebellion.  No  attempts  were  made  to  wrest  the  province  out  of  the 
hands  of  Britain  till  the  treaty  of.Ryswick,  in  1G90,  when  William, 
having  secured  his  most  essential  objects,  followed  the  usual  pohcy 
of  aiiort'ing  the  French  to  resume  this  distant  and  httle  valued  pos- 
session. 

This  peace  was  speedily  succeeded,  in  1702,  by  the  memorable 
war  of  the  Spanish  Succession  under  Queen  Anne.  That  contest, 
distinguished  in  Europe  by  the  victitries  of  Marlborough,  and  other 
tplendid  events,  was  also  marked  by  an  increased  importance  at- 
ached  to  colonial  acquisitions  ;  while  the  settlers  in  North  America 
seemed  to  feel,  even  more  deeply  than  their  countrymen  at  home,  the 

aoimo^ity  which  divided  the  two  nations.    The  ignorant  and  extra va 
«  p 


170 


BRITISH   PROVINCES. 


gant  grants  made  by  each  party,  were  found,  us  discovery  extended, 
mure  and  more  to  clash  with  each  other,  and  afforded  constant  pre- 
texts for  hostility.  The  reduction  of  Nova  Scotia  was  again  left  to 
Massachusetts ;  and  she  was  encouraged  to  undertake  it  by  the 
assurance,  that  what  should  be  gained  by  arms  would  not  again  be 
sacrificed  by  treaty.  The  first  expedition,  which  consisted  of  five 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  was  despatched  in  17(M,  under  Colonel 
Church,  who  found  little  resistance  while  committing  ravages  which 
did  honour  neither  to  himself  nor  his  country.  Three  years  after 
wards,  a  force  of  a  thousand  soldiers  was  sent  to  complete  the  con 
quest  of  the  country  ;  but  Subercase,  the  French  conmiandant  at  Pol 
Koyal,  conducted  the  defence  of  that  place  with  such  spirit  and  abi- 
lity, that  the  assailants  were  twice  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  with 
Considerable  loss. 

The  determination  of  the  New  Englandcrs,  however,  could  not  be 
shaken.  After  two  years  spent  in  preparation,  they  assembled  a 
much  larger  force,  consisting  of  five  regiments,  four  of  them  levied 
in  the  colony.  It  was  placed  under  the  command  of  General  Ni 
cholson,  who  arrived  at  Port  Royal,  on  the  24th  of  September,  1710, 
when  Subercase,  with  a  garrison  of  only  two  hundred  and  sixty. 
declining  to  attempt  a  vain  resistance,  obtained  an  honourable  capi- 
tulation. The  troops  marched  out  with  the  honours  of  war,  and 
were  conveyed  to  France.  The  deed  of  surrender,  signed  on  the 
2d  of  October,  forms  the  era  when,  after  so  many  vicissitudes,  Nora 
Scotia  was  permanently  annexed  to  the  British  crown. 

The  intelligence  of  this  disaster  was  received  at  Paris  with  a 
regret  not  before  felt  on  similar  occasions ;  it  being  clearly  foreseen, 
that  if  the  country  could  not  be  reconquered  by  force  of  arms,  there 
was  no  hope  of  regaining  it  by  treaty.  Yet  the  urgent  state  of 
a&irs  in  Europe  rendered  it  impossible  to  detach  from  that  quarter 
any  considerable  expedition  ;  and  the  governor  of  Canada  was  de- 
terred from  hostile  operations  by  a  threatened  invasion  of  his  own 
territory.  Overtures  were  made  to  the  merchants  of  Rochelle  to 
equip  an  armament,  which  would  be  rewarded  by  large  and  profit- 
able establishmen  s  on  the  coast;  but  they  rightly  judged  that  the 
expense  of  such  an  enterprise  would  be  heavy,  and  the  profit  doubt- 
fal.  The  English,  however,  were  considerably  harassed  by  risings 
aimong  the  native  French  and  Indians,  down  to  the  peace  of  Utrecht, 
in  1713.  Although  that  treaty  did  not  fulfil  all  that  was  expected,  il 
secured  to  Britain  the  full  sovereignty  of  Nova  Scotia,  with  the  eZ' 


NOYA  8C0TIA. 


171 


ception  of  Cape  Breton  and  the  other  islands  in  the  gulf  of  St.  Law 

rence. 

ENERAL  NICHOLSON,  who  had.  con- 
quered the  country,  was,  in  1714,  appointed 
governor,  and  five  years  afterwards  was 
succeeded  by  Colonel  Phillips.  The  name 
of  the  capital  was  changed  from  Port  Royal 
to  Annapolis.  But  though  the  right  of 
Britain  to  Nova  Scotia  was  now  fully  ac- 
knowledged, she  found  it  a  possession  not  a  little  troublesome. 
Attempts  were  made  to  attract  settlers  both  from  England  and  the 
American  colonies ;  but,  owing  to  the  rigour  of  the  climate  and  the 
hostility  of  the  two  races  by  which  it  was  peopled,  only  a  few  could 
be  induced  to  remain  in  the  country. 

The  Indians  were  beyond  measure  aMonishei^  on  being  informed 
that  they  were  subjects  of  the  King  of  Great  Biitain,  transferred  to 
him  by  a  treaty  to  which  they  were  not  parties.     On  their  inquiring 
whether  such  an  arrangement  bad  really  been  made,  the   French 
commanders  informed  them  that  they  had  never  been  mentioned  in 
the  treaty,  and  consequently  were  considered  an  independent  people , 
while  the  British  maintained  that  they  were,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
made  over  along  with  the  territory.     The  Indians  set  at  naught  this 
last  conclusion,  and  carried  on  a  long  and  desperate  war,  in  which 
their  rapid  movements,  and  skill  in  the  arts  of  surprise,  enabled  them 
to  gain  many  advantages.     In  1720,  they  plundered  a  large  esta- 
blishment at  Canseau,  carrying  oflT  fish  and  merchandise  to  the 
value  of  j620,000  ;  and  in   1723,  they  captured  at  the  same  place 
seventeen  sail  of  vessels,  with  numerous  prisoners.     The   British 
inhabitants  of  Nova  Scotia  were  obliged  to  solicit  the  aid  of  Massa- 
chusetts, which,  in  1728,  sent  a  body  of  troops  against  the  chief 
Indian  fort  on  the  Kennebeck.     It  was  stormed,  the  warriors  pur- 
sued with  great  slaughter,  and  Ralle,  their  Catholic  missionary,  put 
to  death,  it  is  alleged,  with  circumstances  of  great  cruelty.     The 
savages  were  thus  for  some  time  overawed,  though   they  eagerly 
watched  an  opportunity  of  renewing  hostilities. 

After  an  unusually  long  peace,  the  habitual  enmity  of  the  two 
nations  broke  out  in  a  fresh  war,  declared  by  France,  in  March, 
1744.  Q,uesnel,  governor  of  Cape  Breton,  immediately  fitted  out 
expeditions  wbich  took  Canseau,  and  twice  laid  siege  to  Innapolis, 
but  without  success.     These  movements  were  condemned  by  the 


172 


BRITISn   PR0VTWC18. 


ill  I 

■^  ill  ' 


ml 


m 


Im^ 


court  as  premature,  and  tending  to  endanger  the  safety  of  Louii 
bourp,  which  was  then  ill  prepared  for  defence.  That  city,  well 
situated  for  fishing,  though  in  a  barren  country,  had  been  fortified  by 
the  French  at  an  expense  of  jL' I  ,yO(),000,  with  a  view  to  make  it  thi 
bulwark  of  their  possessions  in  North  America.  It  was  surrounded 
by  n  stone  wall,  two  miles  and  a  half  in  circuit,  and  by  a  ditcb 
eighty  feet  wide.  When,  tlierefore,  Shirley,  governor  of  New  Eng- 
land, proposed  to  the  couhc  I  the  expediency  of  reducing  it,  the  plan 
was  at  first  rejected  as  visionary  ;  though,  on  reconsideration,  it  was 
carried  by  a  single  vote.  Extraordinary  zeal,  corresponding  to  the 
magnitude  of  the  enterprise,  was  employed  in  the  preparation ;  and 
yet  the  force  destined  against  this  great  fortress,  garrisoned  by  rogu- 
lor  troops,  consisted  entirely  of  militia  and  volunteers,  hastily  k-vii'd 
and  led  on  by  Colonel  William  Pepperel,  a  gentleman  extensively 
engaged  in  commerce.  Massachusetts  furnished  three  thousand  two 
hundred  men,  Connecticut  five  hundred,  and  New  Hampshire  three 
hundred.  They  were  animated  with  a  species  of  religious  enthu- 
siasm, as  entering  on  an  anti-papal  war.  Mr.  Whitefield,  a  cele- 
brated Methodist  preacher,  furnished  a  motto,  and  a  chaplain  carried 
on  his  shoulder  a  hatchet  to  demolish  the  images.  The  army  em- 
barked in  a  number  of  small  vessels,  and  early  in  April,  1745, 
arrived  at  Canseau.  Flere  they  were  detained  three  weeks;  but 
the  French  were  so  little  on  their  guard,  that  they  learned  nothing 
of  the  presence  of  an  enemy  even  when  in  their  close  vicinity. 
Application  had  been  made  to  Commodore  Warren,  then  on  the 
West  India  station,  for  the  assistance  of  the  fleet ;  but  to  Shirley's 
great  disappointment,  he  did  not  consider  himself  authorized  to  take 
such  a  step.  This,  however,  was  concealed  from  the  troops ;  and 
on  their  arrival  at  Canseau,  they  were  gratified  to  find  the  commo- 
dore, who,  in  consequence  of  subsequent  instructions,  had  come  to 
join  them.  On  the  30th  of  April,  the  English  came  in  view  of 
Louisbourg,  and,  being  quite  unexpected,  easily  eflected  a  landing; 
they  even  took  a  battery,  and  turned  the  guns  against  the  city, 
they  had,  nevertheless,  to  sustain  during  a  fortnight  the  laborious 
task  of  drawing  cannon  through  a  morass,  where  they  were  up  to 
the  knees  in  mud,  and  exposed  to  the  enemy's  fire.  It  was  the  28th 
of  May  before  the  batteries  could  be  completed,  and  active  opera- 
tions commenced  ;  and  such  was  the  strength  of  the  place,  that  the 
besiegers  were  repulsed  in  five  successive  attacks,  in  the  last  of 
which,  they  lost  a  hundred  anc"  eighty-nine  men.     But  the  wurks 


In 


NOVA    HOOTTA. 


173 


aCRBBNDER    OF    LOUISBOtJBO 


«Tre  now  consiflerahly  dnmaced,  and  Warren  having  captured  the 
Vipilant,  a  line-of-battle  ship,  containing  five  hundred  and  sixty  men 
and  supplies,  Duchanihon,  the  governor,  lost  courage,  and  capitulated 
on  the  18th  of  June.  On  viewing  the  strength  of  the  fortress,  the 
victors  were  perfectly  astonished  at  their  success ;  and  the  French 
commander  excused  himself  on  account  of  the  mutinous  disposition 
of  his  garrison.  The  achievement  was  highly  creditable  to  a  body 
of  merchants  and  husbandmen,  destitute  of  either  skill  or  experience 
in  military  affairs.  The  reduction  of  the  island  of  St.  John,  now 
Prince  Edwcrd,  soon  follow^ed,  and  by  hoisting  the  French  flag  froi» 
the  captured  ports,  the  co!onijil:s  decoyed  into  them  a  South  Sea  ves- 
sel, and  two  East  India  ships,  the  cargoes  of  which  were  valued  a 
^fiOO,000. 

Ft 


I-.. 


174 


BRITISb   PROVINCES. 


lOTJIi    XV. 


Extraordinary  chagrin  was  felt  by 
the  court  of  Louis  XV.  at  a  disasi  ;: 
for  which  they  must  have  beep  h't 
prepared.     To  retrieve  it,  an  expe- 
dition was  fitted  out  on  so  great  a 
scale  as  to  render  the  American  sens, 
for  the  first  time,  the  main  theatre 
of    war.      It  consisted    of    seventy 
ships,  including  eleven  of  the  line, 
having  on  board  upwards  of  three 
thousand  disciplined  troops.     Reing 
placed  under  the  Duke  d'Anville,  an 
officer  of  great  military  reputation, 
it  was  intended  first  to  reduce  Louis- 
bourg,  then  Annapolis,  next  Boston, 
afterwards  to  range  along  the  whole  coast  of  North  Americn,  and 
finally  to  visit  the  West  Indies.     Early  in  the  summer  of  1740,  the 
armament  sailed  from  Brest,  and  passed,  unnoticed,  a  British  squad- 
ron, placed  to  observe  its  motions.     Admiral  Lestocq  left  Portsmouth 
in   pursuit,  but  was  repeatedly  driven  back  by  contrary  winds,  and 
hence  the   colonies  were   left   to   depend    on   their  own   resources. 
Here,  however,  the  good  fortune  of  the  French  commander  termi- 
nated.    He   had  a  most  tedious  and  tempestuous  passage,  l)eiiig 
ninety  days   in  reaching  Chebucto;  and  by  that  time  four  ships  of 
the  line  were  so  shattered  as  to  be  obliged  to  return  to  Europe,  while 
three,  sent  under  Admiral  Conflans,  by  the  West  Indies,  had  touched 
at  the  point  of  rendezvous,  but  not  finding  the  fleet,  had  also  set  sail 
homewards.      D'Anville,  overpowered,  it  should  seem,  by  distress 
and   disappointment,   died    suddenly  ;    and   Destournelle,   the   vice- 
admiral,  in  a  few  days  became  delirious,  and  ran  himself  through 
the  body.     In  these  calamitous  circumstances,  it  was  out  of  the 
question  to  attempt  Louisbourg ;  but  De  la  Jonquiere,  governor  of 
Canada,    having    assumed    the    command,  determined   to    proceed 
against  Annapolis.     In  rounding  Cape  Sable,  however,  he  had  to 
sustain  a  fresh  tempest,  which  so  dispersed  and  injured  the  remain- 
ing ships  of  the  fleet,  that  they  instantly  steered  for  Europe.     Thus 
this  mighty  prmament,  which  was  expected!  to  effect  the  conquest  of 
all  North   America,  was   completely  baffled,  without   meeting  an 
enemy.     The  colonists  regarded  it  as  a  special  interposition  of  Pro 
ridence,  and  celebrated  the  event  by  a  general  thanksgiving. 


NOVA   SCOTIA. 


175 


PI 
1 


The  French,  however,  were  indefatigable.  Do  la  Jonquiire  wa!» 
miinediately  sent  out  with  thirty-eight  sail ;  bui  having  on  his  way 
encountered  Admirals  Anson  and  Warren,  he  was  completely  de- 
feated, losing  a  ship  of  the  line,  and  six  richly  laden  East  Indiainen 
wliich  he  hud  under  convoy.  The  settlers  then  could  not  allow 
themselves  to  doubt,  that  in  the  treaty  now  negotiating.  Cape  Breton 
and  Louisbourg,  so  important  for  the  safety  as  well  as  compactness 
sf  their  territory,  would  be  secured  to  them.  But  the  British  minis- 
try, with  a  view  to  preserve  entire  the  possessions  of  their  ally,  the 
empress  queen,  and  to  maintain  the  balance  of  power  in  Europe, 
agreed  to  restore  these  conquests.  However  sound  might  be  this 
policy  in  itself,  its  result  could  not  fail  to  prove  very  mortifying  to 
the  American  provincials,  who  had  made  the  acquisition  by  so  bril- 
liant an  exertion  of  courage  and  enterprise. 

Britain  now  began  to  pay  more  attention  to  Nova  Scotia.  Hitherto 
it  had  been  quite  a  French  country,  peopled  and  cultivated  through 
out  by  that  hostile  nation.  It  was  suggested,  that  of  the  large  num- 
ber of  soldiers  and  sailors  discharged  in  consequence  of  the  peace,  a 
part  might  with  great  advantage  be  located  as  agriculturists,  and 
thereby  provide  the  colony  with  an  English  population.  This  pro- 
ject was  embraced  with  ardour  by  the  Earl  of  Halifax,  then  presi- 
dent of  the  Board  of  Trade  and  I'lantations.  Fifty  acres  were 
nllovved  to  every  private,  with  ten  additional  for  each  member  of  his 
family.  A  higher  allowance  was  granted  to  officers,  in  proportion 
to  their  rank,  till  it  amounted  to  six  hundred  for  all  above  that  of 
captain.  By  this  encouragement,  three  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  sixty  adventurers,  with  their  families,  were  induced  to  embark 
in  May,  174U.  They  were  landed,  not  at  Annapolis,  but  at  Che- 
bucto,  named  henceforth  Halifax,  after  the  patron  of  the  expedition. 

The  only  inhabitants  visible  were  small  bands  of  savages,  who 
glanced  on  them  with  a  jealous  and  hostile  eye,  and  ihen  fled  into 
the  interior.  The  Honourable  Edward  Cornwallis,  who  had  been 
appointed  governor,  nevertheless,  inspired  the  settlers  with  a  spirit 
of  activity  and  emulation  ;  planks  and  other  materials  were  procured 
from  New  England ;  and,  before  winter,  a  neat  wooden  town,  with  spa- 
cious and  regular  streets,  had  been  reared.  The  enforced  idleness 
of  that  season  was  not  a  little  dangerous  to  many  of  the  immigrants. 
However,  a  strict  police  was  established ;  the  government  wot. 
lodged  in  a  council  of  six,  who,  uniting  the  executive  with  legisla- 
ive  and  judicial  functions,  formed  a  somewhat  arbitrary  body  ;  bat 
12 


176 


BRITISn   PROVINCES. 


u  A  L  I  r  &  X. 


there  were  scarcely  materials  as  j'et  for  any  other.  Parliament  cori' 
tinned  to  support  the  colony  by  annual  orants,  which,  in  1755,  had 
amf)unted  to  the  enormous  sum  of  £115,584. 

Although  the  settlers  seemed  thus  firmly  established,  thej'  soon 
found  themselves  in  an  uneasy  and  difficult  position.  The  Indians 
made  at  first  some  friendly  overtures ;  but  the  influence  of  their  old 
allies  is  said  to  have  soon  determined  them  to  resume  a  system  of  the 
most  active  hostility.  The  Ennfiish,  notwithstanding  their  military 
habits,  were  ill-prepared  to  meet  the  desultory  warfare  of  enemies 
who,  stealing  through  the  depth  of  swamps  and  thickets  by  paths 
which  none  but  themselves  could  tread,  appeared,  struck  the  blow, 
and  vanished.  Tiiey  even  made  attacks  upon  Halifax;  and  ihe 
colonists  could  not  remove  from  that  place  singly  or  in  small  partiea. 
for  extending  or  improving  their  settlement,  without  imminent  peril. 
When  made  captive,  their  fate  was  dreadful — scalping,  torture,  and 
death  ;  or,  if  spared,  they  were  dragged  by  long  marches  through 
trackless  forests,  suffering  intolerable  hardships.  Many  were  car- 
ried to  Louisbourg,  where  they  were  purchased  as  an  article  of  mer- 
chandise. The  French  professed  themselves  actuated  solely  by  a 
wish  to  save  them  from  the  dreadful  fate  that  otherwise  awaited 
whem;  yet  these  tender  feelings,  it  was  observed,  never  prevented 
Jiein  from  extorting  most  exorbitant  ransoms.     There  is  great  rea 


NEW   BRUXSWICK. 


ll    t 


son  to  believe,  that  no  means  were  employed  to  conciliate  this  unfor- 
tunate and  injured  race.  It  was  determined  to  treat  them,  not  as 
reiTuIar  enemies,  but  as  traitors  and  rebels ;  and  that  they  might  be 
rivalled  in  barbarity,  a  price  was  put  upon  Indian  scalps. 

Another  circumstance  which  placed  the  colony  in  an  uneasy  situ 
alien,  was  the  boundary  contests  with  France.     The  history  of  this 
affair,  however,  which  brought  on  the  bloody  conflicts  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  will  come  under  our  notice  in  a  subsequent  chapte> 


^y. 


/£t  ^"1  iSv'*  \iS*  "'^  ■ 


O0UI0It.IAT]t  O    INDIiLNS. 


11.    NEW    BRUNSWICK. 


"EW  BRUNSWICK  did  not  exist  as 
a  separate  colony,  until  1783.  Pre- 
vious to  this,  the  French  had  claimed 
it  under  the  title  of  New  France,  as 
part  of  Acadia,  and  the  English,  in 
their  turn,  as  part  of  Nova  Scotia. 
When  the  latter  province  was  ceded 
to  the  British  government,  France 
still  claimed  New  Brunswick  as 
part  of  Canada ;  but  the  peace  of 
I7G3  settled  these  conflicting  claims,  by  giving  the  whole  province 
.0  England.  Still,  it  was  left  unoccupied  except  by  a  few  Acadians, 
who  had  sought  refuge  among  its  forests  from  the  relentless  perse- 
cution to  which  they  were  exposed.     In   1762,  some  families  from 

3J 


178 


URITISII    PROVINCES. 


ii^Lij. 


I 


SIH    OUT     CARLITON 


m 
Nil 


New  England  settird  at  \langervill«>,  nbnut  fifty  miles  up  the  St. 
John.  In  twenty  years,  their  niiinlx^rs  had  increased  to  cipht  hun- 
Jred.  At  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  several  thousand  d'.v 
banded  British  troops  were  placed  at  Frederickton.  But  having  been 
accustomed  to  the  comforts  of  civilized  life,  these  new  colonists  siif 
fercd  great  hardships,  and  a  long  season  of  privation,  before  thiy 
3ould  place  their  families  in  comfortable  situations. 

In  1785,  Sir  Guy  Carleion  was  appointed  governor,  and   made 
vigorous  exertions  for  the  improvement  of  the  country,  which  gra- 


NEW   BRUNSWICK. 


179 


. 


[he  Si. 
Ill  hun- 

re  th<'y 
lich  gta- 


Iiially,  ihough  slowly,  advanced.  On  his  return  to  En;^lanJ,  (ISOB.* 
irUil  I8I7,  ihe  government  was  administered  by  presidents,  la 
1800,  the  duty  on  Baltic  timber  was  advanced  to  nearly  jC3,  wkcie 
that  of  the  colonies  remained  free.  This  laid  .he  foundation  of  the 
present  fluurishing  condition  of  New  Brunsw  ok.  The  country  asa 
continued  to  increase  gradually  in  prosper!  y,  under  a  su''^e9aioo  ttt 
diflferent  rulers  down  to  the  present  time. 

In  connection  with  Canada,  New  Brunswick  shared  in  the  loa^ 
dispute  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  Stales,  connernini^  tli»? 
north-eastern  boundary.  The  terms  ol  the  treaty  of  nV-i,  by  teair- 
ing  the  exact  line  uncertam,  had  given  rise  to  controversy,  wh.i«:t»- 
tK'conimg  more  angry  as  it  advanced,  at  length  threatened  an  opra 
rupture  between  the  claimants.  The  territory  subject  to  this  amtn- 
guity,  formed,  in  ITS},  a  tract  of  wild  fr)r<-st,  scarcely  ever  trudii-n 
by  a  European.  But,  as  settlenieiito  inciea.si-d,  and  with  theru  cul- 
tivation of  soil,  the  tine  timber  became  an  object  to  both  parties.  In 
I8ii9,  an  agreement  was  made  to  refer  the  question  to  the  Km-'  »i 
Holland.  He  returned  an  answer  in  181)1,  declurmg  the  imptwaibi- 
l;ty  of  defining  a  boundary  according  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  bti? 
fffoii  mending  a  line  extending  tlong  the  St.  Croix,  the  St.  Juiia, 
•anil  th.-nce  to  the  head  of  the  Con  ecticut.  This  the  United  Slates 
iSt'iiale  rejecti'd,  pn^posing  a  new  arbitrary  line.  While  the  fjuea- 
tiori  remained  thus  undecided,  trespassers  from  each  side  enttred  tbtf 
tcrritury  to  cut  timber.  Expeditions  were  sent  against  them,  who, 
in  their  turn,  tfx>k  possessKin  of  the  ground.  Matters  grew  worse 
every  day,  and  a  border  war  seemed  inevitable,  when  an  agreeraeni 
was  made  between  Mr.  Fox,  the  British  ambassador,  and  Mr.  For- 
syth, the  American  secretary  of  state,  to  the  effect  that  the  govern 
nient  of  Maine  should  voluntarily  withdraw  its  military  force,  anJ 
any  further  arrangements  against  trespassers  be  made  by  the  twu 
powers  jointly.  A  convention  to  this  effect  was  signed  by  the  lwi» 
governors,  .March  23  and  ti5.  IKW.  The  subsequent  condition  olf 
affairs,  up  to  the  conclusion  of  the  "  Ashburton  Treaty,"  ais  reserved 
fur  a  subsequent  chapter. 


180 


BRlTISn    PROVINCES. 


III.  PRINCE  Edward's  island. 


H 


RINCE  EDWARD'S  ISLAND,  formerly 
known  as  St.  John,  is  a  fine  tract,  lying  south 
^  of  the  Gulf  of  St.  Ljiwrpnce,  and  opposite 
Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick.  Northum- 
berland Strait  separates  it  from  these  provinces.  Its  greatest  length 
IS  about  a  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles,  the  breadth  varying  from  a 
single  mile  to  thirty-four.  The  whole  island  is  deeply  indented  by 
bays  and  inlets,  so  that  scarcely  one  spot  can  be  found  removed 
more  than  seven  or  eight  miles  f  om  tide-water.  It  is  suppnsjd,  by 
Robertson  and  others,  to  be  the  land  reached  by  Cabot  in  1497,  and 
subsequently  visited  by  Verazzano.  This  is,  however,  very  doubt- 
ful. The  first  definite  notice  given  of  it  is  by  Champlain,  who, 
naming  it  St.  John,  accurately  describes  its  situation  and  extent  ind 
notices  its  harbours. 

The  cession  of  Acadia  to  Great  Britain,  by  the  treaty  of  Uirecht 
was  an  event  favourable  to  the  neighbouring  islands.  St.  John  rt 
ceived  a  number  of  French  settlers;  who,  by  their  industry,  soon 
gave  a  flourishing  appearance  to  the  island.  It  was  captured  by  the 
New  England  forces,  in  1745,  but  restored  to  France  by  the  treaty 
of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

After  the  second  reduction  of  Louisbourg  in  1758,  that  of  St 
John  followed,  and  it  became  permanently  attached  to  the  British 
croivn.  The  number  of  inhabitants,  at  that  time,  is  variously  rated 
at  ten  thousand,  six  thousand,  and  four  thousand  one  hundred  ;  the 
last  probably  nearest  the  truth.  They  had  brought  a  very  consider- 
able portion  of  land  under  cultivation  ;  had  large  stocks  of  horned 
cattle;  and  some  of  them  could  send  twelve  hundred  bushels  of 
wheat  to  the  market  of  Cluebec.     They  were  now  doomed,  how 


PKIXCE   EDWAIID  S   ISLAND. 


181 


ever,  lo  the  same  relentless  proscription  as  their  brethren  in  Nova 
Scotia  ,  and  the  pretext  was,  that  a  number  of  English  scalp?  weie 
found  in  the  French  governor's  house.  There  was,  no  doubt,  n 
just  ground  of  suspicion ;  though  the  British  might  have  recollected 
that  they  themselves  had  offered  premiums  for  these  trophies.  They 
were  unquestionably  brought  in  by  the  Indians,  and  at  all  events 
afTordcd  no  apology  for  inflicting  vengeance  upon  thousands  of 
peaceable  and  industrious  settlers.  The  details  of  the  expulsion  are 
not  stated  ;  but  it  appears  that  a  certain  number  were  sent  to  Ca- 
iwda,  others  to  the  southern  colonies,  and  some  to  France,  while  it 
is  admitted  that  many  contrived  to  conceal  themselves.  So  complete, 
however,  was  the  desolation,  that,  in  1770,  twelve  years  after,  there 
were  found  only  a  hundred  and  fifty  families. 

The  island  was  confirmed  to  Britain,  in  1703;  but  some  years 
eliipsed  before  measures,  not  remarkably  judicious,  were  taken  for 
this  settlement.  Lord  Egreniont  formed  a  strange  scheme,  by  which 
it  was  to  be  divid*Hi  into  twelve  districts,  ruled  by  as  many  baronb, 
each  of  whom  was  to  erect  a  castle  on  his  own  property,  while  that 
nobleman  was  to  preside  as  lord  paramount.  This  ridiculous  plan 
was  changed  for  another  not  much  wiser.  In  August,  1707,  a  divi- 
sion was  made  into  sixtj-seien  townships,  of  about  twenty  thousand 
acres  each,  which,  with  some  reservations,  were  made  over  to  indi- 
viduals supposed  to  possess  claims  upon  the  government.  They 
became  bound  to  settle  the  country  in  ten  years,  to  the  extent  of  at 
least  one  person  for  two  hundred  acres.  Their  exertions  in  this 
respect,  however,  were  not  very  effective  ;  and  when  they  resolved, 
as  the  only  me&:is  of  rendering  the  property  valuable,  to  retail  it  in 
small  lots,  their  prices  were  too  high;  nor  could  ihey  grant  that 
soccage  tenure  under  the  crown,  which  is  esteemed  the  most  se- 
cure. 

J'}.^^i^^<lt^  ONSIDERABLE  efll)rts,  however,  were  at 
first  made  to  rescue  the  island  from  its  state 
of  desolation.  The  proprietors  succeeded  in 
procuring  for  it  a  governor,  independent  of 
Nova  Scotia,  though,  as  already  mentioned, 
there  were  only  a  hundred  and  fifty  families 
resident  on  it.  Mr.  Patterson,  appointed  to 
that  office,  in  1770,  brought  back  a  number 
of  the  exiled  Acadians.  Tracady  was  settled  by  Captain  Macdo 
nald  with  three  hundred  Highlanders ;  and  Chief  Biron  Montgomery 


18S 


BRITISH    PROVINCES. 


mad?  great  efforts  to  fulfil  his  proprietary  obligations.  A  Ix^ginnin^ 
was  thus  made,  a  good  report  was  spread,  the  colony  received  gr.« 
dual  accessions,  and,  in  1773,  a  constitution  being  giren,  the  first 
House  of  Assembly  was  called.  But  the  governor  and  Oem-ral 
Fanning,  who  succeeded  in  1789,  were  involved  in  contests  with  th« 
proprietors  and  settlers,  who  accused  theni  of  culpable  eagerness  to 
acquire  landed  property  for  themselves;  these  feuds,  however,  seem 
to  have  caused  no  material  injury. 

In  I79y,  inconvenience  having  been  felt  from  the  island  bearing 
the  same  name  with  the  chief  towns  in  New  Brunswick  and  New- 
foundland, it  was  changed  to  Prince  Edward,  in  honour  of  the  late 
Duke  of  Kent,  who,  as  commander  in  America,  had  directed  s<)iiie 
valuable  improvements.  In  180:),  the  late  Earl  of  Selkirk,  who  gave 
so  great  an  impulse  to  emigration,  carried  over  an  important  colony, 
consisting  cf  about  eight  hundred  f liglilanders.  lie  made  the 
necessary  arrangements  with  so  much  judgment,  that  the  selilcrs 
soon  became  very  prosperous,  and  with  the  friends  who  have  since 
joined  them,  now  amount  to  upwards  of  four  thousand. 

Governor  Dusbarres,  who  succeeded  Fanning,  was  a  man  of  talent; 
and  though  his  administration  was  considered  by  no  means  prudent, 
yet,  at  no  former  period  did  the  colony  advance  so  rapidly.  In 
I81t),  he  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Smyih,  whose  violent  and  tyrannical 
conduct  caused  a  general  agitation  in  the  colony.  For  several  years 
previous  to  1823,  he  had  preventid  the  meeting  of  the  House  of 
Assembly,  and  when  a  cominitlee  of  the  iiiliabiluiits  was  appointed  to 
draw  up  a  petition  for  his  removal,  he  caused  them  to  be  arrested. 
Mr.  Stewart,  the  high-sheriff",  however,  though  at  the  age  of  sixiy- 
bix,  made  his  escape  to  Nova  Scotia,  and  thence  to  England ;  where 
the  real  stale  of  things  was  no  socmer  made  known  than  the  govermir 
was  recalled,  and  Lieutenant-colonel  Heady  appointed  to  succeed 
him.  The  conduct  of  this  last  gave  general  satisfaction  ;  and,  in 
conjunction  with  the  House  of  Assembly,  he  passed  many  useful 
acts,  and  took  various  measures  to  promote  the  continued  improve- 
ment of  the  colony.  In  1831,  Colonel  Young  received  the  appoint- 
ment, and  ruled  as  lieutenant-governor  till  1836,  in  which  year  Sii 
John  Harvey  was  named  his  successor.  Sir  John  was  very  popular; 
but  being,  in  1837,  removed  to  the  government  of  New  Brunswick 
bis  place  was  supplied  by  Sir  Charles  A.  Fitzroy.  Since  this  tim^ 
tho  island  has  presented  little  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  historian 


NEWFOUNDLAND. 


183 


v=i>i  ^'^^4".v 


BT      JOUN     8,     nWroUNUIAMO 


IV.    NKWFOUNDLAND. 


KWFOUNDLAND  is  a  large  island,  the  mosl 
*k^^\  itiiportant  of  the  British  possessions  adjacent  to 
the  eastern  coast  of  North  America.  On  one 
\]  side  it  almost  touches  the  continent,  but  on  the 
( )  other  stretches  far  out  into  the  Atlantic.  Its 
^  entire  circuit  is  one  thousand  miles.  The  mosl 
striking  natural  feature  connected  with  the 
i.xland,  are  the  Banks,  shallow  places  in  the 
xean,  near  which  cod  and  other  fish  abound  to  such  an  extent  as  to 
lupjily  the  world,  and  give  to  the  island,  through  the  fisheries,  a 
fiK«:  important  station  in  the  rank  of  colonial  provinces.  The  same 
productive  character  distinguishes  the  shores  of  Labrador.  In  these 
tf-inpestuous  seas,  the  nations  of  Europe  ai.d  America  have  for  ages 
laboured  indefatigably  with  nets,  lines,  and  every  imaginable  pro 
cess,  and  yet  not  the  slightest  diminutiin  of  fruitfulness  has  evex 
seen  observed. 


184 


BRITISH    PKOVIXCBS. 


COD 


-FiaRXRT,    NB  W  rOORDLABD. 


Nen-foundland  was  discovered  by  Cabot,  in  1497,  and  has  since 
been  claimed  by  Great  Britain.  Attention  was  speedily  drawn  to 
ihe  cod-6sheries.  In  1517,  an  English  vessel  reported  having  seen 
forty  ships — Portuguese,  French,  and  Spanish — employed  on  the 
coast.  In  1536,  an  Englishman,  named  Here,  attempted  a  settle- 
ment, but  failed.  He  was  followed  by  the  equally  unfortunate  Sir 
Humphrey  Gilbert.  During  the  whole  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
English  were  less  successful  in  the  fisheries  than  other  nations; 
■nd  the  failure  of  repeated  attempts  at  settlement  damped  the  spirit 
of  the  nation. 

At  the  opening  of  the  seventeenth  century,  schemes  to  colonize 
the  northern  territory  were  commenced  on  a  large  scale.  These  ori- 
ginated in  Mr.  Guy,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  Bristol,  who  published 
several  pamphlets,  and  induced  a  number  of  influential  persons  at 
court  to  engage  in  the  undertaking.  Among  these  were  Lord 
Bacon,  Lord  Northampton,  keeper  of  the  seals,  and  Sir  Francis 
Tanfield,  chief  baron  of  the  Exchequer.  These,  with  forty-one  other 
persons,  received  a  patent  to  colonize  Newfoundland.  They  were 
invested  with  the  entire  property  of  the  land,  soil,  and  mines,  and  a 
general  grant  made  of  those  privileges,  which  the  crown  could  no 
find  time  to  enumerate.  The  only  reservation  was  the  right  of  fish 
rrv  on  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  to  any  English  subject. 


NKWFOUNDLAND. 


I  So 


Mr.  Guy  was  appointed  governor  of  the  new  colony.  In  1010, 
hu  conreyed  thither  thirty-nine  persons  in  three  vessels,  and  eiif 
ployed  them  in  constructing  a  dwelling  and  store-house,  with  an 
enclosurfl  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  by  ninety,  in  which  were 
planted  three  pieces  of  ordnance,  fie  gave  flattering  accounts  of 
the  country  to  government,  and  seems  to  have  bent  all  his  enerf^ies 
to  the  rearing  up  of  a  prosperous  colony.  On  reluming  in  the  fol- 
lowing season,  he  appointed  William  Colston  in  his  stead,  who  was 
by  no  means  so  sanguine  in  his  hopes  and  efl^orts  as  his  predecessor. 
Guy  rtluinod  in  1012.  One  of  his  first  acts  was  to  sail  along  the 
coast  on  a  voyage  of  discoi'ery  ;  during  which  he  dealt  amicably 
with  the  natives.  In  a  year,  he  again  returned  to  England,  and  the 
colony  afterwards  languished  greatly.  Some  time  after,  (1015,)  Cap- 
lain  Wliilbourne  was  sent  out  to  hold  a  court  of  admiralty,  and  pro- 
vide a  check  for  ihe  nuii>erous  abuses  to  which  the  fishermen  were 
subjected  ;  but  he  found  it  impossible  to  do  more  than  specify  the 
evils  and  propose  remedies. 

BOUT  the  year  1021,  Sir  George 
Calvert,  afterwards  Lord  Baltimore, 
obtained  a  grant  of  a  tract  from  Cape 
Si.  Mary  to  the  Bay  of  Bulls.  His 
object  was  to  form  a  settlement 
where  members  of  the  Roman  Ca- 
tholic religion  might  enjoy  the  free 
exercise  of  their  opinions.  Viscount 
^l:,K-j'-^iif<j^-K>~'  ~~  "  Faulkland  undertook  to  send  a  colo- 
ny from  Ireland,  of  which  he  was  then  lord-lieutenant.  Olher  gen- 
tlemen made  similar  offers.  Many  efl^orts  were  made  to  secure  the 
coiiiforls  of  the  settlers,  and  especially  to  enlist  their  feelings  in  the 
enterprise.  But,  although  the  colonists  appear  to  have  been  nume- 
rous, few  details  are  given  of  their  progress.  Lord  Baltimore  himself 
visited  the  colony,  and  built  a  strong  fort  and  handsome  house  at  Fer- 
ryland,  where  he  resided  for  some  time.  About  twenty  years  after 
this  first  plantation,  the  number  of  families  in  different  parts  of  the 
coast  had  swelled  to  three  hundred  and  fifty.  The  importance  of  the 
fishery  grew  with  that  of  the  colony,  so  that,  in  1020,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  vessels  sailed  thither  from  Devonshire;  and  England  began 
to  supply  the  other  countries  of  Europe  with  the  products  of  the 
tsheiies. 

24  «• 


■v^ 


li^{i 


BUITISU   I'hUVI.NCES. 


LORD    BALTIUORI. 


ir': 


When  Lord  Baltimore  returned  to  England,  he  became  so  engaged 
with  his  Mar3'land  colony,  as  to  find  little  time  to  bestow  on  the  one 
already  planted.  The  settlers  consequently  sunk  into  comparative 
neglect,  and,  giving  up  all  attempts  at  culture  of  the  soil,  devoted 
themselves  to  the  fisheries. 

This  branch  of  industry  was  now  assuming  that  importance 
which  it  so  well  merits.  The  French  embarked  in  it  with  their 
customary  zeal,  and  even  formed  a  colony  in  the  Bay  of  Placentia, 
in  order  to  carry  it  on  more  conveniently.  In  1603,  it  was  encou- 
raged by  the  repeal  of  all  duties.    But  this  so  far  increased  the 


w 


K*:;Si 


NKVVFOl'Nni.AND. 


1S7 


nntnlior  i^f  iiulividiuil  a<lvpntur«'r«,  that  tlie  Hritisli  lippan  to  fwir  n 
iltriT.'iso  ill  tlifi  goveriitiK'iil  profits.  The  barbarous  rfiuody  of  root- 
inj;  out  the  colony  woj*  j)r(>|)OHe»l  by  Josiah  Child,  n  nierclmnt  of  Lon 
(lull,  and  iiiinu'diately  carriwl  into  ex«»oution.  Sir  John  Kerry  was 
t'lnployt'd  to  burn  tin;  houses  and  drive  out  the  settlers.  That  offi- 
cer si'oiiis  to  have  mitigated  as  much  as  possible  his  cruel  coniiuis- 
hion,  ami  Hciit  home  stron;,'  remonstrances  as  to  the  misery  which  he 
had  reluctantly  occasioned.  In  1G70,  Downing,  a  resident,  procured 
an  order  from  the  king,  that  the  peo|ilo  should  be  no  further  mo- 
lested ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  strict  injunctions  were  issued,  that  no 
Vessel  should  carry  out  any  emigrants,  or  pi'ii.iit  them  to  settle. 

During  the  war  wiili  France,  consecjuent  to  the  Kevolution  oi 
1C88,  Newfoundland  suffered  severely.  Although  the  English 
cliiiu)e<l  the  territory,  the  French  had  fortified  a  number  of  settle- 
ments, which  they  were  now  unwilling  to  abandon.  In  1092,  Com- 
mander Williiims  attacked  Placentia,  but  without  success;  and  an 
atteinpt,  by  the  French,  upon  St.  John,  (l(59(j,)  was  attended  with  a 
like  result.  A  second  trial  resulted  in  its  cajjture  and  destructiun, 
iiiid  soon  alter  Ibberville  rooted  out  all  the  English  stations,  except  Bona 
Vista  and  Ciirbonier.  These  successes  were  nullified  by  the  treaty 
et'  livswick,  which  compensated  each  party  for  its  losses  during  the 
war.  l)uriiig  the  war  of  the  succession,  Newfoundland  was  again 
taken  by  the  French,  but  restored  by  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  in  IT  13. 
Newfoundland  then  continued  to  increase  in  importance,  with  but 
sliLjIit  interruptions,  until  the  War  of  Indepemlence.  In  1775,  the 
New  England  colonists  were  forbidden  to  participate  in  the  fisheries; 
but,  in  revenge,  these  high-spirited  men  refused  to  sui)i)ly  the  cre\>;s 
of  vessels  with  provisions  ;  a  plan  that  reduced  them  almost  to  star 
vation.  They  thus  found  it  necessary  either  to  return  home  or  to 
repair  to  some  of  the  other  colonies.  At  the  close  of  the  war, 
Gi-eat  Britain  repealed  most  of  her  onerous  laws,  and  from  that  time 
lioth  the  settlements  of  Newfoundland  and  its  fisheries  increased 
rapidly  in  prosperity.  The  latter  are  now  free  to  all  nations,  and 
numbers  of  sliips  are  annually  emjyloyed  by  the  great  maritin.e 
powers  of  England,  France,  and  the  United  States,  in  this  dan- 
gerous occupation.  The  total  population  of  Newfoundland  is  at 
present  about  seventy  thousand,  of  whom  more  than  one-half  ar« 
Koman  C'l'h  )lics. 


iijf^  iiijn»«»i.iii 


188 


fiRITISII   rnoviNCKS. 


^  >-T^--^     -^-iT 


«NTIiANO«         NTO     IIDI)80H'a     B*V 


V.    I.AORAnon    ANI)    NKW    nUITAlN. 


In 


E  have  dividod  the  territory  north  Oi 
('iinadu  into  two  (freni  im- 
liiral  divisions,  kntiuri  as 
l.ahriidor  and  New  Hii- 
tain.  The  fornu'r  ('.(Hiiitry 
is  of  very  litth-  historical 
importance.  'J'he  Cdust 
was  first  discovered  by 
Sebastian  Cabot,  in  I  l!)(i, 
nnd  was  afterwards  visited  (IfiOl)  and  named  (Terra  Labrador)  by 
Gra.-ipar  Cortereai.  During  the  sixteenth  century,  it  was  visited  by 
various  Europeans,  and  attempts  made  to  settle  and  carrv  oa 
the  cod-fishi'ry  along  the  coast.  An  impulse  was  given  to  these 
efl()rts  by  the  Moravian  missionaries,  who,  in  1752,  settled  at  Hope- 
dale  and  other  places.  After  numerouH  hardsliips,  they  obtaiiuil 
from  governmenl,  in  May,  I70U,  a  tract  of  land,  on  which  to  settle 
nnd  carry  on  their  praiseworthy  exertions.  The  missions  have 
existed  through  great  vicissitudes,  until  the  present  time       Their 


NI3W   UUITAIN. 


181) 


TRADIND     Wri'H     TlIB     INDIANa     FOH     PURS 


Kfttliiiii'iits  an>,  liowfvcr,  small,  and  lying  principally  along  the 
easii'rii  coast.     The  iiiti'iior  is  little  known. 

Nfw  Britain  is  an  uninonso  country,  stretching  from  Canada  to 
ilii'  IV.Iar  sea,  with  an  average  l)rea(Iih  of  twenty-six  hiimlri'il  miles. 
'I'lie  souiliern  portion  is  a  llat  prairie  land,  traversed  hy  large  rivers, 
iind  gifted  with  a  highly  fruitful  soil.  The  woody  portion  lies 
lUiMind  Hudson's  Hay;  while  the  western  territories  ore  rugged  and 
iiKiimtaiiious.  The  whole  country  owes  its  importance  almost  en- 
lirely  to  the  valuable  furs  derived  from  the  uniumls  that  swarm  in 
(Very  ijuarter. 

Tl.e  eastern  coast  of  Nev/  Britain  was  early  visited  by  European's 


71 1  ii»i"iipiniiimw«My 


190 


BRITISH   PROVINCES. 


m  the  hope  of  discovering  a  north-west  passage  to  India.  In  1517, 
Sebastian  Cabot  first  visited  Hudson's  Bay,  which  he  viewed  as  a 
communication  to  the  coveted  regions  of  the  east.  This  voyage  was 
subsequently  forgotten ;  so  that  when  Hudson,  in  1610,  saileH 
through  the  straits  now  bearing  his  name,  and  found  a  broad  expanse 
of  water,  it  was  considered  a  new  discovery,  and  npiued  by  him 
Hudson's  Sea.  He  wintered  within  the  straits,  and  finally  perished 
by  a  mutiny  of  the  crew. 

This  expedition  was  followed  by  others,  all  of  which  steered  in  the 
same  direction  with  Hudson,  but  were  more  fortunate  in  discovery. 
Southampton  island  was  discovered  by  .''■r  Thomas  Button,  in  1612 
or  1013.  He  named  it  Carey's  Swan's-nest.  He  passed  the  win- 
ter at  Nelson's  river,  first  seen  by  him,  but  was  prevented  from  pur- 
suing his  voyage  by  excessive  cold  and  the  consequent  discourage- 
ment of  his  crew.  Baffin's  Bay  was  explored  by  Bylot  and  Baffin, 
in  1616.  On  the  5lh  of  May,  1631,  Luke  Fox,  an  enterprising 
mariner,  who  had  been  equipped  by  the  London  merchants,  sailed 
on  a  voyage  of  discovery.  When  off'  Cape  Warwick,  (June  21,) 
his  progress  was  arrested  by  ice  and  currents.  He  describes  an 
iceberg  as  a  prodigious  thing,  sometimes  mountain  high  ;  but  here 
there  were  no  pieces  larger  than  a  great  church — their  extent  vary- 
ing from  a  perch  to  two  acres.  On  the 
20lh, these  icebergs  lay  around  him  so 
thick,  that  he  knew  not  what  wind  to 
pray  for  to  extricate  himself  of  them. 
On  beinjr  released  from  this  danger,  he 
sailed  to  Southampton  island,  and  then 
explored  the  bay,  penetrating  as  fii* 
north  as  66°  47'.  Here  his  crew  be 
came  disheartened,  and  retracing  his  course,  he  returned  to  Eng'and. 
A  similar  expedition,  sent  out  by  the  Bristol  merchants,  met  w>th  a 
like  result.  The  crew  passed  a  winter  in  Hudson's  Bay,  and  suf 
fered  the  most  deplorable  evils,  until  the  return  of  summer. 

In  June,  1688,  a  P'renchman,  named  Grosseliez,  sent  out  an  expe- 
dition under  the  patronage  of  Prince  Rupert  of  England.  The 
crew  wintered  in  a  river  called  Rupert,  and,  on  returning,  presented 
so  favourable  a  report,  that  the  prince  and  other  noblemen  sub- 
scribed a  capital  of  jE  10,500,  and  obtained  a  charter  for  the  exclusive 
trade  and  administration  of  the  countries  around  Hudson's  Bay. 
Settlements  were  formed  on  Rupert's,  Moose,  and  Albany  rivers* 


NEW   BRITAIN. 


191 


■  ZFXDITION    or    0A.PTA1N    FARRT 


and  in  1685,  two  more  on  the  Nelson  and  Severn.  In  1690,  their 
affairs  were  in  such  a  flourishing  condition,  that  the  proprietors 
trebled  their  original  capital.  This  success  excited  the  envy  of  the 
French,  who  speedily  made  themselves  masters  of  the  principal  set- 
tlements. They  retained  them  with  but  little  interruption  until  the 
peace  of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  which  restored  them  to  Britain. 

Two  companies  were  now  formed  in  England,  each  of  which 
strove  to  outdo  its  rival  in  discovery  and  colonization.     These  wen 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and   the  North-western.      In   1771 
Samuel   Hearne,   employed    by  the    first,   descended    the  Copper 
mine  River,  and  found  it  terminating  in  an  unknown  part  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean.     In  1789,  Sir  Alexander  Mackenzie,  a  partner  of  the 
North-west  Fur  Company,  sailed  down  the  stream  bearing  his  name, 
and  made  observations  which  left  little  doubt  of  its  opening  mto  an- 
other portion  of  the  same  expanse.     He  also  penetrated,  m  1789, 
across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  reached  the  coast  of  the  Pacific. 
These  discoveries  kindled  a  species  of  enthusiasm  in  the  British 
nation;   and,  after  the  close  of  the  European  war,  in  1815,  ^she 
engaged  in  a  series  of  attempts  to  penetrate  to  India,  by  the  North- 
west.     Captain    Parry  repeatedly  penetrated  into  the  Polar  Sea. 
and  discovered  a  range  of  large  islands,  to  the  south  of  which  wera 
extens-ive  coasts,  stretching  out  of  sight.     Soon  after.  Captain  Ros? 
13 


192 


BRITISH   PROVINCES. 


•V    •    I   -' 


m.. . 


discovered  and  named  Boothia.  Parry  explored  the  northern  coasts 
of  Tludsoii's  Bay,  and  discovered  Fury  and  Hecla  Straits.  Dr. 
Richardson,  and  Captains  Franklin  and  Beechy,  also  made  extensive 
discoveries  along  the  shores  of  the  Polar  Sea.    . 

These  expeditions  led  to  another,  terminating  in  some  important 
results.  Riiss  had  sailed  in  1829,  and  for  four  winters  nothing  was 
heard  of  him — a  circumstance  which  excited  the  deepest  anxiety. 
Accordingly,  an  expedition  was  fitted  out  to  go  in  search  of  him, 
and  Captain  Back,  an"  able  officer  who  had  served  under  Franklin 
and  Richardson,  volunteered  to  conduct  it.  He  sailed  from  Liver- 
pool, February  17,  1638,  and,  after  visiting  New  York,  ascended 
the  Hudson  to  Albanj'.  In  April,  he  reached  Montreal.  After  nume- 
rous difficulties  in  raising  provisions  and  men,  he  sailed  up  the 
Ottawa,  to  a  small  stream  leading  into  Nipissing  Lake,  and  thenco 
by  the  Riviere  des  Fran^ais,  he  entered  Lake  Huron.  Then,  cross- 
ing Lake  Superior,  Rainy,  and  Lake  of  the  Woods,  they  reached 
Fort  Alexander  at  the  southern  extremity  of  Lake  Winnepeg, 
From  the  settlers  in  this  vicinity  he  received  the  most  marked 
attention,  and  was  furnished  by  Governor  Simpson  with  every  con- 
venience. The  party  then  commenced  their  dreary  journey  toward 
the  north,  sometimes  sailing  along  rivers,  then  carrying  their  canoes 
across  almost  impassable  surfaces,  and  even  fording  torrents  and  cas- 
cades. The  thermometer  was  sometimes  90°  below  zero ;  and  a 
huge  fire  in  a  small  apartment  could  not  raise  the  temperature  higher 
than  12°  above  zero.  Ink  and  paint  froze,  and  boxes  of  the  best 
seasoned  wood  split.  The  skin  of  the  hands  cracked  and  opened  in 
gashes.  When  the  face  was  washed  near  the  fire,  before  it  could  be 
dried  the  hair  was  clotted  with  ice.  All  living  beings  disappeared; 
no  sound  bur  that  of  the  passing  wind  broke  the  awful  stillness 
Captain  Back  penetrated  far  to  the  north  and  passed  the  winter, 
but  he  found  it  almost  impossible  to  prosecute  further  discoveries. 
In  the  following  year,  he  was  compelled  to  retrace  hig  steps,  and  on 
the  8th  of  September  arrived  at  Liverpool.  This  expedition  was 
followed  by  others  of  a  similar  character.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Com* 
puny  now  manages  the  afiairs  of  the  territory.  There  are  four  prin- 
cipal stations,  between  which  the  country  is  divided ;  York  Fort, 
Moose  Fort,  Montreal,  and  Fort  Vancouver.  Smaller  stations  are 
scattered  throughout  the  territory,  some  of  which  afford  protectior 
and  support  to  pious  missionaries,  who  are  engaged  in  the  iaudab 
•vork  of  instructing  the  natives  in  religion  and  civilization. 


'  t 


A  S  J  O  H  I  A. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


HISTORY   OF   OREGON. 


HE  term  Oregon  has,  until  lately,  been 
employed  to  designate  the  country  ex- 
tending from  California  to  the  Russian 
possessions,  and  from    the  Pacific  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains.     It  was  visited 
as  early  as  1.579  by  Sir  Francis  Drake, 
who,  pursuing  the  track  already  com- 
menced  by   the    Spanish    navigators, 
sailed  along  the  coast  as  far  north  as 
48°.     It  is  very  probable  that  CTec 
previous  to   this   the   Spaniards   had 
sailed  further  northward  than  the  ex- 
tremity of  California.     In  1598,  D'Aguilar,  commander  of  an  expe- 
dition under  Philip  III.,  of  Spain,  visited  the  coast,  and  discovered 
»  z  m 


104 


OREGON. 


uu 


mti 


ii 


U^ 


the  month  of  the  Columbia ;  but  his  account  of  the  expedition  wps 
treated  by  his  countrymen  with  unmerited  neglect. 

For  nearly  two  centuries  after  that  period,  the  Spaniards  made  no 
further  attempts  either  at  discovery  or  settlement ;  and  the  distant 
region  of  Oregon  seems  to  have  been  considered  by  all  nations  as  an 
unknown  territory.  But  when  maritime  enterprise  revived  in  the 
latter  part  of  the  eighteenth  century,  Spain  established  ten  stations 
(1769 — 1779)  along  the  coo<5t  of  Northern  California.  In  1774 
Juan  Perez  sailed  from  California  as  far  north  as  55°.  On  his  re- 
turn he  anchored  in  San  Lorenzo  bay,  probably  Nootka  Sound. 
Nearly  the  same  ground  was  passed  over  in  1775,  by  another  Spa- 
nish expedition  under  Don  Bruno  Heceta.  In  1776,  Captain  Cook, 
of  England,  examined  the  western  coast  from  44°  to  Behring's 
Straits. 

On  account  of  the  discoveries  of  Drake  and  Cook,  Great  Britain 
claimed  all  Oregon,  and  established  small  posts  throughout  the  terri- 
tory, under  the  auspices  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  It  was 
further  visited  by  Vancouver,  in  1791,  who  made  several  important 
explorations.  But  a  new  impulse  was  given  to  adventure  in  this 
quarter,  by  a  series  of  enterprises  conducted  by  land.  Mackenzie 
discovered  the  Frazer  river,  (1793,)  and  explored  it  to  a  considerable 
distance.  In  the  early  part  of  the  present  century,  Mr.  David 
Thompson,  surveyor  and  astronomer  of  the  British  North-west  Com- 
pany, crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  into  Oregon,  and  explored  a 
branch  of  the  Columbia.  In  1807,  he  established  a  trading-post 
near  British  America,  and  spent  there  two  years ;  at  the  end  of 
which  time  he  founded  another  station  on  the  Flathead.  Altogether 
he  spent  several  years  in  the  country,  making  valuable  topographi- 
cal observations  upon  the  lands  bordering  on  the  Columbia. 

The  American  Revolution  having  secured  the  Independence  of 
the  United  States,  the  merchants  of  that  country  manifested,  with 
increased  ardor,  that  spirit  of  commercial  enterprise  which  had  been 
arrested  during  the  arduous  struggle.  On  the  7th  of  May,  1792, 
Captain  Robert  Gray,  in  the  ship  Columbia,  of  Boston,  entered 
the  Columbia  river,  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  his  vessel.  His 
is  the  first  definite  account  given  of  that  stream.  During  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  Lewis  and  Clark  were  dispatched 
(August,  1805,)  on  an  expedition  to  explore  the  region  beyond 
the  mountains.  They  reached  the  latter  range,  in  latitude  44" 
»<inh,   crossed    it,   discovered    the    southern    head-waters   of    the 


BXPLORATION   OP  THE   COUNTRY. 


195 


JOBV    JACOB     ASTOB. 


Columbia,  floated  down  its  stream  for  about  six  hundred  or.iles,  then 
struck  ofl"  in  a  westerly  direction,  and,  on  the  15th  of  November, 
reached  its  mouth.  Here  they  built  some  huts,  remained  in  them 
during  the  winter,  and,  in  1806,  returned  to  the  United  States,  ex- 
ploring, in  their  course,  many  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Columbia. 
This,  until  very  recently,  was  the  only  occasion  in  which  the  Rocky 
Mountains  have  been  crossed  by  persons  acting  in  a  public  capacity. 

In  1806,  Mr.  Frazer,  of  the  North-west  Company,  established  a 
trading  post  on  Frazer's  river,  in  about  latitude  54°  ;  and,  in  1811, 
Mr.  Thompson,  agent  of  the  same  company,  discovered  the  northern 
head-waters  of  the  Columbia,  (52°  north,)  and  erected  some  huts  on 
Its  banks.  In  the  same  year,  John  Jacob  Astor,  of  New  York,  de- 
spatched an  expedition,  both  by  sea  and  land,  which  met  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia,  and  erected  on  its  southern  bank  a  little  fori. 
This  was  named  Astoria,  and  was  intended  to  be  the  centre  of  an  ex- 
tensive trade  between  America  and  China.  During  the  war  of  1812, 
t  was  captured  by  the  British,  and  the  name  changed  to  Fort  George ; 
but  by  the  treaty  of  Ghent  it  was  restored  to  the  Americans.  Not 
long  afterwards,  Astoria  was  abandoned  as  a  goverr  ment  settlement. 

On  the  2Sid  of  February,  1819,  Spain  and  the  United  States  eabt 


106 


OREGON. 


blished,  by  the  Florida  treaty,  the  forty-second  parallel  as  their  mu 
uual  lioundary,  from  the  source  of  the  Arkansas  down  to  the  Pacific — 
ihe  former  power  yielding  her  claim  to  all  territories  north  of  that 
hna.  In  1834-5,  the  Russians  effected  an  agreement  with  the 
United  States,  renouncing  all  right  to  any  land  south  of  54°  40'.  A 
similar  treaty  was  stipulated  with  Great  Britain  ;  and  thus  the  tract 
between  42°  north  and  54°  40',  was  left  to  be  apportioned  between 
the  two  great  leading  powers  of  Europe  and  America. 

Negotiations  for  establishing  a  permanent  boundary  were  almost 
immediately  commenced.  The  Americans  had  already  o^lred 
(1818)  the  49°  north  latitude,  as  that  boundary,  but  this  was  re- 
fused ;  and,  in  1824,  they  renewed  it.  The  British  governmenl 
claimed  to  the  Columbia.  Both  efforts  were  fruitless ;  and  a  third, 
ill  1826,  was  attended  with  a  like  result.  On  the  6th  of  August, 
1827,  the  two  nations  agreed  on  a  resolution  of  "joint  occupancy," 
leaving  the  territory  free  to  the  hunters  and  companies  of  each,  to 
carry  on  trade  and  build  posts.  From  that  time  until  1845,  the 
whole  region  was  under  the  almost  entire  control  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  whose  members  established  numerous  posts  along 
its  northern  and  western  limits.  But  during  the  great  presidential 
canvass  for  1844,  the  subject  of  a  definite  boundary  to  Oregon  be- 
came a  great  measure,  an  item  of  politics;  and  when  President 
Polk  assumed  the  executive  chair,  p:.blic  interest,  both  in  the  United 
States  and  England,  became  painfully  awakened  to  the  claims  of 
the  two  rivals.  The  President  soon  showed  a  disposition  to  have 
the  subject  brought  to  an  immediate  issue.  In  the  message  of  De- 
cember, 1845,  he  recommended  the  termination  of  joint  occupancy, 
and  claimed  the  whole  of  Oregon,  up  to  54°  40'.  The  British  were 
firm  in  maintaining  their  claim,  and  made  active  preparations  for 
war.  This  resource  now  seemed  inevitable,  and  the  question  of  its 
occurrence  rested  wholly  with  the  Senate.  That  august  bodj'  acted 
in  a  manner  worthy  the  highest  representatives  of  a  Christian  nation. 
On  the  16th  of  April,  1846,  the  Senate  passed  a  resolution  authoriz- 
ing the  President  to  notify  Great  Britain,  at  his  discretion,  of  the 
abrogation  of  the  terms  of  convention  which  had  passed  the  resolu- 
tion of  joint  occupancy.  Meanwhile,  negotiations  were  actively 
carried  on  with  a  view  of  concluding  a  treaty.  In  June,  the  Enghsh 
tmbassador  proposed  the  boundary  line  of  49°,  and  the  free  naviga- 
tion of  the  Columbia  to  that  point,  as  the  basis  of  an  agreement; 
\Qd  the  Senate  suthoiized    te   P-«eident  to  accept  it.     This  waa 


ilHr.; 


F^.;. 


SETTLEMENT   OP  THE   BOUNDARY. 


197 


done,  and  on  the  16th  the  new  treaty  was  transmitted  by  the  Execu 
live,  and  passed  on  the  18th.  By  this  instrument,  the  boundary  ie 
the  49°  of  north  latitude,  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Pacific, 
and  thence  through  Queen  Charlotte's  Sound  and  the  Straits  of 
Fuca  to  the  Pacific — thus  giving  England  the  whole  of  Vancouver's 
island.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  during  the  continuance  of 
their  charter,  are  authorized  to  navigate  the  Columbia  to  the  49". 


MISSIONARY     SCENK      NB&R     L&KB     WIN'  N' SPSS 


/ 


AOBOBA     BORBALIS    ID    TBI     NOBTBBBN     BBOIONS 


CHAPTER  XII. 


GREENLAND. 


REENLAND  is  a  large  country  stretching  from 
latitude  59°  49'  north,  northward  to  an  un- 
known distance.     It  appears  to  be  separated 
from    the   continent  by  Baffin's  Bay.     The 
population  is  estimated  at  six  thousand,  of 
whom  only  a  hundred  and  fifty  are  Euro- 
peans.    The  northern  regions  are  locked  in 
perpetual  ice,  and  support  no  living  creature. 
This  country  was  visited  as  early  as  982,  by  Eric  Rauda,  a  Nor 
wegian,  whose  adventures  are  narrated  in  the  first  chapter  of  the 
present  work.     He  established  a  settlement  at  Brattalid.  near  an 
inlet,  which  he  denominated  Eric's  Sound.    His  companions  founded 
Heriuifsness,  Rafn,  and  other   places — names  which  are  still  ex- 
tant in  Greenland.     Eric  remained  three  years  in  bis  colony,  and, 
on  returning  to  Iceland,  published  a  pompous  and  false  account  of 
the  new-found  region,  naming  it  Greenland.      Many  adventurers 
•♦ere  induced  to  settle,  and  in  the  eleventh  century  Christianity  was 
tioduced  by  two  British  missionaries.     In  llSl,'the  colony  had 


SETTLEMENTci   IN   QREENLAND. 


199 


fluurished  to  such  an  extent  that  a  hundred  and  twenty  hamlets 
were  stretched  along  the  eastern  coast,  and  one  hundred  and  ten  on 
the  western — covering  altogether  u  region  of  about  five  hundred 
miles. 

But  though  this  colony  commenced  under  such  favourable  aus* 
pices,  it  was  destined  to  a  mournful  fate.  Long  before  the  lime  of 
Columbus,  all  traces  of  European  civilization  had  disappeared  from 
Qreenlahd  ;  and  the  settlement  itself  seems  to  have  been  almost  cn> 
tirely  forgotten.  The  cause  of  this  disaster  is  unknown  ;  but  for 
some  time  after  it  became  known,  the  Danes  attempted  to  reach 
Gretnland  and  ascertain  the  fate  of  the  sufferers.  After  the  re-dis- 
covery and  settlement  of  America,  the  subject  was  again  agitated  in 
Northern  Europe.  In  1708,  a  Danish  clergyman,  named  Hans 
Egede,  determined  to  visit  Greenland,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  discover 
some  traces  of  the  lost  colony,  and  especially  to  attempt  the  conver- 
sion of  the  natives.  After  ten  years'  labour  and  opposition,  he  was 
intrusted  by  the  King  of  Denmark  with  a  vessel,  which  he  named 
the  Hope.  He  sailed  May  2,  1721,  carrying  with  him  two  hundred 
and  forty  settlers,  besides  his  wife  and  four  children.  They  landed 
in  Bail's  river,  and  began  immediate  preparations  for  a  permanent 
settlement.  They  s<ion  gained  the  esteem  of  the  natives,  and  began 
to  instruct  them  in  Christianity.  They  were  liberally  encouraged 
by  tiie  king,  who  sent  not  only  provisions  and  other  necessaries,  but 
also  artificers  and  soldiers  to  build  a  garrison  and  fort.  On  the 
death  of  King  Frederick,  government  grew  negligent  of  the  distant 
settlement,  and  finally  v>rdered  its  return.  Egede,  with  ten  others, 
reniainea,  and  two  years  alter,  the  new  monarch,  having  relaxed 
his  opposition,  sent  out  fresh  provisions  and  three  Moravian  mis- 
sionaries. These  settled  New  Hernhutt,  on  Ball's  river,  and  with 
Egede  commenced,  with  renewed  vigour,  the  instruction  of  the 
natives.  Their  labours  were  attended  with  success;  and  in  1747, 
they  erected  the  first  church  ever  built  in  Greenland.  From  this 
time,  their  own  number,  as  well  as  that  of  their  converts,  steadily 
increased,  and  the  colony  finally  assumed  commercial  importance. 
In  1837,  West  Greenland  contained  thirteen  colonies,  fifteen  com- 
mercial establishments,  and  ten  missionary  stations.  The  principal  of 
the  latter  are  Lichenfels,  Liqhtenau,  and  New  Hernhutt.  Upper- 
navic,  latitude  72°  SO",  is  the  most  northern  station.  The  principal 
exports  are  whale  oil,  eider  down,  and  the  skins  of  reindeer,  seal 
uiJ  bear. 


^T- 


-^m«t»iK,'j« 


V^"^^ 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


RUSSIAN   AMERICA. 

HE  extensive  region  known  as  Russian  America, 
IS  a  country  of  ice,  rocks,  islands,  barrens,  and 
forests.  It  includes  the  Peninsula  of  Alaska  and 
the  Aleutian  Islands.  Its  condition  in  1837  is 
thus  descibed  by  an  officer  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company: — "The  Russian  Fur  Company's  principal  esta- 
blishment on  the  north-west  coast  is  named  New  Archangel, 
formerly  Sitka,  and  situated  in  Norfolk  Sound,  in  north  lati- 
tude 57°,  west  longitude  132°  20'.  It  is  maintained  as  a 
regular  military  establishment,  garrisoned  by  about  three  hundred 
officers  and  men.  with  good  natural  defences,  mounting  sixteen  short 
eighteens,  and  twelve  long  nine-pounders,  and  is  the  head-quarten 
of  the  governor  of  the  Russian  army.  The  Russians  have  other 
establishments  on  the  coast  and  islands  to  the  north  of  New  Arch- 
angel, and  one  fort,  Ross,  in  the  Bay  of  Brogeda — in  all,  ten  esta- 
blishments on  the  north-west  coast  of  America.  They  have  more- 
over twelve  vessels,  from  a  hundred  up  to  four  hundred  tons 
burden,  armed  with  ten  guns  each,  of  different  calibre.  All  the 
officers,  and  most  of  the  people  employed  in  their  sea  and  land 
service,  belong  to  the  Russian  army  and  uavy,  receive  pay  from  the 
Russian  government,  and  their  services,  while  attached  to  the  Rua- 

800 


DISCOVERIES  OF   DEHRINQ. 


201 


■  UBTB  BRAN  X  A.N     BUT    IN    NORTHIBH    B  I  O  I  0  N  & 


BiQti  Fur  Company,  entitle  them  to  the  advantages  of  promotion 
pension,  etc.,  in  liiie  manner  as  if  employed  in  active  service  in  the 
nrmy  and  navy.  They  have,  moreover,  attached  to  these  settle- 
ments a  number  of  Indians  of  the  Kodiac  tribe,  who  are  usually 
employed  in  hunting  and  lishing,  but  are  under  no  fixed  engage 
men',  being  considered  as  slaves,  Their  annual  returns  in  furs  are 
in  value  from  jCbO.OOO  to  jClOO.OOO." 

This  country  was  discovered  and  settled  almost  entirely  by  the 
Russians.  As  early  as  1(548,  an  expedition  of  seven  vessels,  under 
the  Cossack  Semoen  Deshniew,  sailed  from  Kolyma,  and  after  four 
being  wrecked,  the  remainder  pushv,'d  forward  as  far  as  Behring's 
Strait,  and  through  to  the  mouth  of  the  Anadir.  In  1710,  three 
men,  who  had  been  sent  by  the  Russians  to  exhort  the  Tchuktzki 
Indians  to  submission,  received  information  of  the  Great  Country, 
(America,)  and  also  of  the  Aleutian  islanders,  who,  among  other 
peculiarities,  built  their  houses  under  ground,  extending  them  on  all 
sides,  so  that  numerous  families  could  live  in  one.  These  subterra- 
neous mansions  were  lighted  by  lamps,  and  divided  into  as  many 
apartments  as  they  contained  families — all  disgustingly  filthy  and 
desolate. 

The  ardent  ambition  of  Peter  the  Great  induced  him  to  second  all 
these  efforts.     Only  a  few  days  before  his  death,  he  authoris^ed  the 


jVi 


202 


RUSSIAN  AMERICA. 


FXTZR    TBI     OBXAT. 


fitting  out  of  an  expedition,  whose  object  was 
to  ascertain  if  Asia  was  separated  from  Ame- 
rica by  a  strait.  It  consisted  of  two  vessels, 
under  the  conimand  of  Vitus  Behring,  a 
Dane.  The  soldiers  were  led  'oy  Alexoi 
Tshirikof,  a  Russian  officer.  Part  of  the 
expedition  was  conducted  by  land,  and  part 
by  water.  On  the  18lh  of  July,  1741,  Beh- 
ring discovered  the  continent  of  America,  in 
latitude  58°  28'.  The  appearance  of  the 
land  was  grand,  but  gloomy.  Mountains  of  great  elevation,  covered 
with  snow,  extended  far  inland.  One  summit,  rising  to  a  towering 
height  above  the  rest,  was  named  Mount  St.  Elias.  The  nearest 
headlands  were  denominated  Cape  St.  Elias  and  Cape  Hermogenes. 
Alaska  and  the  Aleutian  islands  were  also  visited,  and  among  the 
.  latter  the  crew  were  obliged  to  winter.  Before  spring,  the  scurvy 
appeared  and  made  such  ravages  that  Behring  and  many  of  his 
men  died.  In  August,  1743,  the  survivors  succeeded  in  reaching 
Kamtschatka.  This  voyage  established  the  fact  of  the  close  proxi- 
mity of  the  two  continents,  and  opined  to  the  Russian  government 
the  road  to  a  lucrative  trade.  Behring's  Strait  was  named  alter  its 
unfortunate  and  lamented  discoverer. 

A  few  years  previous  to  this  expedition,  the  Russians  had  reached 
Japan  by  way  of  Kamtschatka,  and  this  formed  an  additional  incen- 
tive to  adventure.  But  although  the  Aleutian  islands  had  been 
visited  by  Behring,  the  government  appears  not  to  have  been  fully 
aware  of  their  discovery  until  1750,  when  the  first  tribute  of  furs 
was  brought  from  them  to  Okotsk.  Since  that  time,  they  have  been 
regularly  visited  ;  and  on  them,  together  with  a  coast  of  three  hun- 
dred leagues  beyond  the  polar  circle,  the  indefatigable  Russians 
have  established  those  settlements  and  factories  which  support  the 
great  and  advantageous  fur  trade  carried  on  with  China  by  the  Hus- 
lian  Empire. 


S  R  n  A  8  T I  A  N     CABOT 


CIIAPTEll  XIV. 


SETTLEMENT   OF   VIRGINIA. 


[OTWITIISTANDING  the  early  discovery  of  tho 
American  continent  by  Sebastian  Cabot,  and  the 
various  explorations  of  the  northern  coast  by 
several  of  his  countrymen,  no  considerable  effort 
I  for  establishing  a  permanent  settlement  was  made  until  the 
reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  These,  however,  were  not 
owing  to  the  personal  patronage  of  the  queen  herself,  but 
rather  to  the  enterprise  and  perseverance  of  private  indi- 
viduals. One  of  the  most  distinguished  of  these  was  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  although,  previous  to  his  endeavours,  efforts  had 
beet,  made  by  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  and  others,  not  only  to  colonize 

tun 


204 


SETTLEMENT  OP  VIRGINIA. 


but  also  to  open  a  passage  to  the  rich  trade  of  India  and  China,  by 
sailing  around  the  continent  through  Hudson's  Strait. 

In  1584,  Raleigh  obtained  a  patent  from  the  crown,  conferring  on 
him  and  his  heirs  for  ever  the  possession  and  enjoyment  of  all  lands 
to  be  discovered,  with  their  revenue,  after  deducting  one-fifih  of  the 
gold  and  silver  for  the  crown,  and  power  to  seize  all  vessels  trading 
to  the  coast  without  his  license,  unless  driven  there  by  stormy  wea- 
ther. Clothed  with  these  ample  powers,  Raleigh  immediately  sent 
two  ships  under  Amidas  and  Barlow,  with  directicns  to  explore  the 
coast  south  of  that  which  had  proved  fatal  to  Gilbert.  In  April, 
1584,  thes2  two  commanders  set  sail,  and  after  touching  at  the  Cana- 
ries and  among  the  West  Indies,  came  in  sight  of  the  Carolmas, 
July  4th.  After  sailing  along  the  coast  for  a  distance  of  a  hundred 
and  twenty  miles,  during  which  the  senses  were  feasted  by  far 
stretching  hills,  clothed  in  the  most  luxurious  verdure,  and  enlivened 
by  rills  and  streams  of  crystal  clearness,  they  entered  Ocracock 
inlet,  and  landed  upon  wh.it  they  supposed  was  the  main  land.  It 
proved  to  be  the  island,  now  called  Wocoken,  opening  into  Pamlico 
Sound.  On  the  third  day  after  landing,  they  observed  an  Indian 
walking  on  the  beach,  whom  they  invited  on  board  and  gave  him 
some  food  and  wine.  He  then  departed  well  'satisfied.  Other  na- 
tives a})peared,and  finally  Granganimeo,  the  king's  brother,  escorlel 
by  fifty  principal  persons.  Some  trading  took  place,  highly  advan- 
tageous to  the  English  ;  after  which  they  again  set  sail.  The  ad- 
joining coasts  and  sounds  were  then  explored,  when  the  navigaton 
returned  home,  carrying  with  them  two  natives,  Manteo  and  Wan 
chese.  They  gave  a  most  flattering  report  of  the  country,  declaring 
its  soil  to  be  "the  most  plentiful,  sweet,  fruitful,  and  wholesome  of 
all  the  world  ;"  and  the  people  "  the  most  gentle,  loving,  and  faith- 
ful, void  of  all  guile  and  treason,  and  such  as  lived  after  the  inannei 
of  the  golden  age." 

The  desire  to  possess  so  delightful  a  region  aroused  a  spirit  ol 
adventure  hitherto  unknown  in  England.  Determined  to  establish 
a  colony,  Raleigh  immediately  fitted  out  seven  small  vessels,  manned 
with  a  hundred  and  eight  men,  under  Sir  Richard  Grenville.  The 
fleet  sailed  in  April,  1585,  and,  after  a  circuitous  voyage,  by  way  of 
the  Canaries  and  West  Indies,  reached  the  coast  of  Carolina,  in  the 
latter  end  of  June.  They  found  the  country  as  had  been  described 
to  them,  and  after  landing,  penetrated  some  distance  into  the  inte- 
rior.    The  Indians,  gratified  by  former  presents,  received  them  with 


juANE    EXPLORES   THE   ROANOKE. 


205 


ORKNVILLB     DORNIN0A.N     INDIAN     VILLAOU. 


delight ;  but  their  kindness  nnet  with  an  ill  reward.  Missing  a  silver 
cup,  the  Enfrlish,  in  revenge,  set  fire  to  a  village  and  devastated  the 
adjoining  fields.  They  then  chose  a  spot  near  the  shore  as  a  place 
for   billing. 

The  grefit  object  of  these  adventurers  appears  to  have  been  the 
discovery  of  gold.  Dreams  of  lands  whose  forests  dripped  with 
precious  aromatics,  whose  rivers  washed  down  sands  of  gold,  or 
sparkling  gems — of  an  El  Dorado,  whose  gorgeous  magnificence 
and  mines  of  inexhaustible  wealth  realized  the  wildest  romances  of 
Marco  Polo  or  Ariosto — formed  the  main-spring  of  exertion.  No  one 
imagined  that  the  first  duty  of  a  fresh  colony  is  an  immediate  tillage 
of  the  soil. 

In  August,  Grenville  sailed  for  England,  leaving  the  management 
of  the  settlement  with  Ralph  Lane.  This  officer  had  received  from  a 
distinguished  native  chief,  named  Menatonon,  whom  he  held  in  cus- 
tody, accounts  of  a  region  in  the  interior,  prolific  in  pearls,  and  in  a 
metal  paler  and  softer  than  copper,  which  the  inhabitants  used  foi 
making  ornamental  plates.  Without  further  delay.  Lane  selected  a 
band  and  commenced  the  ascent  of  the  Roanoke.  Delighted  with  the 
majestic  appearance  of  the  river  and  the  surrounding  woods,  and 
•llured  by  the  promises  of  provisions,  the  party  continued  advanc< 


VT" 


mm- 


206 


SETTLEMENT   OP  VIRGINIA. 


iiig  with  culpable  carelessness,  until  their  supply  of  food  was  ex- 
hausted. The  governor  then  warned  them  to  return,  but  having 
two  dogs  with  them,  they  determined  to  make  provisions  of  them, 
rather  than,  by  abandoning  the  expedition,  to  lose  the  glorious  fortune 
in  prospect.  On  a  sudden,  they  discovered  lights  moving  through 
the  woods,  and  sonn  a  voice  called  to  their  Indian  guide,  Manteo,  to 
be  on  guard.  This  was  followed  by  a  shower  of  arrows.  The 
English  landed  and  pursued  the  enemy  without  success  ;  and  wea- 
ried, chagrined,  and  famished,  they  steered  their  course  homeward. 
Broth  made  of  dog's  flesh  and  sassafras  leaves  served  them  as  food, 
until  they  reached  the  settlement. 

Lane  found  the  settlement  in  a  state  of  alarm  bordering  on  mu- 
tiny— the  Indians  having  threatened  its  utter  extinction.  For 
awhile,  his  presence  restored  order;  but  soon  after,  the  consternation 
was  renewed,  on  ascertaining  that  the  Indian  tribes  had  entered  into 
a  conspiracy  to  starve  their  new  visitors,  by  laying  waste  their  corn- 
fields, destroying  the  fishing-stations,  and  retiring  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood. They  also  resolved  on  a  general  night  attack,  and  the 
colonists  were  probably  saved  from  ruin  only  by  the  faithfulness  of 
the  injured  Menatonon,  who  disclosed  the  whole  plot.  Soon  after, 
a  battle  was  fought,  in  which  the  Indians  were  defeated  ;  and  their 
principal  chief  Pemisapan,  being  enticed  to  an  interview,  was,  with 
some  followers,  treacherously  shot.  These  cruel  and  unwise  pro- 
ceedings completely  alienated  the  affections  of  the  Indians,  and  de- 
stroyed all  hope  of  deriving  assistance  from  them. 

The  colonists  now  began  to  waken  to  a  reality  of  their  situation. 
No  prospect  appeared  of  realizing  their  golden  dreams,  while  abso- 
lute want  stared  them  in  the  face  ;  the  supplies  promised  at  Easter 
had  not  arrived  in  June ;  and  they  were  in  momentary  dread  of 
perishing  either  by  famine  or  the  arrows  of  the  savages. 

Amid  these  dispositions,  a  fleet  of  twenty-three  vessels  was  seen  in 
the  offing;  and  after  some  alarm  lest  it  should  prove  a  hostile  squad- 
ron, the  joyful  announcement  was  made,  of  its  being  that  of  Sir 
Francis  Drake,  returning  from  his  victorious  expedition  against  the 
Spanish  main.  That  gallant  officer  readily  agreed  to  give  them  a 
store  of  provisions,  a  sloop  of  seventy  tons,  and  other  small  craft, 
with  which  they  might  either  explore  the  coasts  or  return  to  Eng- 
land ;  the  latter,  it  is  probable,  being  the  real  object.  A  violent 
storm,  however,  destroyed  these  vessels,  thus  defeating  the  arrange 
meat ;  and  Lane,  upon  the  earnest  entreaty  of  the  settlers,  con 


ABAXDONMENT  OF  THE  SETTLEMENT. 


207 


BALBIOH. 


lented  himself  with  obtaining  a  place  on  board  the  fleet,  by  whic 
he  and  his  adventurers  might  be  conveyed  home. 

The  conclusion  that  Raleigh  had  deserted  them  was  quite  an 
founded.  A  few  days  after  this  hasty  departure,  there  arrived  a 
brig  of  a  hundred  tons,  provided  with  every  thing  needful  for  their 
wants ;  but,  to  the  utter  amazement  of  the  crew,  there  were  no  colo- 
nists to  supply.  After  sailing  about  some  time,  and  satisfying  them- 
selves of  the  fact,  they  too  returned  to  Europe.  This  was  another 
hasty  step ;  for  a  fortnight  had  not  elapsed,  when  Sir  Richard  Gren- 
ville  appeared,  bringing  three  well-appointed  ships,  laden  with  everr 
means  of  supporting  and  enlarging  the  colony.  His  dismay  may  be 
conceived,  when  neither  the  vessel  previously  despatched,  nor  one 
Englishman,  could  be  found  within  those  savage  precincts.  He, 
therefore,  left  merely  fifteen  men  to  erect  a  fort  and  keep  a 
certain  hold  of  the  country  until  further  reinforcements  could  be  seni 
uut. 

AH  this  complication  of  failure,  blunder,  and  disaster  did  not  dis- 
&'urage  Raleigh.     In  April  of  the  following  yeai   he  fitted  out  a 
U 


208 


SETTLEMENT   OF   VIRGINIA. 


.  t. 


new  expedition  of  three  ships  and  a  hundred  and  fifty  person j,  led 
by  John  White,  who  was  appointed  governor,  with  twelve  assistants, 
who  also,  perhaps,  contributed  to  the  expense.  Attempts  were  »nade 
to  establish  it  on  a  somewhat  more  solid  footing.  Implements  ol 
agriculture  were  provided  ;  several  familes  went  out,  and  the  party, 
including  seventeen  females  and  nine  boys,  arrived  in  July,  and  pro 
ceeded  to  the  former  settlement.  Here  a  dreadful  scene  met  then 
eyes ;  the  fort  was  rased  to  the  ground  ;  the  houses,  though  still 
standing,  were  open  and  tenantless ;  the  floors  overgrown  with 
shrubs  and  weeds,  on  which  deer  were  feeding.  The  bones  of  one 
man  lay  scattered  on  the  ground ;  while  of  the  rest  not  a  trace  re- 
mained. After  anxious  inquiry,  it  was  found  that  a  band  of  Indi  ms 
had  surprised  and  burned  the  fort,  when  the  English,  rushing  out  to 
save  themselves,  were  either  killed  or  chased  into  the  woods,  where 
they  soon  perished. 

HITE  began  by  soliciting  from  the  Indian 
chiefs  a  renewal  of  their  former  alliance, 
promising  the  most  friendly  treatment,  and 
that  every  thing  which  had  passed  should  be 
forgiven.  They  announced  that  an  answer 
would  be  returned  in  seven  days  ;  and  when 
the  time  elapsed  without  its  being  fulfilled, 
he  determined  on  a  hostile  expedition.  Led  by  Manteo,  he  attacked 
a  part)s  and  drove  them  into  the  forest ;  but  was  dismayed  to  find 
that  by  mistake  he  had  fallen  upon  one  of  the  few  friendly  tribes. 
He  then  relinquished  farther  proceedings;  but  all  hope  of  concilia- 
tory arrangements  was  lost. 

As  winter  approached,  and  the  vessel  was  about  to  return  to  Europe, 
the  colonists  began  seriously  to  view  their  situation.  They  could 
look  for  nothing  from  the  Indians  but  the  most  deadly  hostility,  while 
ihe  raising  of  supplies  for  themselves  was  a  work  of  time  and  un- 
certainty. They  therefore  joined  in  an  earnest  entreaty  to  White, 
that  he  would  accompany  the  ship,  and  exert  himself  in  bringing  to 
them  further  aid  and  support.  He  strongly  objected,  on  the  ground 
that  it  would  have  an  appearance  as  if  he  were  deserting  his  own 
colony;  but  they  insisted,  and  having  deUvered  a  written  testimony, 
signed  and  sealed,  stating  that  the  proposal  came  from  themselves, 
he  consented.  There  had  been  born  to  him,  during  his  residence,  a 
grand-daughter,  Virginia  Dare,  who  is  supposed  by  Mr.  Bancroft  to  be 
the  first  ofllspring  of  English  parents  on  the  soil  of  the  United  States 


COLONY  EXTIRPATED. 


209 


REPARATIONS  for  resisting  the  famous 
Spanish  Armada  interrupted  Raleigh's 
efforts  at  colonization.  Meanwhile, 
White's  two  vessels,  which  had  been 
furnished  him  by  Sir  Walter,  were, 
through  his  own  imprudence,  much 
injured  and  obliged  to  return  to  Eng- 
land ;  while  Grenville  was  retained 
-^  in  the  fleet  destined  to  resist  the  Spa- 
niards. The  colony  was  left  to  lan- 
guish until  the  defeat  of  the  Armada.  Even  Raleigh  seems  to  have 
oeen  somewhat  discouraged;  and  after  spending  forty  thousand 
pounds  in  thankless  exertions,  he  turned  his  attention  to  other  ob- 
jects.  His  privileges  were  however  transferred  to  a  company  who 
undertook  to  support  the  settlement.  In  consequence  of  unavoid 
able  delay,  While  was  unable  to  sail  until  May,  1590.  He  reached 
Roanoke  about  the  middle  of  August. 

Again  the  colony  was  in  a  state  of  utter  desolation  ;  though  there 
appeared  reason  to  hope  that  it  had  removed  to  a  more  favourable 
site,  formerly  projected.  This  was  the  island  of  Croatoan,  fifty  miles 
distant,  in  which  Manteo  resided,  and  where  they  had  met  a  most 
friendly  reception.  In  case  of  removal  it  had  been  stipulated  that  the 
letters  c  r  o  should  be  carved  on  the  bark  of  a  tr'^e,  which  were  found, 
and  elsewhere  the  full  name  Croatoan.  A  cross  was  to  have  indicated 
a  disastrous  removal :  and  the  sign  of  evil  was  absent.  Chests  with 
various  stores  had  been  buried  in  the  earth ;  some  were  entire ; 
others  had  been  discovered  and  rifled  by  the  Indians.  On  the  whole, 
White  concluded  that  all  was  well,  and  began  to  steer  for  the  new 
Btation ;  but  meeting  with  some  difficulties,  and  the  season  being  ad- 
vanced, it  was  very  coolly  resolved  to  make  for  the  West  Indies, 
trade  there,  and  touch  at  the  colony  on  his  return  home.  After 
coming  out  into  the  open  ocean,  the  wind  was  so  adverse  to  his  pro 
posed  course,  and  so  favourable  to  that  for  Britain,  that  the  latter 
was  adopted,  and  he  arrived  at  home  in  October. 

After  this,  the  colony  seems  to  have  been  totally  neglected  by 
every  one  except  Raleigh.  This  remarkable  man  sent  out,  at  dif- 
ferent periods,  five  vessels,  the  last  in  1602;  but,  unfortunately, 
none  reached  the  settlement.  From  that  time,  nothing  was  ever 
discovered  of  this  unfortunate  colony.  Its  members  were  either 
extirpated,  or  became  amalgamated  with  the  neighbouring  Indians 


87 


•  s 


210 


8ETTLEMENT  OF  VIRUIJflA. 


auSNOLO    8    VOY&OB. 


Notwithstanding  this  series  of  disasters,  a  vessel  sailed  for  Ame« 
rca,  in  1602,  under  Bartholomew  Gusnoid,  with  thirty-two  men, 
twelve  of  whom  intended  to  settle.  Striking  directly  across  the 
ocean,  he  came  upon  the  coast  of  Massachusetts;  and,  after  sailing 
onward  some  time,  reached  a  bold  promontory,  which,  from  the  great 
quantity  of  fish  caught  in  the  vicinity,  he  named  Cape  Cod.  Steer- 
ing in  a  southern  course,  they  passed  some  dangerous  promontories 
and  at  length  landed  on  a  pleasant  island,  to  which  they  gave  the 
name  of  Martlia's  Vineyard.  Re-embarking,  they  entered  Buz- 
zard's Bay,  which,  from  its  spaciousness,  was  denominated  Gosnold's 
Hope.  Elizabeth  Island,  within  its  circuit,  was  chosen  as  a  desi- 
rable place  of  settlement.  The  soil  was  clothed  with  noble  trees, 
and  with  sassafras,  which,  among  other  valuable  plants,  was  then 
esteemed  a  medicine  of  sovereign  virtue.  Some  pulse  being  sown, 
grew,  in  a  fortnight,  to  half  a  foot.  They  debarked,  on  the  main- 
land, which  appeared  "the  goodliest  they  ever  saw,  replenished  with 
fair  fields."  Having  erected  a  fort,  and  collected  a  cargo,  chiefly  of 
sassafras,  they  prepared  to  return,  but,  at  this  crisis  the  settlers 
were  dismayed  with  the  prospect  of  being  left  on  so  remote  a  shore, 
w^ith  but  a  small  quantity  of  provisions,  and  the  fate  of  similar  expe- 
ditions still  fresh  to  the  memory.  They,  therefore,  abandoned  lh« 
(dea  of  remaining,  and  went  on  board  with  the  rest. 


1l 


VARIOUS    VISITORS. 


211 


LTHOUGH  not  successful  in  its  immedinte  object, 
this  expedition  awoke  England  to  the  advantages 
^     to  be  derived  from  colonizing  her  American  posses- 
sions.    Hakluyti  the  great  promoter  of  discovery, 
prevailed    upon    some    merchants   of    Bristol    lo 
^  equip  two  small  vessels,  to  which  Raleigh  gave  a 


cheerful  consent.  They  were  placed  under  Martin  Pring, 
tfT  who,  after  visiting  the  New  England  coast,  gathering  sassa- 
fras, and  bartering  with  the  natives,  confirmed,  on  his  return,  the 
favourable  account  of  the  country  which  had  been  given  by  his  pre- 
decessor. This  expedition  was  followed  by  another  under  George 
Weymouth,  patronized  by  Lord  Arundel  and  the  Earl  of  Southamp- 
ton. He  sailed  March  31,  1G05,  and  reached  the  American  coast 
May  13th,  in  latitude  41°.  After  sailing  a  considerable  distance,  he 
entered  Penobscot  Bay  in  his  pinnace,  and,  soon  after,  came  in  sight 
of  a  river  which  the  crew  regarded  as  the  largest  they  had  ever 
seen.  It  was  navigable  for  very  large  vessels,  free  from  rocks  or 
shoals,  and  bordered  along  its  sides  by  thick  pine  woods.  In  the 
distance,  hills  and  mountains  relieved  the  prospect.  The  English 
immediately  commenced  bartering  with  the  Indians,  and  obtained 
valuable  furs  at  a  cheap  rate.  They  then  embarked  and  sailed  for 
England,  carrying  with  them  five  of  the  natives  who  had  been 
decoyed  on  board. 

This  series  of  voyages  conveyed  to  Britain  a  much  higher  idea 
than  had  yet  been  entertained  of  her  transatlantic  dominion.  It  was 
found  to  include  a  range  of  territory  stretching  over  eleven  degrees 
of  latitude,  all  in  the  temperate  climates,  diversified  with  noble  riven, 
and  harbours,  and,  wherever  visited,  displaying  a  luxuriant  fertility 
This  prospect  rekindled  all  the  enthusiasm  of  enterprise  and  hopes 
of  wealth.  An  association  was  formed  by  Sir  Thomas  Grates,  Sii 
George  Summers,  Wingfield,  Popham,  with  other  men  of  rank  and 
eminent  merchants,  for  the  purpose  of  colonizing  this  vast  region 
James  I.,  who  was  fond  of  such  undertakings,  and  had  employed 
them  successfully  for  the  improvement  of  some  ruder  parts  of  Scot- 
land and  Ireland,  was  ready  to  give  every  encouragement.  The 
adventurers  were  divided  into  two  companies ;  the  one  from  London 
for  the  southern,  the  other  from  Bristol  and  the  west  for  the  northern 
parts  of  Virginia.  The  former  were  allowed  to  choose  any  spot 
between  the  thirty-fourth  and  forty-first  degrees  of  latitude ;  the 
latter  between  the  thirty-eighth  and  forty-fifth.     Three  degrees  wv'a 


Vf 


212 


SETTLEMENT   OF    VIKOIXIA. 


thus  common  between  both  ;  but  collision  was  prevented  bj'  enactirio 
that  wherever  one  had  fixed  its  seat,  the  other  should  choose  theira 
at  least  a  hundred  miles  distant.  From  that  first  station,  each  com> 
pany  was  to  possess  fifty  miles  of  coast  on  each  side ;  their  territory 
was  thence  to  stretch  the  same  distance  inland,  and  the  same  out  to 
sea,  including  all  islands  within  the  range.  These  terms  deserve 
notice,  as  they  seem  to  have  been  much  misapprehended  by  Chal- 
mers, Biincroft,  and,  indeed,  most  other  writers.  The  coast  was  not 
divided  between  the  companies,  nor  had  either  an  exclusive  right 
to  their  own  portions  beyond  the  space  of  a  hundred  miles  square 
which  they  were  allowed  to  choose.  This  may  serve  to  acquit  suc- 
cessive princes  of  the  repeated  infractions  of  the  charter  with  which 
they  have  been  charged.  Within  this  range  the  associations  ob- 
tained full  property  in  ail  tne  lands,  natural  resources  and  objects  of 
every  kind,  with  only  the  usual  exception  of  a  fifth  of  the  gold  and  a 
fifteenth  of  the  copper  The  revenue  produced  by  fines  and  light 
import-duties  was  to  be  enjoyed  by  them  for  twenty-one  years,  afiei 
which  it  was  to  be  paid  into  the  royal  treasury.  They  were  not, 
however,  invested  with  those  kingly  attributes  which  had  been  la- 
rished  on  Gilbert  and  Raleigh.  James  lodged  the  government  ir> 
.wo  councils,  one  resident  in  England,  the  other  in  the  colony,  and 
claimed  the  right  of  appointing  both ;  but,  having  exercised  it  io 
regard  to  the  first,  he  allowed  them  to  nominate  the  Virgrinian  mem- 
bers.  He  busied  himself,  moreover,  in  preparing  a  code  of  "order* 
and  instructions,"  a  proceeding,  as  Mr.  Chalmers  observes,  decidedly 
unconstitutional,  but  controverted  by  no  one.  The  colonists  and 
their  posterity  were  declared  English  subjects,  yet  were  invested 
with  no  political  rights,  not  even  trial  by  jury,  unless  in  capital 
charges ;  minor  offences  were  punished  arbitrarily  by  the  council. 
The  English  church  was  exclusively  established.  Strict  and  laud- 
able injunctions  were  given  for  the  mild  and  equitable  treatment  of 
the  natives. 

On  the  19th  of  December,  1606,  this  famous  expedition  sailed 
irom  London,  in  three  small  vessels,  and  numbering  a  hundred  and 
five  persons.  Among  these  were  George  Percy,  Gosnold,  and 
OapuiiD  John  Smith.  The  whole  was  commaijd'^d  by  Captain  New- 
port. 

Unfortunately,  the  fair  prospects  of  this  expedition  were  in  the  be 
ginning  clouded,  through  the  caprice  of  the  king.  The  names  and 
instructions  of  the  couucil  had  been  enclosed  in  a  box,  which  vt'oi 


^■"  * 


SETTLEMENT  OF  JAMESTOWN. 


21:1 


O&PTAIH    JOHN    SMITH. 


nut  to  be  opened  uhtil  the  expedition  had  arrived  at  its  destination. 
Consequently,  no  one  could  claim  immediate  command.  The  energy 
of  Smith,  with  his  open,  manly  bearing,  led  to  his  promotion  aa 
leader.  He  thus  became  an  object  of  jealousy  to  those  higher  in 
rank,  who,  on  the  pretence  that  he  designed  setting  aside  the  coun- 
dl  and  assuming  royalty,  caused  him  to  be  arrested  and  c  ntlned 
until  some  time  after  the  voyage. 

In  April,  1607,  the  colonists  came  in  sight  of  America ;  but,  in 
the  endeavour  to  effect  a  landing,  they  encountered  a  violent  storm, 
which  drove  them  to  the  opening  of  Chesapeake  Bay.  The  magnificent 
prospect  of  this  noble  body  of  water,  so  completely  ravished  them, 
as  to  cause  immediate  forgetfulness  of  all  their  misfortunes.  After 
ascending  it  some  distance,  they  entered  a  large  river,  which  they 
named  after  the  king,  and  spent  seventeen  days  in  exploring  it.  A 
spot,  fifty  miles  from  its  mouth,  was  chosen  as  a  place  of  settlement, 
and  called  Jamestown.  On  landing,  some  Indians  were  seen,  who 
at  first  showed  symptoms  of  hostility  ;  but,  soon  becoming  friendly, 
they  brought  food  and  other  necessaries  to  their  new  visitors. 

On  opening  the  box  of  instructions.  Smith's  name  was  found 
among  the  council ;  but  the  jealousy  of  his  rivals  excluded  him  for 
some  time  Irom  his  privileges.     He,  however,  accompanied  an  expc* 


214 


BBTTLEMENT   OP  VIRGINIA. 


dition  up  the  river,  led  by  Newport,  who  visited  Powhatan,  kiiii^  nf 
the  neighbouring  tribes.  They  were  received  kindly,  but,  on  re- 
turning to  Jamestown,  they  found  it  in  imminent  danjier  of  a  con- 
tinued ailacU  by  several  neighbouring  tribes.  A  biiiile  actually 
ensued  in  which  one  (n  boy)  wa?  killed,  and  seventeen  wounded. 
The  colonists  then  commenced  the  erection  of  a  palisade  fort,  which 
was  finished  in  June.  Scarcely  was  this  accomplished,  when  Smith 
was  brought  to  trial  on  alleged  charges  of  treason,  but  after  trial  was 
honourably  acquitted — Wingfield,  his  accuser,  being  condemned  tc 
pay  him  a  fine  of  £200,  which  Smith  generously  threw  into  the 
common  stock.  Mr.  Hunt,  the  clergyman,  succeeded  in  producing 
at  least  an  appearance  of  harmony,  cemented  by  partaking  together 
the  Christian  communion. 

On  the  15th  of  June,  Newport  siiiled  fur  England,  leaving  the 
colonists  in  a  state  little  belter  than  anarchy.  The  soil  was  indeed 
fruitful ;  but,  by  an  unhappy  arrangement,  all  the  produce  for  the 
first  five  years  was  to  be  in  common,  and  distributed  by  the  council 
according  to  their  respective  wants.  This  system,  by  preventing  all 
hope  of  personal  advancement,  other  than  that  dependent  upon  the 
advancement  of  the  community,  paralyzed  all  exertions.  Raising 
scarcely  any  crop  the  first  year,  they  were  dependent  on  the  sup- 
plies from  home,  which  were  not  only  precarious,  but  of  inferior 
quality.  A  slender  allowance  of  this  unwholesome  food,  bad  river 
water,  and  exposure  to  a  new  climate,  soon  spread  disease  so  widely 
that  often  ten  men  could  not  be  found  fit  for  service.  Before  autumn, 
fifty  of  their  number,  including  Gosnold,  the  projector  of  the  set- 
tlement, had  died.  Loud  murmurings  were  heard  on  every  side. 
Wingfield,  the  president,  was  accused  of  living  in  plenty,  and  even 
of  meditating  a  departure  while  others  were  starving.  He  was  con- 
sequently deposed  and  his  place  supplied  by  Ratclifle,  who,  being  of 
an  easy  temper,  left  the  whole  management  to  Smith,  which  was 
what  the  colonists  desired. 

This  celebrated  man  soon  gave  ample  proof  that  his  administra 
tion  was  to  be  the  dawn  of  better  things  to  the  colonists.  On  an 
expedition  down  the  river,  he  procured  a  quantity  of  food,  and  being 
attacked  by  the  savages,  repelled  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  inspire 
them  with  respect.  They  sought  an  alliance  with  him,  and  fur- 
nished a  boat-load  of  provisions. 

Smith  returned  just  in  time  to  prevent  Wingfield  and  another 
from  seizing  a  vessel  and  sailing  to  England.     His  supplies,  with 


ADyBNTURBS   OF   CAPTAIN  SMITH. 


215 


fOWHATiLir, 


(locks  ot  water-fowl  which  came  at  the  approach  of  winter,  relies .»J 
their  wants;  and  having  in  his  rambles  discovered  the  great  river 
Chickahominy,  he  determined  to  explore  it  to  its  source,  not,  it  is  said, 
without  a  hope  of  thereby  reaching  the  South  Sea,  viewed  then  as 
the  grand  source  of  wealth.  He  was  impelled,  it  was  imagined,  by 
the  taunts  of  some  of  his  enemies  in  the  colony,  but  we  rather  think 
only  by  his  own  adventurous  spirit.  He  ascended  first  in  his  barge, 
then  in  a  canoe,  and  twenty  miles  on  foot,  attended  only  by  his  Indian 
guides.  But  three  hundred  natives,  who  had  traced  his  steps,  sur- 
prised and  dispersed  his  party,  and  then  came  suddenly  upon  him- 
self. He  made  aiuonishing  efforts  for  safety,  and  fa.stening  with  his 
garters  a  native  ally  to  his  person,  presented  him  to  the  enemy  as  a 
buckler;  then  he  ran  to  the  canoe,  which  he  would  have  reached 
had  he  not  suddenly  sunk  in  a  deep  morass,  where  he  was  over- 
taken, and,  to  escape  from  perishing  with  cold,  obliged  to  surrender. 
He  hud  now  reason  to  consider  his  last  hour  approaching,  and  a 
circle  had,  in  fact,  been  formed  to  shoot  him.  With  characteristic 
presence  of  mind  he  asked  for  the  chief,  showed  his  compass-dial, 
pointed  out  its  singular  movements,  and  endeavoured  to  explain  the 
^rresponding  phenomena  of  the  earth  and  sky.  Whether  they 
u.  'erstood  these  indications  or  not,  they  were  awed  with  astonish' 


•?^H 


iilG 


SETTLEMENT   OP   VinOINIA. 


mer.t  as  if  admitted  to  contemplate  a  supernatural  object.     On  a 
signai  from  their  leader,  they  laid  down  their  bows  and  arrows,  and 
led  hisn  under  strict  guard  to  their  capital.     He  was  there  exhibited 
to  the  women  and  children;  and  a  wild  war-dance  was  performed 
round  him,  in  fantastic  measures  and  with  frightful  yells  and  contor- 
tions.    He  was  then  shut  up  in  a  long  house,  and  suj)plied  at  every 
ineal  with  as  much  bread  and  venison  as  would  ha<:e  dined  twenty 
men  ;  but,  receiving  no  other  sign  of  kindness,  he  began  to  dreud 
that  they  were  fattening  in  order  to  eat  him.     Even  without  such  a 
precise  purpose,  this  festive  entertainment  is  known  among  savages 
»o  be  no  uiicomuKin   prelude  to  torture  and  death.     They   isked  his 
uid   in   reducing  Jumeslown,   while   he    sought  an   opportunity  of 
making  his   way  thither.     In   the  course   of  this  manojuvering,  a 
message  sent  to  that  placv,  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  display  the 
powers  of  writing,  which  was  considered  by  them  as  a  species  of 
magical  spell.     At  length,  .after  being  paraded  and  exhibited  in  vari- 
ous villages,  he  was  led  to  I'amunkey,  the  residence  of  Powhatan. 
It  was  here  his  doom  was  staled.     The  chief  received  him  in  pomp, 
wra[)ped  in  a  spacious  robe  of  racoon  skins,  with  all  the  tails  hang- 
ing  down.       Behind,   appeared   two   long    lines  of   men   and    wo- 
men, with  faces  painted   red,  heads  decked   with   white  down,  and 
necks  quite  encircled  by  chai.ns  of  beads.     A  lady  of  rank  presented 
water  to  wash  his  hands,  another  a  bunch  of  feathers  to  dry  them. 
A  long  deliberation  was  then  held,  and  the  result  proved  fatal.     Two 
large  stones  were  placed  before  I'uwliiilan,  and  by  the  united  efforts 
of  the  attendants  Smith  was  dragged  to  the  spot,  his   head  laid  on 
one  of  them,  and  the  mighty  club  was  raised,  a  few  blows  of  which 
were  to  terminate  his  life.     In  this  last  extremity,  when  every  hope 
seemed  past,  a  \ery  unexpected  interposition  took  place.     Pocahon- 
tas, the  youthful  and   favourite  daughter  of  this  savage  chief,  was 
seized  with  those  tender  emotions  which  form  the  ornament  of  her 
sex.     Advancing  to  her  father,  she,  in  the  most  earnest  terms,  sup- 
plicated mercy  for  the  stranger ;  and  though  all  her  entreaties  were 
lost  on  that   savage    heart,  her   zeal   only  redoubled.     She   ran  to 
Smith,  took  his  head  in  her  arms,  laid  her  own  upon  it,  and  declared 
that  the  first  death-blow  must  fall  upon  her.     The  barbarian's  breast 
was  at  length  softened,  and  the  life  of  the  Englishman  was  spared. 

Our  adventurer,  being  naturally  expected  to  render  some  services 
m  return  for  so  great  a  boon,  employed  himself  in  making  hatchets, 
beads,  and  other  ornaments  for  the  falhtr  luid  daughter.     At  the  end 


f1    . 


STATE  OF  THB  COLOiNY  AT   SMITU'S   RETLRN,  211 


CAl'TAIN     SMITH     ODRVBYINO     O  11  «  S  A  P  B  i  K  K     IJ  A   If. 


of  two  (lays,  lie  was  coiuiuctt-d  into  a  large  huusc,  wliore,  amid 
nidfoiis  and  dojeful  noisos,  I'owhatan  ruslu-d  in,  with  two  hundrt'd 
ntlindanls,  stranyely  disguised,  and  their  faces  hlackeni'd.  Smith 
again  thought  his  last  hour  had  come,  but  iho  chief  announced  these 
ns  signs  of  peace  and  friendship;  and  he  was  forthwith  sent  to 
Jamestown,  on  the  sole  condition  of  transmitting  thence  two  cul 
verins  and  a  millstone,  a  promise  faithfully  fullilled. 

Smith  found  a  majority  of  the  colonists  preparing  to  return  to 
Englinul.  He  adopted  the  most  energetic  measures  to  prevent  this, 
and,  with  the  aid  of  some  faithful  adherents,  pointed  a  gun  at  their 
vessel,  declaring  that  she  must  either  stop  or  sink.  He  also  broko 
up  a  conspiracy,  and  sent  the  ringleaders  to  England.  Mi-anwhilf, 
llicy  were  not  left  without  support.  Pocahontas  constantly  visited 
ihem  with  provi.siiins  ;  and  soon  Captain  Newport  arrived  with  a 
hundred  aad  twenty  emigrants  and  abundant  supplies.  The  captain 
visited  I'owhalan,  and  opened  with  him  a  trade  on  liberal  terms. 

Unfortunately,  the  new  emigrants  were  not  of  the  character  pro- 
per for  a  youthful  colony.  They  had  visited  America  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  gold  ;  and  to  cultivate  the  soil,  or  follow  up  plans 
for  obtaining  provisions,  was  the  last  of  their  expectations  or  pur- 
poses. Having  discovered  some  yellow  glittering  earth,  they  san- 
guinely  supposed  it  to  be  gold  dust,  and,  abandoning  every  lii.ng 
else,  began  to  load  their  vessels  with  it.  Even  the  authority  of 
Smith  was  insufficient  to  wean  them  from  this  unhajipy  mania. 

Unable  to  awaken  the  colonists  from  their  golden  visions,  Smith 
commenced  the  exploration  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  with  a  hope  of 


•M 


218 


SETTLEMENT  OF   VIRGINIA. 


Wt 


f  hCs 


m 

:;! 

5'^ 

Ml 

■.  ■  ■  ♦!, 

;iv 

.    :'■  .     is 

I  f'' 

i.;-rt 

BJ 

■Hi 

•  [' 

U 

^^H 

communicating  with  the  Pacific,  and  thence  to  India.  Many  diffi 
cuities  were  experienced  from  the  sfvages;  and  the  adventuren 
were  about  returning  when  they  unexpectedly  discovered  the  Poto 
mac  river,  the  prospect  of  which  once  more  revived  their  hopes. 
They  ascended  it  to  the  Fails,  above  the  site  of  Georgetown,  entered 
the  Rappahannock,  and  explored  it  to  a  considerable  distance. 
Smith  subsequently  explored  the  Susquehannah  until  stopped  by 
cataracts. 

On  his  return  Captain  Smith  was  elected  president,  but  was  soon 
interrupted  in  the  exercise  of  his  duties  by  the  arrival  of  Newport 
with  about  seventy  emigrants,  two  of  whom  were  females.  Thit 
led  to  another  futile  expedition  for  the  discovery  of  a  passage  to  the 
South  Sea,  undertaken  in  conformity  with  a  desire  of  the  London 
Company,  which  having  expended  more  than  dG2000  on  the  colony, 
were  now  anxious  for  something  like  reimbursement.  A  cargo,  con- 
sisting principally  of  timber,  with  some  tar,  glass,  and  ashes,  was  sent 
to  England,  although  its  value  little  accorded  with  expectation. 

Having  despatched  the  vessel.  Smith  applied  himself  to  the  pro- 
curing of  food.  He  also  contrived  a  plan  for  seizing  Powhatan; 
but  this  was  revealed  to  the  monarch,  who  made  Smith  himself 
prisoner.  He  was  a  second  time  saved,  only  through  the  interces 
sion  of  Pocahontas ;  but  the  feelings  of  the  Indians  were  completely 
estranged  from  their  white  neighbours. 

Meanwhile  the  exertions  of  the  patentees,  and  the  general  enthu 
siasm  kindled  throughout  the  nation,  enabled  the  company  to  equip 
an  expedition  of  nine  vessels  and  five  hundred  emigrants.  Many 
distinguished  individuals  were  ready  to  embark  their  fortunes  in  this 
enterprise  ;  and,  with  the  consent  of  the  old  members,  the  company 
was  remodelled  on  a  larger  scale  and  under  a  new  charter.  The 
territory  was  augmented  from  a  hundred  miles  of  coast  to  four 
hundred. 

Lord  Delaware,  distinguished  by  his  talents  and  virtues,  was 
named  governor  for  life;  and,  as  he  could  not  depart  inmiediatelvi 
Sir  Thomas  Gates  and  Sir  George  Summers  were  to  rule  in  the 
mean  time.  The  vessels  set  sail  on  the  15th  cf  May,  1009,  and 
seven  arrived  on  the  11th  of  August,  at  Jamestown;  but  unfortu- 
nately they  had  encountered  a  violent  storm,  in  which  two,  having 
on  board  Gates  and  Summers,  were  separated  and  thrown  upon  the 
Bermudas.  In  their  absence.  Smith  justly  claimed  the  rule;  but 
many  of  the  new  comers,  being  bankrupts,  spendthrifts,  or  otheri 


CHARACTER   OF  TUE   SETTLERS. 


219 


\vMM 


iji! 


SI 


POCAHONTAS  BBaOUINO  CAPTAIN  SMITH. 


sent  ahrnnd  for  misconduct  at  home,  were  indisposed  to  obey  him.  FoT 
some  lime,  total  anarchy  reigned  ;  but  its  evils  at  length  became  so 
great,  that  he  was  entreated  to  resume  the  government.  He  everted 
himself  to  settle  the  emigrants  advantageously,  of  whom  two  parties, 
a  hundred  and  twenty  each,  were  settled  at  Nansemond,  and  at  the 
Falls  nf  James  River.  Both,  however,  mismanaged  their  affairs, 
quarrelled  with  the  Indians,  and  lost  a  number  of  their  men;  while 
they  rejected  all  his  efiRirts  to  remedy  these  disorders.  In  returning 
from  the  latter  place,  a  bag  of  gunpowder  burst  and  severely  man- 
gled his  person,  so  that  he  reached  home  in  extreme  torture.  Here 
he  was  told  that  plots  were  forming  against  his  life.  Unable,  in  his 
debilitated  state,  to  struggle  against  so  many  difficulties,  he  returned 


220 


RETTLEME^T  OF  VIRrtlNlA. 


W: 


to  England,  quitting  for  ever  the  colony  which  had  been  so  muri 
indebted  to  him.  He  received  at  home  neither  honours  nor  rewards. 
The  company,  prepossessed  by  his  numerous  enemies,  complained 
that  he  had  brought  no  wealth  into  their  coffers,  and  had  acted  severely 
towards  the  Indians.  Posterity  has  done  him  justice,  perhaps  snme« 
•vhat  beyond  his  merits.  His  bold  and  active  spirit,  with  sound  prac- 
tical judgment,  eminently  qualified  him  for  the  station  ;  though,  beini; 
rather  hot  and  uncompromising  in  his  temper,  he  excited  biticr 
onmities.  A  conciliatory  disposition  and  persuasive  powers  were,  in 
such  a  situation,  almost  indispensable  to  render  his  exertions  effective. 
His  conduct  towards  the  Indians  was  in  general  culpable,  and,  by  the 
hostility  which  it  created,  neutralized  in  a  great  measure  his  eminent 
services. 

His  eulogium,  however,  was  found  in  the  state  of  the  colony  after 
his  departure.  Only  about  thirty  or  forty  acres  were  cultivated; 
the  ships  had  brought  grain  in  limited  quantity,  and  much  spoiled 
during  the  unfortunate  voyage.-  The  Indians,  no  longer  overawed 
by  the  late  president,  not  only  refused  supplies,  but  killed  many  set- 
tlers. Thus  there  ensued  a  dreadful  famirf,  long  fearfully  remem- 
bered under  the  name  of  the  "Starving  Time."  Many  were  im 
pelled  to  the  horrid  resource  of  devouring  the  bodies  of  the  dead; 
nay,  there  are  dark  imputations  of  murder  committed  under  this 
fearful  impulse.  Vessels  sent  along  the  rivers  were  either  sunk  or 
the  crews  beaten  by  the  savages.  Virginia  seemed  a  devoted  soil. 
Of  the  flourishing  colony  of  five  hundred  persons,  there  remained 
only  sixty  "most  miserable  and  poor  creatures."  After  a  large  ex- 
penditure and  successive  arrivals  of  emigrants,  it  had  returned 
almost  into  its  original  insignificance. 

In  May,  Gates  and  Summers  arrived  from  the  Bermudas.  Their 
scanty  stock  aflJbrded  a  few  days'  subsistence  to  the  settlers,  beyond 
which  appeared  no  prospect  but  that  of  famine.  In  this  extremity, 
the  colonists  determined  to  sail  for  Newfoundland,  and  embarking, 
(June  6,)  were  steering  down  the  bay,  where  they  met  with  the 
long-boat  of  Lord  Delaware,  who  had  just  arrived  with  a  reinforce' 
ment  and  large  supplies,  to  take  command.  This  opportune  occur- 
rence restored  satisfaction,  and  the  wise  and  paternal  character  of 
Lord  Delaware's  administration  for  a  time  gave  prosperity  to  the 
settlement.  But  this  excellent  nobleman  was  soon  after  taken  ill, 
and  obliged  to  return  to  England.  He  left*  Percy  in  command,  who 
<»c^  succeeded  by  Sir  Thomas  Dale.     He  continued  in  office  until 


m^ 


MARRIAGE   OF   POCAHONTAS. 


221 


CAPTUBI    OF    POOARONrA.8. 


the  arrival  of  Sir  Thomas  Grates  with  six  ships,  three  hundred  emi- 
grants,  and  a  hundred  cattle. 

With  some  of  the  new  comers.  Dale  now  undertook  a  voyage  np 
the  river,  and  founded  a  settlement  which  he  named  Henrico  in 
honour  of  the  Prince  of  Wales.  A  romantic  and  pleasing-  er^nt 
of  this  expedition  may  be  considered  the  termination  of  the  long 
hostility  with  the  native  tribes.  An  enterprising  naval  officer  named 
Argall  contrived  to  inveigle  on  board  his  vessel  the  Princess  Poca- 
hontas, and,  notwithstanding  her  tears  and  entreaties,  carried  her  to 
Jamestown.  She  was  well  treated,  but  the  English  refused  to  re- 
lease her,  except  for  an  exorbitant  ransom.  Powhatan,  with  an 
independence  of  soul  which  showed  true  greatness,  refused  to  listen 
to  any  terms  while  his  favourite  child  was  a  captive.  The  un- 
fortunate breach  seemed  hourly  widening.  At  this  crisis,  Mr.  John 
Rolfe,  a  respectable  young  man,  was  smitten  with  her  dignified 
demeanour,  and  found  no  difficulty  in  gaining  her  affijctions.  Their 
marriage  was  a  source  of  exultation  to  the  colonists,  and  made  Poir- 
haian  their  firm  friend  ever  afterward.     The  youthful  bride  becair* 


SETTLEMENT   OF  VIRGINIA. 


a  heiiever  in  the  truths  of  Christianity,  and  was  baptized  under  the 
name  of  Rebecca,  to  which  the  English  prefixed  Lady.  She  was 
taken  to  England,  introduced  to  the  royal  family,  and,  for  some  time, 
became  the  object  of  universal  attt-ntion.  In  1716,  she  went  to  em- 
bark at  Gravesend ;  but  she  was  never  again  to  behold  her  native 
shore.  Sudden  illness  carried  her  off  in  a  few  days.  She  left  a' 
son  in  the  colony,  whose  offspring  is  now  numerous,  and  the  descent 
from  whom  is  the  boast  of  many  Virginia  families.  It  is  worthy  of 
note,  however,  that,  notwithstanding  the  popularity  of  this  marriage, 
and  the  scarcity  of  females  in  the  settlement,  Rolfe's  example  was 
never  followed. 

Gates  and  Dale  abolished  the  system  of  community  labour,  and 
gave  to  each  family  a  piece  of  ground  for  its  own  cultivation.  This 
revived  industry,  and  every  thing  began  to  assume  a  new  aspect. 
They  soon  discovered  tobacco ;  and,  in  one  year,  this  apparently 
nauseous  weed  dia  more  to  enrich  the  company  and  the  colony 
itself,  than  did  all  the  fancied  mines  of  gold  and  marts  of  commerce 
during  the  whole  period  that  Virginia  was  a  colony. 

N  lOlG,  Sir  T.  bale  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Sir  George  Yeardley 
as  deputy.  Lord  Delaware  also 
died,  in  sailing  for  Jamestown. 
The  government  then  devolved 
upon  Argall,  a  brave  and  success- 
ful naval  commander,  but  of  a 
temper  too  haughty  and  overbear- 
ing. He  became  so  unpopular  that 
the  company  were  obliged  to  super 
sede  him,  and  the  regulation  of  affairs  again  devolved  on  Yeardley. 
The  oppression  of  Argall  led  to  the  petitioning  for  a  new  consti 
tution,  which,  after  long  delay,  the  company  granted.  This  instru 
ment  was  so  framed  as  to  secure  the  colonists  in  a  great  measure 
against  any  proceeding  contrary  to  their  views.  The  House  of 
Assembly  was  to  consist  of  the  governor,  a  council  appointed  by  the 
corporation  at  home,  and  two  representatives  from  each  borough 
As  this  meeting  amounted  to  twenty-one,  while  the  delegates  from 
eleven  boroughs  were  twenty-two,  the  company  had  only  to  gain  ono 
of  the  latter  in  order  to  have  the  full  dictation  of  every  measure- 
Various  other  privileges  were  granted,  all  securing  more  or  less  tlif 
rights  of  the   colonists  >     The  consequences  were  soon  apparent 


\ 


XHK  GREAT   MAS3ACRB. 


223 


TBI    C?iHI3Tl*r: 


'>:M\r»    niHCLOSisa   thb    intb!jded   ma.s3acrb 


Their  number  continually  increased,  the  area  of  the  settlement  was 
extended,  and  the  arrival  of  a  considerable  number  of  females  gave 
a  stability,  an  appearance  of  home  to  the  town,  which  it  had  not 
yet  enjoyed. 

During  this  period  of  prosperity,  a  storm  was  brooding  over  the 
colony  in  a  quarter  little  suspected.  We  have  seen  the  beneficiiil 
efflicts  of  Rolfe's  marriage,  in  its  reconciliation  of  the  Indians.  So 
perfect  had  this  become,  that  the  two  races  seemed  blended  into  one, 
the  Indians  entering  at  pleasure  into  the  houses  of  the  planters,  bor- 
rowing their  arms  and  materials,  and  frequently  residing  with  them 
for  some  days.  But,  in  reality,  a  fearful  change  had  taken  place, 
and  the  red  men  had  determined  on  the  utter  extinction  of  the 
colony.  Powhatan  was  dead  ;  and  his  son  Opecancanough,  under 
apparent  friendship,  concealed  the  most  deadly  hatred.  All  the 
causes  of  this  alteration  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  ;  but,  no  doubt, 
a  pan  was  owing  to  the  conduct  of  the  settlers,  and  the  fears  excited 
by  their  rapid  increase. 

The  Indians  appointed  a  day  in  which  a  general  massacre  of  the 
whites  was  to  be  perpetrated.  The  secret  was  kept  with  the  pro- 
found dissimulation  which  characterizes  savage  vengeance ;  and, 
several  days  before,  Opecancanough  had  declared  that  the  heavenn 
15 


224 


SETTLEMEFT  OF  VIRGINIA. 


rB3     8BS&T    UA33ACRB. 


m 


wouid  Aill  before  he  would  alter  his  affection  for  the  English.  T« 
the  last  moment,  his  subjects  continued  visiting,  conversing,  and 
holding  the  most  friendly  intercourse  with  those  whom  they  were 
about  to  slay. 

One  exception  to  this  general  hatred  saved  the  colony.  A  gentle 
man,  named  Pace,  had  an  Indian  domestic,  whom  he  had  not  only 
treated  with  peculiar  kindness,  but  had  converted  to  the  Christian 
religion.  Being  told,  late  at  night,  to  murder  his  master  next  day, 
he  rose  from  his  bed  and  disclosed  the  plot.  Pace  immediately 
arose,  procured  a  boat,  and,  crossing  to  Jamestown,  reveaied  the 
conspiracy.  The  notice  was  too  short,  however,  to  warn  all  the 
remote  settlements,  and  on  these  the  storm  fell  in  full  fury.  Min- 
gling as  usual  with  the  settlers,  they  succeeded  in  completely  sur- 
prising them,  and,  with  the  implements  of  husbandry,  struck  them 
dead  before  they  were  conscious  of  danger.  The  dreadful  work 
continued  until  three  hundred  and  forty-seven  men,  women,  and 
children  were  massacred,  and  all  the  colony  was  filled  with  alarm. 
This  event,  known  as  the  Great  Massacre,  occurred  April  1,  1622. 
It  was  followed  by  a  war  of  extermination  against  the  Indians,  which 
resulted  in  the  extinction  or  emigration  of  nearly  all  the  tribes  in  thi 
vicinity  of  Ja  lestown. 


JAMKS   I. 


223 


In  addition  to  this  misfortune,  the  company  were  soon  called  to 
breast  another  storm  more  potent  than  Indian  hatred.  This  was  the 
king's  opposition.  Being  one  of  the  vainest  and  most  arbitran' 
sovereigns  that  ever  snt  on  the  English  throne,  James  could  not  look 
with  apathy  upon  the  increasing  prosperity  of  a  company  whose 
▼iews  of  government  and  royal  prerogative  were  far  more  republi- 
can than  his  own.  The  dispute  first  commenced  about  the  appoint- 
ment of  officers — James  claiming  this  right  for  himself.  He  then 
attempted  to  monopolize  the  tobacco  trade.  The  controversy  con- 
tinued until  1624,  when  the  company  was  dissolved,  and  Virginij 
made  a  royal  government. 


<HS     TCBAOOO     PLk-VT 


JAMBS     L 


CHAPTER  XV. 

VIRGINIA   TILL   THE   PEACE  OF   1763. 

HE  arbitrary  schemes  of  King  James  wera 
interrupted  by  his  death,  which  occurred 
April  6,  1625.  His  successor,  Charles  I., 
entertained  similar  ideas  regarding  his  capa- 
city for  government,  but  was  more  fickle  in 
disposition.  Although  he  did  not  interfere 
with  the  colonial  constitution,  yet  he  endea- 
voured to  monopolize  the  tobacco  trade,  and 
wna  prevented  from  doing  so  only  by  an  earnest  remonstrance  from 
the  governor,  council,  and  burgesses.  On  the  death  of  Yeardley, 
in  1627,  West  and  Pott  were  successively  elected  bv  >-»    ouncii 


INDIAN    WAR. 


227 


ABBXST    OF     BARVBT. 


John  Harvey  was  appoiiiU'd  by  Charles  in  1G29,  but  he  became  so 
unpopular  as  to  be  stiit  to  England,  in  lOJiO,  loaded  with  charges. 
A  trial  resulted  in  his  triumphant  ac(iuittal.  He  was  then  ••einstated, 
and  after  continuing  the  administration  for  two  years,  was  ucceeded 
by  Sir  Francis  Wyatt.  After  another  period  of  two  j-virs,  the 
government  devolved  (February,  lf}42)  on  Sir  William  Berkeley. 
His  accession  gave  universal  satisfaction  ;  and,  although  bigotted 
with  regard  to  religion  and  education,  he  seems  to  have  been  the 
most  pdpular  of  any  of  the  Virginian  governors. 

Ever  smce  the  dreadful  massacre  of  1622,  a  vindictive  warfare  had 
been  wac'd  against  the  Indians,  chiefly  by  predatory  incursions  into 
their  territory;  and  in  the  year  1643,  the  Assembly  voted  that  no 
terms  of  peace  with  them  should  be  entertained.  That  unfortunate 
people,  driven  to  despair,  again  entered  into  a  general  confederacy, 
hoping,  by  a  sudden  attack,  to  cut  ofTthe  hated  race  who  had  seized 
their  lands.  This  step  could  not  now  be  reproached  with  treachery, 
nor  could  suspicion  be  lulled  by  professions  of  friendship ;  yet 
ihrough  their  habits  of  deep  dissimulation,  they,  in  some  degree, 
effected  a  surprise.  About  three  hundred  colonists  were  killed  ;  but 
as  soon  as  the  main  body  were  aroused,  the  savage  assailants  were 
completely  defeated,  pursued  into  their  own  country,  and  Opecanca- 
nough,  their  king,  taken  prisoner.  Though  well  treated,  he  fell 
indignant  at  the  multitudes  who  were  allowed  to  come  into  his  pri- 
son, and  salibfy  their  curiosity  by  viewing  his  person  ;  assuring 
Berkeley,  that,  had  fortune  reversed  their  situation,  he  would  not 
liave  meanly  exhibited  his  captive  as  a  show.     A  brutal  soldier  pu; 


m  m 


228 


VIRGINIA  TILL  THE   PEACE   OF   1763. 


an  end  to  his  life  by  shooting  him  in  the  back  ;  and  the  Indians 
were  now  so  far  overawed,  that  the  governor,  in  1646,  could  impose 
a  treaty,  including  an  extensive  cession  of  territory. 

This  unpropitious  affair  was  succeeded  by  a  period  of  unusual 
tranquillity,  during  which  the  colony  increased  greatly.  A  writer, 
in  1649,  estimates  the  population  at  about  fifteen  thousand,  and  states 
that  there  were  twenty  thousand  head  of  cattle,  three  thousand  sheep, 
five  thousand  goats,  hogs  and  poultry  innumerable,  with  about  two 
hundred  horses  and  mares  of  an  excellent  breed.  Wheat  was  raised 
for  subsistence  in  considerable  quantities,  but  tobacco  was  the  staple 
for  sale.  The  plantations  reached  about  a  hundred  miles  along  the 
river,  having  upon  it  fronts  of  varying  extent,  but  each  stretching 
backward  about  two  thousand  yards. 

In  the  contest  between  Charles  and  the  Republicans,  Virginia 
look  part  with  the  crown ;  and  on  the  death  of  the  monarch,  boldly 


BACON  S   REBELLION. 


2'J9 


declared  for  his  exiled  son.  Disputes  with  the  Long  Parliumen 
followed,  but  were  interrupted  by  the  dissolution  of  that  body. 
Finally,  however,  thp  Virpinians  obtained  a  complete  amnesty ;  and 
the  Pnitectnr  even  extended  to  them  severiil  important  privileges. 
The  republic  was,  however,  always  unpopular  ;  and,  after  the  expjl 
sion  of  Richard,  Cromwell's  son,  the  Virginians  gladly  returned  t« 
their  old  allegiance. 

As  the  colonists  had  been  among  the  most  strenuous  supporters 
of  the  crown,  it  was  natural  to  suppose  that  they  would  receive 
from  it  a  full  recognition  of  their  loyalty,  and  confirmation  of  all 
former  rights.  In  this  they  were  disappointed.  The  Church  of 
England  was  exclusively  established,  the  right  of  suffrage  abridged, 
general  education  discouraged,  commerce  limited  to  the  mother  coun- 
try, and  several  odious  monopolies  established. 

An  internal  cause  still  more  cruelly  interrupted  the  success  of  the 
colony.  The  Indians,  once  so  hostile,  had  for  a  long  time  been 
overawed  or  conciliated ;  but  the  Suscjuehnnnas,  a  singularly  fierce 
tribe,  having  been  driven  from  the  north  by  the  Five  Nations,  b<!gan 
to  commit  depredations  upon  the  frontiers.  The  colonists  on  the  bor- 
der, possessing,  doubtless,  much  of  the  lawless  character  of  back- 
settlers,  violently  retaliated.  Six  chiefs,  sent  by  the  Indians  to  treat 
fur  peace,  were  seized  and  put  to  death  ;  and  the  just  indignation  ex- 
pressed by  Berkeley  at  this  outrage  gave  great  offence.  After  war 
had  raged  some  time,  that  people  again  made  pacific  overtures, 
but  without  success.  The  governor,  however,  endeavoured  to 
second  their  object,  and  to  mitigate  the  ferocious  spirit  which  now 
animated  the  colonists.  These  humane  effbrts  were  adverse  to  their 
present  disposition,  and  lost  to  him  that  popularity  which  he  had 
£0  long  enjoyed,  while  his  views  and  even  his  errors  were  in  unison 
with  theirs.     The  consequences  soon  proved  disastrous. 

Nathaniel  Bacon,  of  a  respectable  family  in  Suffolk,  carried 
out  the  unusual  fortune  of  £1800,  and,  possessing  an  uncommon 
share  of  address,  eloquence,  and  intelligence,  acquired  great  influ- 
ence and  a  seat  in  the  council.  Having  formed  a  border  plantation 
on  the  upper  part  of  James  River,  he  found  the  war  raging  Avith 
the  Indians,  who  carried  it  on  with  their  usual  cruelties.  Ill-informed 
perhaps  of  the  wrongs  by  which  they  had  been  impelled,  he  sym- 
pathized with  the  sufl^erings  of  his  countrymen,  and  entertained  aw 
fager  desire  for  revenge.  A  farm  of  his  own  being  attacked,  and 
the  servant  killed,  he  took   up  arms   without  the  knowledge   of 

0 


230 


VIRGINIA  TILL  THE   PEACE  OF   17G3. 


■i 


SIl^HINO    OV    BACON    8     C0MUIS3I0M 


Berkeley,  and  rallying  around  him  all  inspired  by  similar  senti- 
ments, was  soon  at  the  head  of  five  hundred  men.  The  governor 
announced  this  armament  as  rebellious,  and  issued  a  mandate  to 
disperse,  which  was  partly  obeyed.  His  attention  was  distracted, 
however,  by  a  rising  of  the  popular  party  in  the  lower  province,  to 
resist  the  aristocratic  ascendant.  The  two  interests  became  united; 
and  the  government,  unable  to  resist,  were  obliged  to  agree  that  the 
Assembly,  having  now  sat  an  exorbitant  time,  should  be  dissolved, 
and  a  new  one  elected.  The  result  was  favourable  to  the  popular 
side;  universal  suffrage  was  restored;  all  arbitrary  taxation  was 
ubtilished  ;  and  various  abuses  suppressed,  though  without  any  vin- 
dictive proceedings  against  their  authors.  Bacon  had  at  first  been 
made  prisoner ;  but  on  so  strong  a  manifestation  of  the  xVssenibly's 
will,  he  was  set  at  liberty,  and  even  promised  a  commission  ;  but 
this  was  ultimately  refused.  He  then  secretly  withdrew,  and  as- 
sembled five  or  six  hundred  men,  with  whom  he  became  complete 
master  of  the  seat  of  government.  Sir  William  strenuously  re- 
sisted ;  and,  with  the  boldness  of  an  old  cavalier,  bared  his  breast  to 
his  adversary,  saying,  "A  fair  mark — shoot !"  Bacon  declared  they 
did  not  wish  to  hurt  a  hair  of  his  head,  but  only  desired  a  commis- 
sion to  save  their  lives  from  the  Indians.  The  authority  was  granted 
lo  him,  and  he  marched  to  the  froatiur. 


BACON'S   REBELLION. 


231 


As  soon,  however,  as  the  immediate  pressure  was  removed,  th* 
governor,  rnshly  as  it  would  seem,  published  a  proclamation,  re 
versing  all  the  proceedings  of  the  Assembly,  and  again  declaring 
Bacon  a  traitor.  This  step  immediately  kindled  a  civil  war.  That 
during  chief  marched  back  towards  Jamestown,  and  was  joined  by 
iiiiinerous  adherents  of  the  popular  class.  The  property  of  the  roy- 
alists  was  confiscated,  their  wives  seized,  and  carried  along  with  the 
troops  as  hostages  ;  and  these  violences  being  retaliated,  wide  de- 
vastation was  si)read  over  the  country.  Berkeley,  meantime,  had 
assembled  in  the  capital  his  friends,  with  some  seamen  landed  fron> 
vessels  in  the  harbour.  Here,  however,  they  were  soon  besieged, 
and,  being  re|iiilsed  in  a  sally,  found  themselves  no  match  for  the 
hardy  borderers.  It  was  necessary  to  evacuate  the  town  during  the 
niglit,  and  withdraw  his  entire  force  to  the  eastern  shore,  leaving  the 
whole  west  in  possession  of  the  insurgents. 

ACOjN'  now  acted  entirely  as  ruler  of  V'irginia.and  de- 
claring the  governor  to  have  abdicated,  summoned 
an  assembly  in  his  own  name.  It  was  determined 
to  resist  any  attempts  from  the  mother-country  to 
restore  Berkeley  to  power,  and,  indeed,  the  resolu- 
tion was  almost  fixed  to  throw  off  its  yoke  alto 
gether.  As  Jamestown  might  affjrd  a  position  for  establishing  an 
English  force,  the  violent  measure  was  adopted  of  devoting  it  to  the 
flames.  This  was  executed  with  such  ruthless  determination,  that 
the  fires  being  kindled  in  the  niglit,  there  remained  in  the  morning 
scarcely  a  vestige  of  that  original  capital,  which  has  never  again 
reared  its  head.  Nothing  now  appeared  lo  remain  but  to  cross  the 
river  and  drive  before  them  the  discouraged  remnant  of  Berkeley's 
forces.  Suddenly,  however,  the  leader  sickened,  and,  after  a  short 
illness,  died  ;  a  catastrophe  that  put  an  end  to  the  insurrection, 
which,  after  all,  had  not  any  deep  root  among  the  nation.  Its  tem- 
porary success  seems  to  have  been  owing  to  the  union  of  the  border 
settlers  with  the  popular  faction  ;  but  the  latter,  forming  still  a  de- 
cided minority,  could  not  permanently  support  it.  Several  of  the 
leaders  attempted  to  make  a  stand,  but  were  successively  reduced 
and  taken  by  Beverley,  an  active  royalist  chief.  The  governoi, 
whose  feelings  seem  throughout  the  whole  transaction  to  have  been 
greatly  excited,  acted  now  with  excessive  rigour.  Twenty  persons 
were  hanged,  and  it  is  supposed  a  gieater  number  would  have  en- 
dured the  same  punishment,  hud  nut  the  Assembly  presented  ac 


i 


i !'' 


232 


VIRGINIA  TILL  THE  PEACE  OF  1763. 


address,  entreating  "that  he  would  spill  no  more  blood."  One  of 
the  deputies  said,  "had  we  let  him  alone,  he  would  have  hanged 
half  the  country."  Charles  II.,  whose  disposition  was  not  cruel, 
exclaimed,  "the  old  fool  has  taken  away  more  lives  than  I  for  the 
murder  of  my  father,"  and  issued  a  proclamation  censuring  his  con- 
duct as  derogatory  to  his  clemency.  Sir  William  was  recalled,  and 
his  place  temporarily  supplied  by  Colonel  Jeffereys,  who,  with  two 
others,  constituted  a  commission  of  inquiry.  They  seem  to  have 
made  it  very  searching,  with  even  a  friendly  disposition  towards  the 
people.  The  difTerent  counties  were  invited  to  produce  statements 
of  grievances,  and  the  records  of  the  Assembly  were  forced  from 
their  clerk.  A  report  was  drawn  up,  in  which,  while  the  conduct 
of  the  insurgents  was  strongly  condemned,  that  of  the  government 
and  several  members  of  the  council  was  also  censured.  These 
reflections  against  Berkeley  are  supposed  to  have  hastened  his 
dcth,  which  took  place  before  he  had  an  interview  with  the  king. 
The  Aoatuibly  passed  a  vote,  declaring  that  he  had  been  an  excellent 
governor,  and  recommended  a  grant  to  Lady  Berkeley  of  jGUOO 
JefTereys,  during  his  short  administration,  put  an  end  to  the  Indian 
war.  After  the  death  of  Charles  I.,  some  royalist  noblemen  obtain- 
ed a  grant  of  the  territory  between  the  Potomac  and  Rappahannock, 
known  as  the  North  Neck,  for  the  purpose  of  affording  a  refuge  ta 
their  adherents.  This  right  was  afterwards  sold  to  Lords  Culpeppei 
and  Arlington.  The  colonists  remonstrated  against  it,  as  a  violation 
of  their  charter;  but  Charles  confirmed  it  by  the  appointing  of  Cul- 
pepper governor  for  life.  He  was  avaricious  and  despotic  ;  and  the 
office  finally  reverted  to  the  crown.  The  colony  remained  in  rathei 
an  unsettled  state  until  1G92,  when  its  management  was  conferreu 
on  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  He  seems  to  have  conducted  himself, 
during  the  six  years  of  his  administration,  with  prudence  and  abi- 
lity. His  successor,  Nicholson,  having  formed  a  scheme  of  uniting 
the  settlements  into  a  union  for  mutual  defence,  which  displeased 
the  Assembly,  was  deposed,  and  the  government  given  to  the  Earl 
of  Orkney,  who  held  it  as  a  sinecure  thirty-six  years. 

Virginia,  from  this  period  till  the  peace  of  I7G3,  enjoyed  an  almost 
aninterrupted  prosperity.  She  was  engaged  in  military  operations 
against  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies ;  but  as  these  were  com- 
mon to  the  whole  range  of  states,  we  prefer  to  make  them,  with  some 
other  matters,  the  subject  of  a  general  chapter. 


»  <l 


OECII.  CALVXHT  TUB  SECOND  LOBD  B  A  L  T  I  M  O  K  I 


CHAPTER  XVI. 


MARYLAND. 


y-A't 


M 


lIRGIIVIA,  under  the  second  charter,  was  ex- 
tended so  as  to  embrace  in  its  area  the 
whole  of  the  present  state  of  Maryland. 
In  the  territory  around  Chesapeake  Bay 
a  valuable  trade  was  carried  on  with  the 
[ndians,  principally  by  William  Clayborne, 
a  surveyor  of  the  Virginia  Company,  and 
member  of  the  council.  Under  direct 
license  from  the  crown,  he  built  a  number 
of  establishments  on  the  bay,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  highly 
beneficial  to  the  colony. 

This  profitable  trade  was  interrupted  by  the  grant  of  a  charter  to 
Sir  George  Calvert,  the  first  Lord  Baltimore,  for  the  land  extending 
from  the  Potomac  to  the  fortieth  degree  of  north  latitude,  to  be  called 
Maryland,  in  honour  of  the  queen.  Sir  George,  having  died  before 
the  grant  was  fully  made  out,  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Cecil,  who 
unmediately  devoted  all  his  exertions  for  the  good  of  the  future 
80  08  MS 


234 


MARYLAND. 


1  ; 


colony.  The  expenses  from  his  own  funds  an>ountPcl  to  £20,000.  anri 
an  equal  sum  was  raised  among  his  friends.  Warned  by  Virrfinian 
disasters,  he  avoided,  from  the  first,  all  chimerical  projerts,  and  placed 
his  establishment  entirely  on  an  agricultural  basis.  Every  one  who 
carried  out  five  persons,  male  or  female,  paying  their  expenses, 
(about  j620,)  was  to  receive  a  thousand  acres.  Those  defraying 
their  own  cfiurges  got  a  hundred  acres  for  themselves,  and  the  same 
for  every  adult  member  of  their  family  ;  for  children  under  six  years, 
fifty  acres.  The  rent  was  two  shillings  for  each  one  hundred  acres, 
In  November,  1033,  Leonard  Calvert  set  sail  with  the  first  emi- 
grants, consisting  of  about  two  hundred  persons,  including  a  son  of 
Sir  Thomas  Gerard,  one  of  Sir  Thomas  Wiseman,  and  two  of  Lady 
Wintour.  In  February,  he  touched  at  Point  Comfort,  in  Virginia, 
where  his  arrival  was  by  no  means  acceptable;  nevertheless,  Sir 
John  Harvey,  in  obedience  to  the  express  orders  of  Charles,  gave 
him  a  courteous  reception.  Early  in  March,  he  entered  the  Poto- 
iiiac,  to  the  Indians  on  the  shores  of  which  the  sight  of  so  large  a 
vessel  was  quite  new,  and  caused  the  utmost  astonishment.  The 
report  was,  that  a  canoe  was  appnaching  as  big  as  an  island,  with 
men  standing  in  it  as  thick  as  trees  in  a  forest;  and  they  thought 
with  amazement  how  enormous  must  have  been  the  trunk  out  of 
which  it  had  been  hollowed.  A  piece  of  ordnance,  resounding  for 
the  first  lime  on  the  shores  of  this  mighty  river,  caused  the  whole 
country  to  tremble.  The  intercourse,  however,  appears  to  have 
been  judiciously  conducted,  and  was,  on  the  whole,  very  amicable. 
Calvert  sailed  up  to  Piscataqua,  an  Indian  settlement  nearly  opposite 
the  present  site  of  Mount  Vernon,  where  the  chief  received  him 
with  kindness,  saying,  "he  would  not  bid  him  go,  neither  would  he 
bid  him  slay  ;  he  might  use  his  own  discretion."  On  reflection,  he 
considered  the  place  too  far  up  the  river,  and,  therefore,  the  vessel 
was  moved  down  to  a  tributary  named  then  St.  Georges,  now  St. 
Mary's.  Ascending  it  four  leagues,  he  came  to  a  consideuble 
Indian  town,  named  Yoacomoco ;  and,  being  hospitably  received,  as 
well  as  pleased  with  the  situation,  he  determined  to  fix  his  colony 
there.  The  werowanne  accepted  an  invitation  on  board,  and  Sit 
John  Harvey  having  just  arrived  from  Virginia,  the  chief  was  led 
down  to  the  cabin,  and  seated  at  dinner  between  the  two  governors. 
An  alarm  having  spread  among  the  people  on  shore,  that  he  was  de- 
tained as  a  prisoner,  they  made  the  banks  echo  with  shouts  of 
alarm ;  the  Indian  attendants  durst  not  go  to  them,  but  when  he 


m 


SETTLEMENT    OF   ST.    JIART  S. 


2:'5 


.»i 


EBTTLHUSNT    OF    ST.    HART     S, 


himself  appeared  on  deck,  they  were  satisfied.  He  became  so  mDch 
attached  to  the  English,  as  to  declare,  that  if  they  should  kill  hrra, 
he  would  not  wish  his  death  avenged,  being  sure  that  he  must  h-ire 
deserved  his  fate. 

Amid  these  dispositions,  it  was  not  difficult  to  negotiate  the 
formation  of  a  settlement.  For  hatchets,  hoes,  knives,  cloth,  and 
other  articles  of  probably  very  small  original  cost,  the  strangers 
iiut  only  obtained  a  large  tract  of  land,  but  were  allowed  by  the 
inhabitants  to  occupy  immediately  one  half  of  their  village,  with 
the  corn  growing  adjacent  to  it,  and,  at  the  end  of  harvest,  were 
to  receive  the  whole.  Thus  the  English  were  at  once  comfortably 
established,  without  those  severe  hardships  which  usually  attend  an 
infant  settlement. 

The  colony  thus  commenced  enjoyed  privileges  to  which  Virginia 
had  been  a  stranger.  Her  charter  secured  the  great  privilege  of 
perfect  freedom  of  opinion  in  religious  matters,  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, the  appointment  of  officers  by  the  crown,  and  a  permanent 
exemption  from  all  royal  taxation. 


£36 


MARYLAND. 


f 


"N  1635,  the  Assemtly  met  at  St.  Mary's 
but  the  record  of  their  proceedingi 
is  now  lost.  Immediately  after,  Clay- 
borne  refused  to  submit  to  Calvert's 
government,  and  at  length  appeared 
in  arms  to  maintain  the  right  of 
possession  in  his  territory.  A  skir- 
mish occurred  in  May,  in  which 
a  few  on  each  side  were  killed, 
and  Clayborne's  party  taken  prison- 
ers. Their  leader  fled  to  Virginia,  and,  on  being  demanded  by  the 
Maryland  Assembly,  was  sent  to  England  for  trial.  The  Assembly 
seized  his  lands  and  declared  him  a  traitor.  Clayborne  appealed  lo 
the  crown,  but,  after  a  full  hearing,  the  case  was  decided  against 
him,  and  his  estates  reverted  to  Lord  Baltimore. 

These  difficulties  were  scarcely  suppressed,  when  others,  little 
less  formidable,  occurred  with  the  Indians.  These  increased  to 
such  an  alarming  extent,  that,  in  1642,  all  the  neighbouring  tribes 
were  arrayed  against  the  colony.  The  disgusting  scenes  attendant 
on  savage  warfare  continued  until  1644,  when  they  were  happily 
terminated  by  a  treaty,  the  conditions  of  which,  and  some  acts  of 
Assembly  immediately  following,  seem  to  prove  that  the  evil  had 
arisen  entirely  from  the  interested  proceedings  of  individuals.  The 
prohibition  of  kidnapping  the  Indians,  and  of  selling  arms  to  them, 
show  the  existence  of  these  culpable  practices.  This  peace  was  of 
long  duration,  and  the  Maryland  government  seems,  on  the  whole, 
to  have  acted  more  laudably  towards  the  red  men  than  any  other, 
except  that  of  Penn. 

In  1645,  Clayborne  returned  to  Maryland,  raised  a  rebellion,  and 
drove  the  governor  into  Virginia.  A  period  of  disorder  ensued 
until  the  summer  of  1646,  when  the  government  was  restored.  A 
season  of  prosperity  followed  until  1650,  when  still  further  security 
was  given  to  political  freedom,  by  dividing  the  Assembly  into  two 
houses,  composed  of  the  governor  and  council  in  one,  and  the  bur 
gesses  elected  by  the  people  in  the  other. 

The  suppression  of  royalty  in  England  seems  to  have  acted  un- 
favourably to  Maryland.  The  parliament  sent  a  number  of  com- 
missioners to  reduce  the  territory  to  obedience ;  among  these  was 
Clayborne.  Governor  Stone  was  twice  removed.  The  great  reli- 
gious sects  organized  themselves  into  parties,  and  a  proscription  vtras 


COLONIAL  FEUDS. 


237 


'f' 


'I 


tj 


WILLIAU    IIL 


cotnmenced  airainst  the  Catholics.  The  governor  raised  an  armed 
force,  seized  the  colonial  archives,  and  marched  against  his  oppo- 
nents ;  but,  in  a  battle  fought  near  the  site  of  A.inapolis,  his  party 
were  dispersed  and  himself  taken  prisoner.  Four  of  his  men  were 
executed.  The  disturbances  continued  until  1660,  when  the  upper 
house  of  the  legislature  was  dissolved,  and  the  entire  managemeiit  of 
affairs  devolved  upon  the  popular  branch.  This  continued  until  the 
kiestoralion  of  Charles  II.,  when  the  old  order  of  administration  was 
restored,  the  proprietor  reinstated,  and  peace  secured  by  a  general 
amnesty  for  all  offences.  Emigration  was  renewed  with  considerable 
activity,  especially  among  the  labouring  classes,  who,  under  indentures 
for  a  term  of  years,  had  the  expenses  of  their  voyage  defrayed. 

When  the  Revolution  occurred  in  Engln"  '  .he  Protestants  of 
Maryland,  inspired  with  new  courage,  rose  in  arms,  overiurned  thb 
government,  and  substituted  a  provisional  one.  King  William,  who 
doubtless  had  an  interest  in  favour  of  the  insurgents,  gave  his  entire 
sanction  to  their  proceedings  and  took  the  government  into  his  own 
hands.    After  a  short  tenure  by  Andros,  it  was  directed  during  sis 


288 


MARTLAin). 


years  by  Nicho'son,  who,  on  the  whole,  gave  satisfaction.  The  Pro- 
testants considered  their  wrongs  as  redressed,  nnr  do  we  hear  of  any 
complaints  from  the  opposite  party.  Under  the  successive  admi> 
nistrations  of  Blackeston,  Seymour,  Corbet,  and  Hunt,  the  province 
continued  tranquil  and  contented.  In  1716,  the  inheritance  having 
falhMi  to  Charles,  Lord  Baltimore,  who  professed  the  Protestant  reli- 
gion, George  I.  was  induced  to  restore  his  patent,  which  continued 
till  the  Revolution  in  the  hands  of  the  family.  It  was  first  ruled  by 
B.  Leonard  Calvert,  a  relation  of  the  proprietor,  who  was  succeeded 
in  1733  by  Samuel  Ogle.  The  colon)'  continuing  to  ilouriih,  re- 
ceived a  large  accessii'n  of  Presbyterians  from  the  north  of  Ireland, 
who,  after  settling  in  Pennsylvania,  sold  their  possessions  and 
removed  to  this  more  favourable  climate. 


JOHN     WINTHROP. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


N  1606,  Sir  George  Popham  was  sent  from  Eng- 
X-V    land,  by  the  Plymouth  Company,  with  a  hundred 

He  chose  a 


'"W^jL'tJ   fc'j3^)    men,  to  form  a  colony  in  America 

iL^f  site  on  the  Kennebec  ;  and,  with  fony-nve  ui  uis 
V\!'q^  company,  commenced  a  settlement,  under  the 
*^>y/  name  of  St.  George.  During  the  winter,  they 
*  endured  great  sufferings  from  cold  and  famine  : 
their  president  died,  and  the  store-house  was  consumed  by  fire. 
The  settlement  was  consequently  abandoned  in  the-  following  year. 
But  for  a  series  of  unforeseen  calamities,  this  attempt  would  probably 
have  given  New  England  a  priority,  in  point  of  age,  to  Virginia. 

No  further  attempt  was  made  at  colonization  in  this  quarter,  until 
1614,  when  Captain  John  Smith  visited  it  in  two  ships,  established 
a  lucrative  trade  with  the  Indians,  and  explored  the  interior,  togethei 
with  the  coast  from  Cape  Cod  to  the  Penobscot.     He  named  t 


t 


it.. 


16 


xw 


240 


MASSACIIUSEITS. 


„:m 

til 


rountry  New  England,  and  prepared  a  map  of  it,  which  is  still 
3Xtant,  and  is  slrikinfrly  correct  in  all  its  outlines. 

On  his  return,  he  succeeded  in  rousinrr  a  spirit  of  enterprise, 
which,  for  a  while,  promised  the  most  flattering  results.  Smith 
mailed  the  following  year,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Plymouth  Com- 
pany, but  was  driven  back  by  storms.  On  a  second  attempt,  fiii 
crew  mutinied,  and,  while  engaged  in  quelling  this  new  danger,  his 
ship  was  seized  by  French  pirates,  and  he  escaped  only  by  means 
of  an  open  boat.  On  his  return  to  England,  he  wns  appointed  life 
admiral  of  the  colony,  and  obtained  a  charter  (16*20)  for  settling  nil 
lands  between  the  fortieth  and  forty-eighth  degrees  of  north  latitude. 

Meanwhile,  influences  were  in  operation  which,  although  appa- 
rently insignificant,  were  to  outstrip  royal  patents  in  the  march  of 
colonization,  and  found  a  colony  on  the  wild  shores  of  New  Eng- 
land, whi  s-e  potency  was  to  be  realized  throughout  America.  The 
Puritans,  driven  from  their  own  country  by  religious  intolerance, 
had  settled  in  Holland,  in  1609,  and,  for  eleven  years,  lived  in  hap- 
piness under  their  pastor,  John  Robinson.  Unable,  however,  to  feel 
at  home,  in  a  country  whose  laws,  customs,  and  language  were  en- 
tirely difTerent  from  their  own,  these  men  obtained  a  grant  of  land 
from  the  London  Company,  and  permission  to  emigrate.  The  king, 
however,  remained  hostile,  and  want  of  funds  obliged  them  to  form 
a  partnership,  on  very  disadvantageous  terms,  with  some  English 
merchants.  They  were  thus  enabled  to  purchase  the  vessels 
Speedwell  (sixty  tons)  and  Mayflower  (a  hundred  and  eight3'-tons), 
the  former  of  which  sailed  to  Delfthaven,  to  take  on  board  the  brelh 
ren.  The  departure  was  a  solemn  and  impressive  scene.  Kneel- 
ing on  the  strand,  in  presence  of  his  noble-hearted  followers,  so  soon 
to  dare  the  horrors  of  a  savage  wilderness,  and  surrounded  by  thou- 
sands of  spectators,  the  venerable  Robinson  dedicated  their  cause  to 
Giod,  and  gave  them  his  parting  blessing.  Many  a  tear  was  shed 
as  companions,  endeared  by  years  of  persecution,  adversity,  and  afflic- 
tion, parted,  with  but  little  prospect  of  ever  again  uniting.  The  two 
vessels  joined  at  Southampton,  and  thence  proceeded  on  their  gi?at 
western  voyage ;  but,  before  they  reached  the  Land's  End,  the 
Speedwell  was  obliged  to  put  back  to  Dartmouth  for  repairs.  After 
a  second  trial  the  captain  again  pronounced  her  unfit  for  the  voyage, 
•nd  sailed  for  Plymouth.  These  disasters  and  alarms,  though  in- 
Tolving  the  loss  of  much  precious  time,  "  winnowed  their  number 
•f  the  cowardly  and  the  lukewarm ;"  and  ihey  finally  set  sail  in  one 


LANDING   OF  THE    PILGRIMS. 


241 


LHHDINB    OF    THB     PILORIMS. 


vessel,  (September  16,  1620,)  numbering  a  hundred  and  two   per 
sons. 

They  had  a  tempestuous  voyage,  and  though  their  destination  was 
the  mouth  of  the  Hudson,  tney  arrived,  on  the  19th  of  November 
in  view  of  a  great  promontory,  which  proved  to  be  Cape  Cod.  The 
captain,  it  has  been  alleged,  had  received  a  bribe  from  the  Dutch  to 
avoid  a  place  where  they  projected  a  settlement.  Of  this,  however 
the  adventurers  being  ignorant,  were  comforted  by  the  view  of  a 
goodly  land,  wooded  to  the  water's  edge.  Whales  so  abounded,  that 
had  ihe  crew  possessed  means  and  instruments,  which,  to  their  great 
regret,  were  wanting,  they  might  have  procured  £4000  worth  of 
oil.  They  sailed  on  toward  their  destination,  but  being  driven  back 
by  contrary  winds,  determined  to  go  ashore.  Previously,  however, 
they  sought  to  obviate  the  danger  of  discord  by  a  mutual  agreement, 
in  the  name  of  God,  to  combine  into  a  body  politic ;  framing  and 
duly  observing  laws  for  the  general  good. 

They  landed  on  the  2Ist,  but  being  informed  that  more  commo- 
dious spots  might  be  found  to  the  north-west,  in  the  interior  of  the 
great  Bay  of  Massachusetts,  they  determined  that  a  select  party 
should  proceed  in  the  shallop  in  search  of  them.  The  boat,  how- 
ever, was  in  such  disrepair  that  it  could  not  sail  till  the  end  of  two 
or  three  weeks ;  sixteen  of  them,  therefore,  resolved  to  make  an  ex- 
cursion into  the  interior.  They  met  no  natives,  but  found  on  a  hill, 
half-buried  in  the  ground,  several  baskets  filled  with  ears  of  corn 


'I 


f 


242 


MASSACIirPETTS. 


part  of  which  thpy  carried  away,  moanirifj  to  sntlsfy  the  owners  nn 
the  first  opportunity,  which  unluckily  ni'ver  occurred.  They  saw 
many  jreese  and  durlcs,  but  were  unable  to  reach  them  ;  and  beinji 
exposed  to  severe  cold,  hastily  returned.  .Snon  after,  they  started 
for  the  same  spot,  n:niied  Cornhiil,  in  the  neighbourhood  nf  which 
they  collected  ten  bushels  of  griiin,  esteemed  a  providentinl  supply. 
They  lighted  upon  ;i  village  without  inhabitants;  but  the;  houses 
were  neatly  constructed  of  young  sn|)lings  bent  at  top,  as  in  an  ar- 
bour, and  covered  \>'thi)ut  and  within  with  fine  mats.  Eagles' 
claws,  deer's  feet,  and  harts'  horn's,  were  stuck  into  them  as  cliiirnis 
and  ornaments.  They  then  regained  their  bout,  and  sailed  round  to 
the  ship.  Some  of  their  niimher  urgeil  that  they  should  remain  at 
least  during  the  winter  in  this  creek,  where  corn  and  fish  ctniM  be 
procured,  while  many  were  disabled  by  sickness  for  further  removal. 
The  majority,  however,  observed  that  water  was  scarce,  and  the 
anchorage  for  ships  too  distant ;  that  they  had  every  chance  of  find- 
ing a  better  situation,  and  to  fix  here  and  then  remove  would  be 
doubling  their  labour.  On  the  10th  of  December,  therefore,  the 
shallop  being  at  length  ready,  a  chosen  party  set  sail.  After  pro- 
ceeding six  or  seven  leagues,  they  reached  a  bay  forming  a  good 
harbour,  but  without  a  stream  falling  into  it.  Seeing  some  Indian 
wigwams,  they  followed,  but  could  not  reach  the  people,  and  found 
only  a  large  burying-place.  They  returned  to  sleep  at  the  landing- 
place,  but  at  midnight  were  awakened  by  "a  great  and  hideous 
cry,"  which,  they  flattered  themselves,  proceeded  only  from  wolves 
or  foxes.  Next  morning,  just  afcer  j'rayers,  the  sound  was  heard 
with  redoubled  violence,  and  was  most  dreadful.  A  straggler  rushed 
in,  crying,  "they  are  men — Indians."  Thougii  the  party  ran  to 
their  arms,  before  they  could  be  mustered,  the  arrows  were  Hying 
thick  among  them.  A  brisk  fire  checked  the  assailants ;  but  the 
chief,  shooting  from  a  tree,  stood  three  discharges,  till  at  the  fourth 
he  screamed  out  and  ran,  followed  by  his  men.  They  were  reck 
oned  at  thirty  or  forty,  and  numerous  arrows  were  picked  up;  but, 
providentially,  not  one  Englishman  was  hurt. 

They  sailed  fifteen  leagues  farther,  and,  on  the  19th,  reached  a 
harbour  that  had  been  strongly  recommended.  The  weather  was 
dark  and  stormy,  and  the  entrance  encumbered  with  rocks  ;  yet  they 
fortunately  ran  in  on  a  fine  sandy  beach.  This  being  Saturday, 
they  did  not  land  till  Monday  the  2Ist,  when  they  were  highly 
pleased,  finding  a  commodious  harbour,  a  land  well  wooded,  vines, 


SETTLEMEiNT  OF   NEW   PLYMOUTH. 


243 


DKXTH  OF  OOVBBNOK  OARVEB. 


cnerrifs,  and  berries,  lately  planted,  and  a  hill  cleared  for  corn. 
There  was  no  navigatile  stream,  but  seveial  brooks  of  fresh  water 
fell  into  the  sea.  They  advanced  seven  or  eight  miles  into  the 
country  without  seeing  any  Indians. 

They  now  finally  fixed  upon  this  spot,  to  which,  on  the  'ifhh,  the 
vessel  was  brought  round;  and  they  named  it  New  Plymouth,  to 
commemorate  hospitalities  received  at  home.  The  erection  of 
houses,  however,  was  a  hard  task,  amid  severe  weather,  short  days, 
and  very  frequent  storms.  By  distributing  the  unmarried  among 
tiie  several  fatnilies,  they  reduced  the  buildings  wanted  to  nine- 
teen, and  by  the  20th  of  January,  had  completed  o.ie,  twenty  feet 
square,  for  public  meetings.  The  exposure,  however,  and  wading 
through  the  water  in  such  inclement  weather,  brought  on  severe  ill- 
ness, to  which  Carver,  a  governor  highly  esteemed,  and  many 
others,  fell  victims.  But  on  the  13th  of  March,  a  south  wina  sprung 
up ;  the  weather  became  mild  ;  the  birds  sung  in  the  woods  most 
pleasantly;  the  invalids  quickly  recovered  ;  and  many  of  them  lived 
10  a  good  old  age. 

In  the  autumn  of  1621,  the  merchants  sent  out  another  vesse 
with  thirty-five  settlers;  but  misled  by  "prodigal  reports  of  plenty 
sent  home  by  certain  colonists,  they  supplied  no  provisions ;  nay 


244 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


TUB     TRSATI     WITH    MAS8A880IT 


toe  crew  required  to  be  provided  with  a  portion  for  their  return 
voyage.  The  consequence  was,  that  in  the  course  of  t  vinter, 
the  colonists  were  reduced  to  a  half  allowance  of  corn  daily,  then  to 
five  kernels  a  piece  ;  lastly,  to  entire  want.  Equally  destitute  of 
live-stock,  they  depended  wholly  on  wild  animals.  Till  May,  1G23, 
fowls  abounded  ;  but  there  remained  then  merely  fish,  which  they 
had  not  nets  to  catch  ;  and  it  was  only  by  feeding  on  the  sh'-U 
species,  collected  among  the  rocks,  that  they  were  preserved  from 
absolute  starvation. 

Hitherto  but  few  Indians  had  been  seen  ;  but  in  the  latter  end  of 
March,  a  sachem,  named  Samoset,  entered  the  village  and  exclaimed 
in  broken  English,  "Welcome,  Englishmen  !"  This  was  followed 
by  a  treaty  with  King  Massassoil,  which  secured  peace  with  his 
tribes  for  nearly  fifty  years.  Similar  trealiis  were  concluded  with 
other  tribes.      Canonicus,  however,  sachem  of  the  Narragansetts, 


I'rtOQRESR   OF   THE   COLONY. 


24/J 


SBTTLBMBNT    OF    BOSTON. 


sent  to  Governor  Bradford  a  bundle  of  arrows  in  a  rattlesnake's 
skin  ;  but  the  intrepid  officer  coolly  stuffed  the  skin  with  powder 
and  bull,  and  returm  d  it.  This  so  frightened  the  Indian  that  he 
refused  to  touch  it,  and  after  being  circulated  among  other  tribes 
with  similar  effects,  it  was  returned  to  Plymouth, 

In  1(5',22,  a  merchant  of  London,  named  Weston,  with  sixty  fol 
lowers,  commenced  a  settlement  at  Weymouth.  Idleness  soon  re- 
duced them  to  poverty,  and  their  encroachments  on  the  Indians  were 
so  unscrupulous  that  the  latter  determined  on  the  utter  destruction 
of  their  white  neighbours.  The  plot  was  revealed  by  Massassoit. 
Captain  Standish,  with  eight  men,  being  sent  to  support  the  new 
settlement,  succeeded  in  filling  the  Indian  chief  with  several  of  his 
men,  und  breaking  up  th.;  conspiracy. 

In  1626,  the  colony  purchased  the  rights  of  the  London  mer- 
chants, and  distributed  th  ?  property  among  the  emigiants.  Unfor- 
tunately, however,  Robinson  and  his  friends  remaining  in  Holland, 
were  unable  to  obtain  transportation  in  consequence  of  opposition  in 
England. 

In  1624,  Mr.  White,  a  Puritan  minister,  formed  a  settlement  at 
Cape  Ann,  which  remained  two  years.     In  1624,  Salem  was  settled 

Z2 


I..  JP,1 


^1* 


246 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


BANlauMBNT    OF     ROaEB     WILLIAM  a. 


by  John  Endicolt,  under  the  auspices  of  the  "Governor  and  Com- 
pany of  the  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  New  England."  Charlestown 
was  founded  next  year.  The  settlement  was  denominated  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Bay  Colony,  and  its  members  were  greatly  strengthened 
in  1030,  when  the  celebrated  John  Winthrop  arrived  with  three 
hundred  pious  families.  Winthrop  was  chosen  governor  of  the 
whole  colony,  and  established  his  residence  where  Boston  now 
stands.  Misfortunes,  however,  still  thickened  around  them  ;  sick- 
ness and  a  severe  climate  made  fearful  inroads  into  their  numbers, 
aiid,  before  December,  two  hundred  died.  But  the  survivors  were 
not  discouraged.  They  had  found  a  home  in  the  wilderness,  where 
the  asperities  of  nature  were  less  formidable  than  the  persecutions 
of  man  ;  and  the  hardships  inseparable  from  their  situation  could 
not  shake  their  determined  minds. 

In  1G31,  a  law  was  passed  limiting  the  rights  of  citizenship  to 
members  of  church,  and  another,  making  the  offices  of  governor 


SIK  HAKRY   VANE   CHOSEN   GOVERNOR. 


247 


8  I  K    H  A  R  ay     VAN  K. 


il 


rteputy-governor,  and  assistants,  elective  by  the  people.  The  whole 
form  of  government  was  changed,  in  1634,  from  a  pure  democracy 
to  a  representative  one.  The  former  statute,  somewhat  intolerable 
in  itself,  was  soon  followed  by  proceedings  still  more  arbitrary.  A 
clergyman,  named  Roger  Williams,  having  been  driven  from  his 
native  country  by  English  bigotry,. sought  a  home  among  the  Puri- 
tans, and  became  pastor  of  Salem.  Here  he  proclaimed,  among 
other  things,  perfect  freedom  of  conscience  in  religious  matters, 
denied  the  authority  of  the  king  to  enforce  an  oath  of  allegiance,  or 
to  deprive  the  Indians  of  their  lands.  Men  like  the  Puritans  could 
not  regard  such  opinions  without  alarm  ;  and  Williams  was  soon 
arraigned  for  trial.  Banishment  from  the  colony  followed,  (16U5,) 
and  the  fearless  advocate  of  religious  freedom  became  the  father  of 
Rhode  Island. 

At  this  time,  the  colony  received  an  accession  to  their  number  of 
about  three  thousand  emigrants,  among  whom  were  Hugh  Peter 
and  the  famous  Sir  Harry  Vane.  At  the  age  of  twenty-live,  th« 
latter  was  chosen  governor.  This  increase  was  followed  by  an  emi- 
Ifration  of  a  small  company  (October,   1035)  to  the  valley  of  lh» 


248 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


Connecticut.     This  was  the  origin  of  the  state  known  at  present  by 
that  name. 

The  difficuhies  with  Roger  Williams  were  scarcely  terminatfd, 
when  others  of  a  stili  more  serious  character  arose  with  the  sect 
called  Antinomians.  These  seem  to  have  had  their  origin  in  the 
colony,  out  of  the  practice  of  debating  religious  topics  during  the 
mt'clings  on  the  Sabbath.  In  opposition  to  these,  a  lady,  named 
Mrs.  Hutchinson,  organized  similar  assemblies  for  her  own  sex,  in 
which  both  old  and  new  tenets  were  discussed  with  a  freedom  and 
popularity  which  soon  roused  the  attention  of  the  whole  colony. 
But  although  the  ministers  and  civil  and  ecclesiastical  officers  ar- 
rayed themselves  against  her,  and  condemned  the  new  doctrines  as 
heretical,  yet  her  assemblies  were  constantly  crowded  to  overflowin;^'. 
The  contagion  spread  through  all  classes  of  society,  until  at  length 
political  parties  were  based  on  the  distinction  between  Antinomian- 
ism  and  the  established  creed.  An  election  was  held  for  governor, 
in  which  Vane  was  candidate  of  the  Hutchinson  party,  and  Win- 
throp  of  the  Puritan.  The  latter  was  elected,  and  measures  were 
immediately  taken  for  the  suppression  of  heresy.  A  judicial  war 
followed,  in  which  Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  several  of  her  followers 
were  tried,  condenmed,  and  banished.  She  went  to  Rhode  Island, 
and  was  cordially  received  by  Roger  Williams. 

While  these  unhappy  events  were  transpiring,  a  war  occurred 
with  the  Pequud  Indians,  which  terminated  in  the  utter  extinction 
of  that  warlike  tribe.  In  this  affair,  the  banished  Williams  dis 
played  a  true  nobleness  of  soul,  by  using  his  influence  successfully 
in  breaking  up  a  league  between  these  savages  i  'd  the  Narragan- 
setts,  and  inducing  the  latter  to  join  the  colonists. 

In  1C'13,  a  union  or  confederacy  was  formed  by  the  four  colonics 
of  Massachusetts,  New  Plymouth,  New  Haven,  anf'  <  nnecticut,  with 
a  view  of  protecting  themselves  against  the  Dutch  and  French  colu- 
nists,  and  more  especially  against  the  Indians.  The  executive  body 
consisted  of  two  commissioners  from  each  colony,  whose  only  quali- 
fication was  church  membership.  They  had  no  right  to  interfere  in 
the  internal  jurisdiction  of  any  of  the  states,  but  could  provide  for 
the  general  defence,  declare  war,  order  levies  of  troops,  and  con- 
clude peace.  A  singular  feature  was  their  entire  inability  to  enforco 
.neir  decrees,  these  being  merely  intimated  by  them  to  the  confeder- 
iite  bodies  with  whom  it  rested  to  carry  them  into  execution.  The 
league  consisting  only  of  organized  churches,  excluded  from  its 


TREATMENT   OF   QUAKERS. 


219 


members,  Rhode  Island,  New  Hampshire,  and  Maine.  As  this  ren- 
dered the  situation  of  Roger  Williams  somewhat  precarious,  he  made 
two  visits  to  England,  and,  through  the  influence  of  Vane,  obtained 
a  full  charter  for  his  little  colony.  This  colonial  confederation  lasted 
forty  years. 

In  1W4,  -Massachusetts  passed  a  law  by  which  the  Council,  when 
in  session,  should  hold  their  sessions  independent  of  the  governor's 
presence.  In  l().V.i,  its  territory  was  extended  by  the  accession  of 
Maine.  This  province  had  been  chartered  and  sel'led  by  Ferdinand 
Gorges,  in  UW9,  but  a  variety  of  conflicting  claims  had  produced  a 
slate  of  almost  utter  anarchy  which  finally  forced  the  colonists  lo 
seek  the  protection  of  their  flourishing  neighbour. 

But  Massachusetts  had  not  yet  learned  the  secret  of  securing  do- 
mestic tranquillity.  A  sect  had  arisen  in  England,  the  members  of 
which,  on  account  of  some  irregular  bodily  movements,  hud  received 
the  derisive  title  of  Quakers.  They  seem  to  have  proceeded  to  great 
extremes,  rejecting  all  human  learning  and  ordinances,  and  placing 
thuir  whole  dependency  on  the  direct  agency  of  the  Spirit.  Guided 
by  supernatural  impulses,  they  professed  to  be  intrusted  with  luts- 
sages  and  mandates  to  kings  and  cities,  challenged  the  obedience  <.f 
ail,  announced  judgments  and  indicated  the  means  of  averting  thetii. 
In  executing  such  commissions,  no  regard  was  paid  to  huiuan  dig- 
nities, or  to  the  rules  and  usages  of  society ;  hence,  they  were 
branded  as  mad,  though  their  writings  are  generally  in  a  sober  amJ 
reasoning  tone. 

In  lUoO,  a  few  of  this  sect  arrived  at  Boston,  but  were  sent  buck 
by  the  authorities  in  the  same  vessel  by  which  they  came.  This 
did  not  prevent  the  arrival  of  others,  and  soon  the  culuny  becaaie  a 
Rcene  of  excitement  and  violence,  little  worthy  the  character  of  men 
whose  political  privileges  had  so  often  been  endangered  by  ecclesias- 
tical bigotry.  Numbers  were  fined,  whipped,  imprisoned,  banished, 
or  executed.  In  1658,  a  law  was  passed  inflicting  death  on  any 
Quaker  who  should  revisit  the  colony  after  being  banished.  But  so 
great  was  the  number  of  those  who  aspired  after  the  glories  of  mar- 
tyrduni,  that  their  sufferings,  united  with  a  uniform  mildness  of 
character  and  deportment,  at  length  wrought  a  revolution  in  popular 
opinion.  Wenlock  Christian,  sentenced  to  death  fo»  returnmg  fiocn 
banishment,  was  released.  One  law  agamst  them  after  another  was 
»b()lished,  until  the  Quakers  ceased  to  be  an  object  of  legal  persecu 
lion 


i 


ip*ii 


250 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


THIAL     OF     WSNLOOS    OBRISTIAM. 

In  1661,  Whaley  and  GolTe,  two  of  the  judges  jvho  had  voted  for 
the  death  of  Charles  I.,  arrived  at  Boston  and  announced  the  restor- 
ation  of  royalty.  This  was  unwelcome  tidings;  for  during  the  P'o- 
tectorate,  Cromwell  had  extended  much  favour  to  Massachusetts, 
and  even  offered  the  colonists  Jamaica  as  a  climate  more  congontal 
than  their  own.  Accordingly,  when  orders  came  from  the  new  ling 
for  the  arrest  of  Goffe  and  Whaley,  tliey  had  been  so  carefully  -.on- 
cealed  by  the  colonists  as  nowhere  to  be  found. 

In  1664,  an  attempt  was  made  to  encroach  on  the  colonial  privi- 
leges by  the  appointment  of  commissioners  to  "  hear  and  detemiine 
all  complaints  that  might  exist  in  New  England,  and  take  suci'  mea- 
sures as  they  might  deem  expedient  for  settling  the  peace  and  secu- 
rity of  the  country  on  a  solid  foundation."  This  occasioned  much 
disturbance,  and  in  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire  was  strenu- 
ously and  successfully  resisted.  They  were  at  length  recal'ed,  and 
New  England  resumed  its  career  of  growth  and  prosperity. 

In  1662,  Philip,  the  younger  son  of  Massassoit,  succeelcd  his 
brother  Alexander,  as  sachem,  or  king,  of  the  Wampanoagd.  The 
treaty  made  by  his  father,  forty  years  before,  had  never  b'len  vio- 
lated ;  but  a  now  era  was  at  hand,  whose  terrible  events  Jvere  to 
form  one  of  the  most  tragic  pages  of  our  colonial  history      Philip 


KING    PHILIP  S    WAR. 


251 


BCXNX     IN     ZTHO    FBIXiIP    3     WAR 


was  a  young  chief,  a  perfect  model  of  an  Indian  warrior,  and  pos- 
sessing a  grasp  of  design  and  intellect  far  superior  to  his  race.  For 
snme  reasons,  never  fully  explained,  he  became  incensed  against  the 
whites,  and  succeeded  by  his  eloquence  and  address  in  uniting  al! 
the  neighbouring  tribes  in  a  scheme  for  their  entire  annihilation. 

The  first  intelligence  of  the  conspiracy  was  obtained  through  a 
friendly  Indian,  who  paid  for  his  faithfulness  by  his  life.  Three 
Indians  were  convicted  of  this  murder,  one  of  whom  acknowledged 
that  he  had  been  instigated  to  it  by  Philip.  Unable  longer  to  re- 
main concealed,  the  chief  determined  upon  the  most  sudden  and 
vigorous  measures;  and  sending  the  women  and  children  to  the 
Narragansetts,  attacked  the  village  of  Swanzey,  (July  4,  1673,)  and 
killed  several  of  the  inhabitants.  Roused  by  this  daring  deed,  the 
colonists  raised  a  considerable  force,  penetrated  to  Mount  Hope,  the 
Indian  warrior's  summer  residence,  and,  on  finding  that  he  had  fled, 
marched  into  the  Narragansett  country,  and  concludea  a  treaty  with 
that  tribe.  On  the  28th,  a  battle  occurred  at  Pocasset  (Tiverton) 
Swamp,  in  which  the  colonists  were  defeated,  with  the  loss  of  six- 
teen They  then  besieged  the  Indians  for  thirteen  days,  hoping  to 
reduce  them  by  starvation  ;  but  Philip  managed  to  escape  to  Con- 
•lecticut,  where  he  was  joined  by  the  Nipmucks,  near  Brookfield 


252 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


The  latter  tribe  fell  upon  a  party  of  twenty  men  undei  Captains 
Wheeler  and  Hutchinson,  (August  12,)  killing  nearly  all  of  them 
They  then  proceeded  to  Brookfield,  which  but  for  timely  alarm  from 
the  fugitives,  would  have  been  completely  surprised.  It  was  be 
sieged  two  days,  partially  fired,  and  various  expedients  adopted  to 
force  an  entrance.  The  arrival  of  reinforcements  for  the  garrison 
obliged  the  besiegers  to  retire. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  a  battle  was  fought  at  Deerfield,  in 
which  twenty-six  Indians  were  killed  and  ten  colonists.  Six  days 
pfter,  the  Indians  burned  the  town.  Hadley,  south  of  Deerfield,  was, 
on  the  same  day,  (the  Sabbath,)  attacked  by  a  party  of  the  enemy. 
A  singular  incident  occurred  here.  While  the  inhabitants  were  col- 
lected in  terror  and  confusion,  an  unknown  person,  of  venerable 
aspect,  suddenly  appeared,  and  after  restoring  order,  led  them  against 
the  Indians,  who  were  speedily  dispersed.  The  leader  then  sud- 
denly disappeared.  Of  course,  the  inhabitants  considered  him  a 
special  messenger  from  heaven  ;  but  it  was  afterwards  ascertained  to 
have  been  William  GofTe,  the  proscribed  judge  of  Charles  I. 

On  the  28th,  a  sanguinary  conflict  took  place  on  a  small  stream 
south  of  Deerfield.  Eighty  young  men,  under  Captain  Lathrop,  were 
surrounded  by  a  thousand  Indians,  and,  with  but  a  few  exceptioDs, 
massacred.  During  the  action.  Captain  Mosey,  with  seventy  men, 
arrived  from  Deerfield  ;  but,  after  a  struggle  of  several  hours,  was 
driven  back.  The  battle  was  finally  terminated  by  a  reinforcement 
of  a  hundred  colonists,  and  sixty  friendly  Indians.  From  this  occur- 
rence, the  stream  of  water  was  subsequently  known  as  Bloody 
Brook.  On  the  15th  of  October,  Springfield  was  attacked  and 
burned  by  the  savages;  but  most  of  the  inhabitants  had,  through 
timely  warning,  been  enabled  to  escape.  Hatfield  was  next  assaulted, 
(October  29,)  but  without  success.  Immediately  after,  Philip  in- 
duced the  Narragansetts  to  join  him,  notwithstanding  their  treaty 
with  the  colonists. 

Hitherto  the  colonists  had  acted  in  small  bands,  without  any  defi- 
nite plan  ;  but  the  successes  of  their  formidable  enemy  soon  caused 
a  union  for  mutual  defence.  Massachusetts,  Plymouth  Bay,  and 
Connecticut,  raised  fifteen  hundred  men,  under  Governor  Winslow, 
who,  with  a  number  of  friendly  Indians,  proceeded  against  the  Nar- 
ragansetts. On  the  28th  of  December,  the  forces  of  the  three  colo- 
nies were  united  at  Petaquamscot,  and  marched  through  a  deep 
mow,  toward  the  enemy,  who  was  encamped  at  about  fifteen  mile*' 


i 


la 


KING    PHILIP  S   WAR. 


258 


BnBNiNo   or   sPHiNayiBLD. 


distance,  in  a  larjre  swamp.  The  English  arrived  there  at  about  one 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  immediately  marched  forward  in  quest 
of  the  enemy's  camp.  The  whole  army  entered  the  swamp,  fol- 
lowing the  Indians  as  they  retreated  into  their  fortress.  On  attack- 
ing this,  they  were  at  first  driven  back;  but,  in  a  second  attempt, 
they  carried  the  fortification,  fired  the  wigwams,  and  massacred  all 
within  reach.  Numbers  of  women  and  children  perished  in  the 
fiiinies.  The  fugitives  fled  to  a  neighbouring  swamp.  Their  loss 
nas  been  estimated  at  a  thousand,  and  that  of  the  colonists  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty.  The  Narragansett  warriors  afterward  proceeded  to 
the  Nipmuck  country. 

Although  this  action  was  a  severe  blow  to  the  enemy,  yet  Philip 
was  by  no  means  dishe;irtened.  By  his  influence,  the  more  northern 
tribes  were  brought  down  upon  the  settlements,  and  the  war  became 
more  general  than  ever.  But  the  spirit  of  the  colonists  was  fully 
aroused,  and  almost  every  attempt  of  the  Indians  was  promptly  and 
successfully  resisted.  Hunted  from  place  to  place,  and  disheartened 
by  continual  defeat,  they  began  to  come  in  by  small  parties  and  surren- 
der. Philip  was  compelled  to  fly  from  the  Mohawks,  among  whom 
he  had  taken  refuge ;  and  now  with  a  large  party  he  lurked  near 
Mount  Hope.  Here,  on  the  2d  of  August,  he  was  surprised  by 
Captain  Church,  a  hundred  and  thirty  of  his  men  killed,  and  his 
ivife  and  son  taken  prisoners.  He  himself  barely  escaped.  The 
wretched  prince  now  sought  to  secrete  himself  in  the  depths  of  a 


irA 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


I 


swamp,  but  was  betrnypd  by  a  deserter  belonging  to  his  own  tribe 
When  the  colonists  surrounded  the  place,  (August  22,)  he  attempted 
to  escape  by  flight,  but  was  shot  by  a  friendly  Indian.  Flis  death 
broke  up  the  confederacy,  although  some  of  the  northern  Indians 
continued  hostile,  until  lf>78. 

In  1680  New  Hampshire  was  separated  from  Massachusetts,  and 
erected  into  a  separate  province — a  measure  which  seems  to  have 
been  unpopular  with  both  colonies.  Soon  after,  Charles  II.  declared 
the  Massachusetts  char'  ^r  forfeited,  in  consequence  of  the  stand 
taken  by  that  province,  in  opposition  to  his  commercial  restrictions. 
This  was  followed  by  similar  attacks  on  the  neighbouring  cnjo. 
nies;  but  in  the  midst  of  his  arbitrary  schemes  the  king  died. 
His  successor  followed  the  same  policy,  deprived  the  provinces  of 
their  charters,  and  appointed  Sir  Edmond  Andrns  royal  governor  of 
New  England.  This  gentleman  rendered  Irmself  so  obnoxious  by 
his  arbitrary  measures,  as  to  receive  the  title  of  New  England's 
tyrant;  and  when,  in  April,  1689,  news  reached  Boston  of  the  ac- 
fession  of  the  Prince  of  Orange,  he  was  thrown  into  prison,  with 
his  officers,  nnd  subsequently  sent  under  arrest  to  England.  This 
was  followed  by  a  return  to  the  charter  governments. 

URING  King  William's  war.  New  York 
and  New  England  united  in 
an  expedition  against  Canada. 
IVIassachusetfs  furnished  the  na- 
val, and  her  sister  province  the 
land  forces  ;  but  the  enterprise 
failed,  in  consequence  of  the 
return  of  the  latter  troops,  and 
;the  arrival  of  a  large  French 
army  at  Quebec.  To  pay  the 
expenses  of  the  expedition, 
bills  of  credit  were  issued  for  the  firsi  time  in  America.  In  1692, 
•  royal  government  was  established  in  New  England,  by  which  the 
Plymouth  Bay  clnny  was  united  to  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hamp- 
shire erected  into  a  separate  colony. 

When  Massachusetts,  having  nobly  struggled  through  political 
difficulties,  seemed  approaching  a  tranquil  state,  a  drama  opened, 
whose  scenes,  though  peculiarly  painful,  may  yet  afTord  a  useful 
lesson  to  the  student  of  history.  The  belief  in  witches — wickej 
beings  endued   with  supernatural  power  by  the  great  enemy  oi 


, •  '- 


TRIAL   OF   WITCHES. 


256 


mankind — was  at  one  time  general  throughout  Europe ;  and  gave 
way  very  slowly  before  the  progress  of  light  and  civilization. 
James  I.  placed  much  of  his  learned  pride  in  the  skill  with  which 
he  traced  the  signs  of  a  witch  ;  such  discoveries  being  always  fol- 
lowed by  the  most  inhuman  persecutions  against  these  unhappy 
persons.  The  Puritans  and  Presbyterians,  however  opposite  in 
other  matters,  were  not  in  this  respect  much  wiser ;  hence  the  New 
Englanders  went  out  with  this  belief,  which  still  prevailed  among  the 
most  learned  of  their  countrymen. 

MONG  the  first  cases  of  this  delusion  was 
that  of  a  daughter  and  niece  of  Mr.  Paris, 
minister  of  Salem.  These  children  were 
nfHicted  with  a  sense  of  choking,  and  as 
though  pins  were  stuck  into  the  skin,  accom- 
panied with  inability  to  speak,  and  hysteric 
contortions  of  the  limbs.  Unable  to  suggest 
a  remedy,  the  physicians  at  length  declared 
their  patients  "  under  an  evil  hand."  An  Indian  domestic,  falling 
under  suspicion,  was  immediately  thrown  into  prison.  Mr.  Bur- 
roughs, a  respectable  clergyman,  was  executed,  because  he  denied 
the  existence  of  witches.  Soon,  no  age,  sex,  or  condition  was 
spared,  and  the  cases  became  so  numerous  that  the  prisons  of  Salem 
could  no  longer  contain  the  crowds  of  suspected  persons.  The 
whole  colony  was  filled  with  distress  and  fear.  The  principal  peo- 
ple formed  themselves  into  an  association  to  meet  "  this  dreadful 
assault  from  hell."  They  appointed  a  solemn  fast,  that  the  Lord 
might  be  induced  "to  rebuke  Satan,  and  show  light  to  his  people  in 
this  day  of  darkness ;"  following  which  was  a  series  of  trials,  that 
relentlessly  denounced  death  on  all  found  guilty  of  this  fearful 
charge. 

Nothing  is  more  astonishing  than  the  confessions  of  the  suspected 
persons.  They  display  a  superstition  and  fanaticism,  together  with 
a  state  of  society  which  requires  the  most  undoubted  evidence 
to  be  believed.  The  colony  was  reduced  to  a  dreadful  condition. 
Nineteen  had  suffered  death  ;  eight  more  were  under  sentence  ;  one 
hundred  and  fifty  were  in  prison,  and  fresh  crowds  were  continually 
thrust  in.  Charges  were  brought  against  persons  of  the  first  conse- 
quence ;  no  man's  character,  property,  nor  life  were  for  a  momen; 
secure ;  and  even  those  most  active  in  prosecuting,  learned,  with 
horror,  that  their  own  spectres  were  beginning  to  walk  abroad,  commit 
17 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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£   US    120 


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w 


]? 


256 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


ting  actions  that  would  bring  them  to  a  fatal  end.  A  feelinjr  tva?  nl 
length  aroused  that  matters  had  gone  too  far;  and  soon  after  an 
assembly  of  ministers,  convened  by  the  governor,  *vent  far  toward 
discountenancing  capital  punishment  on  witches.  Of  fifty-six  casei 
presented  at  the  ensuing  sessions,  thirty  were  ignored  by  the  grand 
jury,  and  but  three  of  the  remainder  condemned.  Immediately 
after,  with  the  general  concurrence  of  the  people,  the  governor  threw 
open  the  prison  doors,  and  stopped  all  further  proceedings. 

Massachusetts,  from  this  time  until  the  Seven  Years'  War,  enjoyed, 
like  the  other  colonies,  a  course  of  prosperity,  chequered  only  by 
Bome  internal  agitations.  She  took  a  very  active  part  in  the  military 
operations  of  successive  wars  waged  by  the  British  against  the  French 
colonies  and  their  Indian  allies. 

E  AN  WHILE  the  domestic  affairs  of  the  pro 
vince  ceased  to  exhibit  those  violent  fluctuations 
which  had  hitherto  distracted  it.  Lord  Boiia- 
*(^  mont,  who  wei.t  out  as  governor  in  1099,  was 
extremely  popular;  and  it  was  to  the  great  re- 
gret of  the  people  he  was  transferred  to  New 
York,  after  fourteen  months'  administration. 
He  was  succeeded  by  Dudley,  who,  on  account  of  his  pecuiiai 
opinions  on  government,  seems  to  have  been  no  great  favourite. 
After  twelve  years  he  was  succeeded  by  Colonel  Shute. 

In  1727,  he  was  succeeded  by  Burnet,  a  very  accomplished  per 
son,  and  who,  at  New  York,  had  made  himself  extremely  acceptable. 
Under  him,  however,  the  question  of  income  came  to  a  crisis.  The 
Assembly,  much  mortified  by  having,  under  the  charter  of  William, 
been  deprived  of  the  choice  of  a  governor,  endeavoured  to  keep  him 
etill  under  their  influence  by  granting  his  salary  only  from  year  tc 
year,  and  varymg  its  amount  according  as  he  had  given  satisfaction. 
This  arranfjement  was  very  disagreeable  to  him,  and  still  more  to  the 
ministry  at  home,  against  whose  power  it  was  directly  levelled. 
Burnet,  relying  on  their  support,  pressed  witii  great  vehemence  for 
a  permanent  salary  ;  but  it  was  strenuously  resisted,  and  the 
controversy  was  suspended  by  his  death  in  1729.  The  cabinet  then 
sent  out  Belcher,  who  had  formerly  acted  as  their  agent,  but  with 
distinct  instructions  to  insist  on  this  point,  which,  it  was  hoped,  hm 
great  popularity  might  gain.  He  does  not,  however,  seem  to  have 
entered  on  the  undertaking  very  heartily  ;  and  when  the  Ashembly 
passed  a  liberal  vote,  he  obtained  permission  to  accept  it.    Though 


QOVEKXMENT   OF   THE   PROVINCE. 


257 


Btill  ordered  to  press  the  general  measure,  he  seems  to  have  con 
cerned  himself  very  little  about  the  matter,  and  thus  the  Assembly 
by  dogged  perseverance,  finally  gained  this  important  object.  They 
had  remarked,  that  in  these  long  controversies,  ministers  uniformly 
sought  to  overawe  them  by  threatening  to  lay  their  conduct  before 
the  British  legislature.  Yet  this  menace  having  never  been  exe- 
cuted, they  were  led  to  suspect  that  body  to  be  more  favourable  to 
them  than  the  court  represented.  At  all  events  they  felt  themselves 
encouraged  to  transmit  a  petition,  desiring  to  have  the  direction  and 
control  of  all  public  moneys ;  and  hence  their  surprise  and  indigna 
tion  were  extreme  when  they  learned  that  a  vote  had  been  passed 
pronouncing  it  to  be  "frivolous  and  groundless,  an  high  insult  upon 
his  majesty's  government,  and  tending  to  shake  off  the  dependency 
of  the  said  colony  upon  this  kingdom,  to  which  by  law  and  right  they 
are  and  ought  to  be  subject." 

In  1740,  Belcher  fell  into  unjust  suspicion  with  the  ministry,  and 
was  removed ;  but  on  his  innocence  being  ascertained,  he  was  com- 
pensated some  years  after  with  the  government  of  New  Jersey.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Shirley,  who  espoused  somewhat  the  cause  of  pre- 
rogative ;  yet,  by  moderation  and  great  kindness  towards  the  oppo' 
site  party,  he  retained  a  large  share  of  their  good  will.  This  was 
heightened  by  his  zealous  promotion  of  the  military  operations 
against  Nova  Scotia  and  Cape  Breton,  which  were  carried  on  chiefly 
from  Massachusetts,  and  crowned  with  signal  success.  Pownall,  who 
was  appointed  in  1767,  showed  some  preference  for  the  popular 
party,  though  without  alienating  their  antagonists ;  and  his  reputation 
was  aided  by  certain  warlike  exploits  in  which  he  had  some  share. 
Bernard,  who  took  his  place  in  1760,  belongs  to  the  period  of  revo- 
lutionary trouble. 


TBS     TIRST    MONST    OOIDID    IK    R  ■  W    B  \4  O  L  A  I>  D. 

M  IS 


(iMi 


KLilURATION     OF     UH      BOOXBH     A.  K  D     UI3     COMPi.NY 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


^t^ 


SETTLEMENT   OF  CONNECTICUT, 

T  has  already  been  mentioned  that  in  1635,  a 
company  from  Massachusetts,  led  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Hooker,  settled  on  the  Connecticut  river; 
prior  to  this,  however,  the  territory  had  been  ob- 
tained by  the  Earl  of  Warwick  from  the  council 
of  Plymouth,  and  afterwards  transferred  to  a 
company  of  gentleman.  During  the  same  yeac 
the  territory  in  question  was  visited  by  Mr.  Winslow. 

The  Massachusetts  emigrants  settled  at  Wethersfield,  Windsor, 
Hartford,  and  Saybrook.  The  latter  was  named  after  Lord  Say-and- 
Seal  and  Lord  Brooke,  two  of  the  proprietors. 

The  destruction  of  the  Pcquods  has  already  been  mentioned. 
Before  this  the  Connecticut  settlers  were  made  to  feel  the  principal 


BT  RNINQ   OF  THE   PEQUOD   VrLLAQK. 


2i9 


Ssv-xS^STi 


UASSAORI     or     TBX     F  K  Q  U  0  D  S. 


part  of  the  calamities  inseparable  from  Indian  warfare.  When  the 
colonial  force  was  raised  which  terminated  the  outrages,  Connecticut 
furnished  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  of  whom  seventy  were  Mohe- 
gan  Indians.  The  expedition  marched  across  the  country  to  the 
Pequod  fort,  which  was  reached  on  the  5th  of  June.  The  object 
was  to  surprise  it,  but  this  was  prevented  by  the  barking  of  a  watch- 
dog. A  fierce  battle  commenced,  hand  to  hand,  in  which  no  quarter 
was  shown.  The  enemy  were  so  numerous  as  to  render  the  contest 
for  a  longtime  doubtful;  but  before  daybreak  Mason  fired  the  wig- 
wams, and,  encircling  the  burning  village,  shot  down  the  warriors 
with  the  greatest  ease.  Six  hundred  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages  were 
massacred  or  burnt,  seven  were  captured,  and  seven  escaped.  The 
rolonists  lost  twenty-two,  of  whom  two  were  killed.  This  terrible 
visitation  completely  broke  the  spirit  of  the  neighbouring  Indians, 
and  secured  peace  to  the  settlements. 

In  the  latter  part  of  16;J7,  New  Haven  was  settled  by  some  adven- 
turers from  Boston.  The  settlement  was  further  strengthened  in  the 
•"nlowing  spnng  ;  when  John  Davenport,  a  Puritan  minister,  and  a 
Mi  Eatun,  brought  a  number  of  settlers  from  Boston.     Their  govern- 


260 


BETTLEMENT  OF   CONNECTICUT. 


«i!?i*Mi^'    .'    ^ 


aiaRiNo   or  TRB    naw   xnoland   oonfsdbu&iion 


ment  was  based  (in  strictly  religious  principles;  Mr.  Eaton  was 
annually  chosen  governor  until  his  death,  and  the  colony  seemed  to 
have  increased  much  faster  than  their  more  eastern  neighbours. 

Until  this  period  Connecticut  had  acknowledged  the  jurisdiction 
of  Massachusetts  ;  but,  as  the  territory  was  without  the  patent  of  the 
hitter  community,  the  people  convened  at  Hartford,  [January  21th, 
l(i;J9,3  und  formed  themselves  into  an  independent  colony.  Their 
constitution  provided  that  citizens  should  take  an  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  commonwealth,  instead  of  the  crown  ;  that  all  legislation  should 
Ik;  vested  in  the  general  court ;  and  that  the  governor  and  legislature 
should  be  elected  annually.  Hartford,  Saybrook,  and  New  Haven, 
were  at  this  time  separate  colonies. 

In  1G43  Connecticut  joined  the  New  England  Confederation.  The 
great  object  of  this  compact  seems  to  have  been  protection  from  the 
encroachments  of  the  Dutch  in  New  Netherlands.  Disputes  between 
the  Efjropean  powers  disturbed  the  harmony  of  the  colonies  until 
1650,  when  the  Dutch  governor  concluded  a  treaty  at  Hartford  de 
fining  the  boundary  line  of  hia  dominions.  The  occurrence  of  war 
between  England  and  Holland  [1051]  opened  new  grounds  for  colo- 
nial livalsbip.     War  was  actuailv  declared  a^^ainst  New  Nulhcrluadt 


l-KESERVATION  OF  THE  CHARTER. 


261 


by  the  Ooiirederntion,  but  Massachusetts  refused  to  furnish  her  quota 
of  men.  Connecticut  then  obtained  from  Cromwell  the  grant  of  a 
fleet  to  assist  their  forces;  but  the  expedition  was  interrupted  by  the 
Conclusion  of  peace. 

In  l(i()2  Connecticut  acknowledged  her  allegiance  to  Charles  II., 
and  through  the  influence  of  Lord  Say-and-Seal,  and  the  younger 
Winthrop,  obtained  a  charter  of  unexampled  liberality.  It  granted 
all  the  territory  between  the  bay  and  river  of  Narragansett  and  the 
Pacific  ocean,  embracing  the  New  Haven  colony  and  a  portion  of 
Rhode  Island.  This  caused  dissatisfaction  with  the  people  of  the 
latter  settlement,  which,  on  their  receiving  a  charter  in  the  following 
year,  overrunning  the  Connecticut  line,  broke  out  into  open  dissen- 
sions, which  lasted  more  than  sixty  years. 

About  the  time  of  King  Philip's  war,  [July,  1075,3  Governor 
Andros,  of  New  York,  entered  the  moulh  of  the  Connecticut,  raised 
the  king's  flag,  and  demanded  the  surrender  of  the  main  fort ;  but, 
through  the  flrmness  of  the  commandant.  Captain  Bull,  he  wa» 
obliged  to  return  to  New  York.  A  more  serious  attempt  was  made 
in  1(587,  when  Andros  appeared  at  Hartford  with  a  commission  from 
King  James,  appointing  him  governor  of  New  England.  The  assem- 
bly being  in  session,  he  demanded  the  colonial  charter.  A  fierce 
contention  arose,  which  lasted  until  night,  the  charter  in  the  mean- 
while being  laid  upon  the  table.  Suddenly  every  light  was  extin- 
guislied.  The  motive  for  this  singular  occurrence  became  apparent 
when  the  candles  were  relighted.'  The  charter  had  been  removed 
by  Cujilain  Wadsworth,  and  placed  in  the  trunk  of  an  oak,  which, 
from  this  circumstance,  received  the  ai)pellation  of  the  Charter  Oak. 
Although  baflled  in  the  attempt  to  deprive  the  people  of  their  safe- 
guard, Andros  assumed  the  control  of  affairs,  and  governed  until  the 
accession  of  King  William.  The  inhabitants  were  then  restored  to 
their  chartered  privileges. 

'Ilie  Jifliculties  with  New  York,  however,  were  not  yet  ended. 
In  lGy;t.  Colonel  Fletcher,  governor  of  that  province,  visited  Hartford 
for  the  purpose  of  enforcing  a  royal  commission  constituting  him 
leader  of  the  Connecticut  militia.  As  this  was  an  infringement  of 
their  charter,  the  legislature  refused  to  acknowledge  him  ;  in  conse- 
quence of  which  he  summoned  the  militia  on  parade.  When. his 
instructions  were  about  to  be  read,  Captain  Wadsworth  ordered  the 
irums  to  beat.  Fletcher  demanded  silence,  and  his  secretary  again 
rommenced  the  reading.     The  drums  again  beat,  and  again  silence 


262 


SETTLEMENT   OF  CONNECTICUT. 


was  ordered.  The  intrepid  Wadsworth  now  stepped  forward,  ant, 
said  sternly:  "  If  I  am  interrupted  again,  I  will  make  daylight  shine 
through  you  in  one  moment."  This  meaning  language  exerted  a 
suitable  influence,  and  Fletcher  returned  to  New  York.  From  this 
period  until  the  opening  of  the  Seven  Years'  War,  Connecticut  stead- 
ily advanced  in  strength  and  prosperity.  In  1700,  Yale  College 
was  founded  at  Saybrook  by  a  few  clergymen,  and  named  after  Elihu 
Yale,  one  of  its  most  active  supporters. 


lOVlmSOB    ASDBOS      AND    TBI    O  O  M  U  I  8  8  I  O  It  S  Bd    UISSIHa 
THB    SBOBBTBD    OBABTVH 


BOOER    WILLIAMS     K  M  T  ■  RT  A  I  N  K  D     BT    TBI     I  N  Ii  I  A  N  <> 


CIIArTER  XIX. 


RHODE   ISLAND. 


^  E  have  had  occasion,  in  the  annals  of  Massa- 
chusetts, to  notice  the  foundation  of  this  little 
state  by  Roger  Williams.  After  fleeing  from 
Salem,  and  encountering  many  hardships,  he 
reached  a  fertile  spot  at  the  head  of  a  wind- 
ing bay,  which  he  named  Providence.  His 
frierilship  with  the  Indians,  who  had  protected  him  when  an  exilcj 
nnd  whose  cause  he  had  always  espoused,  enabled  him  without 
difii  ulty  to  procure  for  himself  and  a  few  followers  of  his  adverse 
fortune  a  small  territory.  Here  he  proclaimed  his  laudable  principle 
of  general  toleration  ;  and,  receiving  with  kindness  all  who  sought 
refuge  in  his  domain,  made  it  the  chief  resort  of  the  partisans  of  the 
movement.  Its  numerous  votaries,  thrown  out  by  the  rigid  ortho- 
Joxy  of  Massachusetts,  found  here  a  hearty  welcome.  A  certain 
Miotley  character,  especially  in  regard  to  creed  and  worship,  was  the 

aos 


f 


26t 


RHODE   ISLAND. 


nccessaiy  consequence.  Yet,  even  in  periods  of  the  most  ra^id 
innovation,  there  appears  a  tendency  to  unity,  caused  by  the  newer 
and  bolder  sects  absorbing  those  which  preceded,  and  whose  tenets 
l.ad  lost  the  gloss  of  novelty.  The  first  great  accession  was  from 
Mrs.  Hutchinson's  party  ;  and  though  their  views  seem  to  have  had 
little  resemblance  to  his,  the  two  were  quickly  atnalgainated.  These 
refugees,  possessirg  considerable  property,  made  a  large  purchase 
from  the  Indians,  v/hich,  combined  with  Providence,  composed  the 
state  of  Rhode  Island.  The  Baptist  movement  next  followed,  which 
Mrs.  Hutchinson  and  her  sister  so  zealously  embraced  that  they  pre- 
vailed upon  Williams  himself,  at  an  advanced  age,  to  submit  anew  to 
the  sacred  rite.  Even  he,  however,  was  struck  with  horror  at  the 
wild  effusions  of  Gorton,  and  at  seeing  them  propagated  in  his  settle- 
ment with  the  usual  success.  Actuated  by  his  characteristic  mild- 
ness, however,  he  merely  effected  an  arrangement  by  which  that 
personage,  with  his  fervid  adherents,  went  out  and  formed  another 
establishment.  This  was  soon  followed  by  the  Quaker  excitement, 
which,  in  its  greatest  violence,  he  had  sound  judgment  enough  to 
repress ;  but  as  he  allowed  to  its  adherents  a  refuge  denied  every- 
where else,  Rhode  Island  soon  became  the  point  whence  they  issued 
forth  to  the  neighbouring  states,  and  upon  which  they  returned. 
They  experienced  also  the  usual  success  of  daring  innovators,  and, 
notwithstanding  all  his  efforts,  soon  became  the  ruling  sect.  Mrs. 
Hutchinson  was  dead  ;  but  her  sister,  Katherine  Scott,  and  her  inti- 
mate friend  Mrs.  Dyer,  ranked  high  among  the  gifted  prophetesses. 
From  these  causes,  the  colony  silently  grew,  and  in  1680  was 
reported  to  contain  five  hundred  planters  and  five  hundred  other 
men,  whence,  as  these  last  were  apparently  adults,  we  may  infer  an 
entire  population  of  about  four  thousand.  Newport  was  the  harbour; 
but  as  yet  there  was  very  little  either  of  commerce  or  of  shipping. 
The  religious  sects  were  of  course  numerous,  especially  the  Baptists 
and  Quakers.  The  settlement,  however,  had  all  along  been  viewed 
with  an  evil  eye  by  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  who  saw  in  it  the 
chief  pivot  on  which  turned  that  enthusiastic  movement  by  which 
ney  were  so  much  annoyed.  Its  exclusion  from  the  union  of  the 
colonies  in  1643  marked  strongly  this  spirit,  and  placed  it  in  a  some- 
what precarious  situation.  Williams,  however,  who  in  1644  went 
to  Britain,  where  the  independents  were  then  in  full  power,  and  his 
'riend  Vane  one  of  their  chief  leaders,  easily  obtained  a  popular 
charter  £u.  the  towns  of  Providence,  Newport,  and  Portsmouth,  with 


RE'lAIN3   HER  CnAKTKK. 


265 


B  recom  nendation  equivalent  to  an  order,  that  New  England  should 
exchange  good  offices  with  him.  On  his  return  he  was  received 
with  a  species  of  triumph ;  and  his  still  jcnious  neighbours  were 
obliged  to  content  themselves  with  shutting  their  state  against  him 
and  his  people.  Again,  after  the  Restoration,  John  Clarke,  the 
agent  of  the  colony,  procured  from  Charles  II.  a  fresh  charter, 
securing  all  their  privileges,  and  particularly  confirming  the  right 
of  religious  freedom.  That  prince,  however,  in  the  end  of  his  reign, 
and  his  successor,  in  a  manner  still  more  determined,  applied  them* 
selves  to  cancel  all  the  colonial  charters.  In  July,  I(i85,  accordingly, 
a  quo  warranto  was  issued  against  that  of  Rhode  Island,  which, 
being  announced  to  the  Assembly,  they  sent  a  very  humble  reply, 
declaring  their  intention  not  to  stand  suit  with  his  majesty,  but 
earnestly  soliciting  a  continuance  of  their  privileges,  especially  in 
regard  to  their  faith.  James  accepted  their  submission,  and,  by  his 
instructions,  Andros,  in  December,  1686,  dissolved  the  government, 
broke  its  seal,  and  assumed  the  entire  administration.  But,  after  the 
Revolution  of  1688,  the  people  laid  hold  "  of  their  former  gracious  pri- 
vileges," and  shared  in  this  respect  the  good  fortune  of  Connecticut. 
They  were  allowed  to  resume  their  charter,  which  had  never  been 
jegally  'brfeited. 


PAWIOOKXT      B.I. 


aORaZS    AND    UA30N     NAUINO     TUKtR    FH07INC1I3. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


MAINE  AND   NKW   HAMPSHIRE. 


HE  extensive  region  between  Massachu- 
setts and  the  country  claimed  by  France 
under  the  name  of  Acadia,  having  early 
drawn  the  notice  of  English  adven- 
turers, the  two  most  active  members  of 
the  Plymouth  Company,  Sir  Ferdinand 
Gorges  and  John  Mason,  undertook  to 
colonize  it.  The  latter,  secretary  to  the 
council,  obtained,  in  1621,  a  grant  of  the  lands  between  Salem  and 
the  Merrimack ;  and  next  year,  in  conjunction  with  Gorges,  of  those 
between  the  last-mentioned  river  and  the  Kennebeck,  as  far  as  the 
St.  Lawrence.  In  1629,  and  again  in  1635,  when  the  company  was 
broken  up.  Mason  acquired  fresh  patents  for  his  portion,  which  then 
receired  the  name  of  New  Hampshire.  In  1638,  however,  before 
the  settlement  had  come  to  any  maturity,  he  died,  and  his  family 
were  unable  to  derive  any  benefit  from  this  vast  donation.  Sir  Fer- 
dinand, meantime,  at  the  crisis  of  1635,  procured  for  himself  exclu- 


EARLY   SLTTLEMENT. 


267 


lively  the  vvhule  territory  from  Ntw  Hampshire  to  iIi<j  Keimebeck, 
and  this  was  confirmed  in  161)U  by  a  [mtent  from  the  king,  when  it 
received  the  name  of  Maine. 

These  proprietors  appear  to  have  set  great  value  on  their  grants, 
and  to  have  made  active  exertions  to  improve  them.  Dover  and 
Portsmouth  were  early  founded  on  the  Piscataqua  ;  and  in  1635, 
Gorges  sent  out  his  nephew  to  govern  the  district.  Yet  their  settle- 
ments made  very  slow  progress.  Being  high  church  and  monarchy 
men,  they  granted  none  of  those  franchises  by  which  alone  emigrants 
could  be  attracted  to  this  northern  soil ;  while  to  the  aristocratic  class 
Virginia  offered  a  much  more  tempting  resort.  Only  a  few  hardy 
adventurers  were  enticed  by  the  abundant  supply  of  fish  and  timber, 
who  gradually  formed  along  the  coast  small  stations,  adding  the 
practice  of  a  slight  agriculture  for  the  supply  of  immediate  wants. 

Massachusetts,  however,  began  to  overflow  ino  these  territories. 
In  l(i87.  Wheelwright,  the  antinomian  preacher,  founded  on  the 
Piscataqua  the  town  of  Exeter,  without  paying  much  regard  to  the 
proprietor's  rights,  though  he  was  ultimately  obliged  to  submit  to  his 
oflicer,  Williams.  Three  years  afterwards,  Massachusetts  advanced 
claims  to  New  Hampshire,  as  being  within  her  patent;  and  although 
her  pretensions  were  far  from  valid,  her  strength  and  the  inclination 
of  the  people  enabled  her  without  difficulty  to  make  them  good. 
This  new  member  was  incorporated  and  endowed  with  all  her  poli- 
tical privileges.  Several  zealous  ministers  were  sent,  who  are  said 
to  have  greatly  improved  the  people;  but  they  had  the  discretion  not 
'n  enforce  any  exclusive  system,  and  during  nearly  forty  years  of  this 
rule  the  foundations  of  solid  prosperity  were  laid.  The  feeling 
spread  among  the  small  seaports  which  began  to  stud  the  coast  of 
Maine,  and  they  were  successively,  either  at  their  own  request,  or 
by  the  consent  of  large  majirities,  incorporated  with  the  others.  The 
proprietors  loudly,  and  with  good  show  of  reason,  remonstrated 
against  these  proceedings,  but  without  obtaining  any  redress.  The 
independents,  now  in  power,  were  adverse  to  them,  and  friendly  to 
Massachusetts ;  while  the  people,  included  within  the  political  sys- 
tem of  the  latter  state,  earnestly  petitioned  for  its  continuance. 

A  complete  reverse  took  place  at  the  restoration  of  Charles  II.,  all 
whose  partialities  were  in  favour  of  the  old  royalist  proprietors,  and 
against  the  Puritan  colony.  Gorges  and  Mason,  grandsons  of  the 
original  patentees,  immediately  applied  for  restitution  of  their  rights, 
which  was  granted,  and  the  commissioners  then  sent  out  were  in- 


2G8 


MAINE   AND  NEW  HAMPSHIRE. 


Btriicted  to  enforce  it.  Yet  the  general  court,  by  their  locoi  power, 
the  affections  of  the  inhabitants,  and  by  constantly  evading  the  de- 
mand for  deputies  duly  empovverod,  contrived,  during  sixteen  years, 
10  retain  the  jurisdiction;  but  being,  in  1677,  brought  before  the 
chief  justices  of  Er  gland,  their  pretensions  were  at  once  set  aside. 
Mason  was  also  obliged  to  yield  his  authority,  though  retaining  a 
claim  upon  the  lands.  Maine  was  assigned  to  Gorges ;  but  the  rulers 
of  Massachusetts  contrived  to  purchase  his  rights  for  j£1250,  a  sum, 
perhaps,  above  its  actual  value  at  the  moment.  They  incurred  re- 
proach by  treating  it  as  a  subject  territory,  appointing  the  governor 
and  council,  though  they  graciously  allowed  a  popular  legislature. 

New  Hampshire  being  thus  thrown  loose,  it  was  determined  to 
manage  it  as  a  royal  province ;  and  in  1683,  Edward  Cranfield  was 
sent  12  administrator.  His  government  was  one  continued  scene  of 
discontent  on  the  part  of  the  people,  amounting  sometimes  to  rebel- 
lion. Mr.  Bancroft  represents  him  as  avowedly  making  it  his  sole 
object  to  amass  money,  ft  appears  more  certain  that  all  his  maxims 
were  those  of  high  prerogative;  while  Massachusetts  had  breathed 
among  the  people  the  Puritan  and  republican  spirit  in  its  full  force. 
He  wrote  "  that  while  the  clergy  were  allowed  to  preach,  no  true 
allegiance  would  be  found  in  those  parts."  In  1085,  he  solicited  his 
recall,  declaring  he  should  "esteem  it  the  greatest  happiness  in  the 
world  to  be  allowed  to  remove  from  these  unreasonable  people. ' 
Presently  after,  this  country  with  the  whole  of  New  England  was 
united  under  the  successive  governments  of  Dudley  and  Andros.  At 
the  Revolution,  it  again  became  a  separate  and  royal  colony,  though 
with  some  dependence  on  Massachusetts. 


OOVIRVOB     ST0TVB3ANT 


CHAPTER  XXI. 


NEW   YORK. 


.hem 
object 


Notwithstanding  the    pan. 

mount  importance  to  which  New 
York  has  attained,  its  early  settle- 
ment was  not  accompanied  by  5?uch 
striking  circumstances  as  marked 
those  of  some  other  colonies. 

About  the  year  1600,  the  attention 
of  the  English  and  Dutch  had  been 
directed  to  the  discovery  of  a  northern 
passage  to  India,  which  they  hoped 
might  at  once  be  shorter,  and  enable 
to  escape  the  still  formidable  hostility  of  Spain.  After  this 
had  been  vainly  pursued  by  Frobisher,  Davis,  Barentz,  and 


ti 


mt 


270 


NEW  YORK. 


other  navigators,  it  was  resumed  by  Henry  Hudson.  Though  i« 
native  of  Holland,  he  was  first  employed  by  a  company  of  English 
merchants,  when  he  made  the  daring  effort  to  cross  the  pole  itself, 
and  penetrated  farther  in  that  direction  than  any  of  his  predecessors; 
but  the  icy  barriers  compelled  him  to  return.  He  next  attempted  an 
eastern  passage,  between  Nova  Zembla  and  Spitzbergen,  but  again 
failed.  His  patrons  in  London  then  lost  courage  ;  but  he,  animated 
by  the  same  ardour,  solicited  and  obtained  from  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company  a  small  vessel,  named  the  Crescent,  to  renew  his  researches. 
After  another  abortive  endeavour  at  an  eastern  passage,  he  appears 
to  have  finally  renounce!  that  object;  and  steering  toward  the  west, 
began  to  explore  the  Amtrican  coast,  from  Newfoundland  southwards. 
It  had,  indeed,  been  to  a  gn^at  extent  both  discovered  and  settled,  yet 
not  in  such  continuity  as  to  preclude  the  hope  of  finding  a  deep  bay 
leading  to  the  Pacific,  and  through  it  to  the  East  Indies.  In  the  be- 
ginning of  July  he  reached  the  great  bank,  and  continued  his  course 
cautiously  along  the  shores  of  Acadia.  In  44°  he  touched  at  the 
mouth  of  a  spacious  river,  which  appears  to  have  been  the  Penobscot, 
where  the  French  were  found  carrying  on  a  very  active  trade.  In 
passing  Cape  Cod,  his  people  landed  at  several  points,  and  held  in- 
tercourse with  the  natives.  They  then  pursued  their  course  through 
the  open  sea,  till,  on  the  17th  August,  they  came  in  sight  of  a  low 
land,  and  soon  afterwards  found  themselves  off  the  bar  of  James's 
River,  where  they  understood  that  the  English  had  formed  a  settle- 
ment. No  opening  having  yet  occurred,  it  seemed  expedient  to  re 
turn  northward,  keeping  closer  to  the  coast.  They  found  it  running 
north-west,  and  entered  a  great  bay  with  rivers,  evidently  that  of 
Delaware.  The  water  was  so  shoaly,  however,  as  to  prevent  its  ex- 
ploration, unless  in  pinnaces  drawing  only  four  or  five  feet.  They 
proceeded  therefore  to  the  coast  now  called  New  Jersey,  and  were 
involved  in  the  range  of  islands  running  parallel  to  it.  The  naviga- 
tion was  very  difficult  on  account  of  storms  and  frequent  shallows. 
At  length  Hudson  came  to  a  continuous  land,  good  and  pleasant, 
rising  boldly  from  the  sea,  and  bounded  by  high  hills.  He  appeared 
10  discover  the  mouths  of  three  great  rivers,  which,  however,  could 
only  be  different  channels,  separated  by  islands,  of  the  great  stream 
now  bearing  his  name.  Boats  were  sent  to  sound  the  most  northern 
of  them,  which  was  found  to  afford  a  good  depth  of  water.  They 
entered  it,  and  were  soon  visited  by  large  parties  of  natives  in  canoes, 
wnen  a  friendly  exchange  took  place,  of  tobacco  and  maize  for  knives 


DISCOVERIES   OP  HENRY   HUDSON. 


27\ 


and  beads.  Unfortunately,  a  boat,  being  sent  to  examine  one  of  the 
other  channels,  was  assailed  by  twenty  of  the  savages  in  two  skiffs, 
one  of  the  seamen  killed,  and  two  wounded.  This  unhappy  event 
poisoned  their  future  intercourse  with  the  Indians,  whose  friendly 
professions  were  henceforth  considered  as  made  only  with  a  view  to 
betray  them.  At  one  place,  twenty-eight  canoes,  full  of  men,  wo- 
men, and  children,  approached  and  made  overtures  for  trade ;  but 
their  intentions  being  considered  evil,  they  were  not  allowed  to  come 
on  board.  In  ascending,  the  Hudson  was  found  to  be  a  noble  stream, 
a  mile  broad,  and  bordered  by  lofty  mountains.  Seventeen  days  after 
entering  it,  the  vessel,  beinc:  embarrassed  by  shoals,  stopped  at  a  point 
where  a  small  city  has  since  been  built,  bearing  the  name  of  the  dis- 
coverer. A  boat  sailed  eight  or  nine  leagues  higher,  somewhat 
above  the  site  of  Albany,  where  it  was  clear  that  the  ship  could  not 
proceed  farther.  In  this  upper  tract,  the  intercourse  with  the  natives 
was  very  friendly,  and  even  the  suspicions  of  the  crew  were  lulled. 
One  party  came  on  board,  who  being  freely  treated  with  wine  and 
aquavitae,  became  all  merry,  and  one  completely  tipsy,  the  efft'cts  of 
which  caused  to  his  companions  the  greatest  surprise.  On  the  way 
down,  they  were  repeatedly  attacked  by  the  large  boii)  which  in 
ascending  had  excited  their  jealousy.  On  each  occasion,  a  discharge 
of  musketry,  killing  two  or  three,  caused  all  the  rest  to  take  flight. 
On  leaving  the  river,  Hudson  made  directly  for  Europe,  and  arrived 
at  Dartmouth  on  the  7th  November,  1609. 

He  transmitted  to  the  Dutch  Company  a  flattermg  report  of  the 
country  which  he  had  discovered,  and  recommended  a  settlement. 
They  gave  him  so  little  encouragement  that  he  was  obliged  to  seek 
employment  from  the  London  merchants,  by  whom  he  was  sent  on 
the  remarkable  voyage  which  •  esulted  in  the  exploration  of  Hudson's 
bay,  and  in  the  melancholy  event  of  his  own  death,  through  a  mu- 
tiny of  the  crew. 

In  virtue  of  these  discoveries  the  Dutch  claimed  the  country,  and 
111  1610  sent  out  a  vessel  for  traffic.  Stations  were  formed  on  Man- 
hattan [New  York]  island,  which,  in  1613,  were  claimed  by  Argall. 
This  authority  was  merely  nominal,  and  was  utterly  disregarded  by 
the  Dutch  government.  In  the  following  year  a  fort  was  built  by 
some  merchants,  and  other  stations  extended  as  far  as  the  Mohawk. 

In  1620  the  Dutch  West  India  Company  was  incorporated.  Their 
privileges  included  the  whole  western  coast  of  Africa,  as  fur  as  the 
Cnpe,  with  ill  the  eastern  shores  of  America  from  Newfoundland  to 
18 


'1 
''I 

i] 

'4  m 


272 


NEW  YORK. 


the  Straits  of  Magellan.  Over  this  vast  territory  they  had  the  ex 
elusive  right  of  concluding  treaties,  carrying  on  war,  and  exercising 
all  the  functions  of  government.  This  monstrous  grant  would  in- 
clude, as  we  havt  seen,  claims  of  colonies  belonging  to  England, 
France,  Spain,  and  Portugal,  and  was  of  course  regarded  by  thesi 
power*  with  any  other  than  a  favourable  eye.  Aii  colonies  founded 
on  it  were  consequently  fiercely  disputed  and  most  precariously  held. 
The  weakness  of  the  Portuguese  crown  enabled  them  to  grasp  large 
portions  of  its  territory  in  Brazil  and  on  the  African  coast ;  b«t  in 
North  America,  not  venturing  to  measure  their  strength  with  Britain, 
they  contented  themselves  with  silently  enlarging  their  stations  on 
the  Hudson,  which  the  latter  showed  no  disposition  to  occupy.  The 
country  was  called  New  Netherlands  ;  and  a  cluster  of  cottages 
where  New  York  now  stands,  was  named  New  Amsterdam. 

In  1629  the  Dutch  government  attempted  to  found  an  extensiv<* 
colony  in  New  Netherlands.  It  was  planned  on  quite  an  aristocratic 
basic'  Though  lands  were  granted  to-detached  settlers,  yet  opulent 
indiviajals  were  expected  to  carry  out  bodies  of  tenants  at  their  own 
expense — those  transporting  fifty  becoming  lords  of  manors,  with  thp 
absolute  property  of  the  lands  thus  colonized.  They  might  posiess 
tracts  sixteen  miles  long,  and  even  employ  negro  labour  if  desirable. 
They  encountered,  however,  many  difficulties  ;  antl  two  manors  es- 
tablished on  Delaware  bay  were  destroyed  by  Indians.  A  station 
on  the  Connecticut  was  abandoned  on  account  of  its  proximity  to  the 
more  powerful  English  one,  and  Lord  Baltimore  strenuously  advo- 
cated his  title  to  all  land  extending  to  the  fortieth  degree  of  latitude. 
Besides  this,  the  imprudence  of  their  governor,  Kieft,  in  killing, 
with  little  provocation,  nearly  one  hundred  Indians,  involved  him  in 
a  general  war  with  that  people,  which,  lasting  two  years,  effectually 
checked  the  progress  of  New  Netherlands. 

In  1646,  Kieft  was  recalled,  and  Peter  Stuyvesant,  an  officer  dis- 
tinguished for  bravery  and  honesty,  appointed  to  succeed  him.  The 
{hange  was  highly  satisfactory  to  the  people.  By  wisely  adopting  a 
humane  policy  toward  the  Indians,  the  new  governor  obviated  all 
difficulty  with  them  ;  and  also  obtained  from  the  company  a  release 
from  the  immoderate  duties  which  had  hitherto  trammelled  commerce. 
He  suffered,  however,  much  trouble  from  the  English,  who  were 
continually  extending  their  frontier  on  and  beyond  the  Connecticut, 
and  set  scarcely  any  limit  to  their  claims.  As  the  settlers  greatly 
discouraged  all  idea  of  war  with  so  powerful  a  neighbour,  Stuyva* 


CONQUEST  OF  NEW   SWEDEN. 


271 


ODSTAVUS     AD0LPHD3. 


sant  was  obliged  to  obtain,  by  large  concessions,  a  provisional  com- 
pact, which,  although  never  ratified  in  England,  obtained  for  his 
people  some  security.  Determined,  however,  to  find  some  exercise 
for  his  active  mind,  he  resolved  to  chastise  the  Swedish  colony  for 
some  violent  proceedings  of  the  governor.  Rising.  This  settlement 
was  much  inferior  to  New  Netherlands,  and  the  mother  country, 
after  the  death  of  Gustavus  Adolphus,  of  Sweden,  could  afford  it  but 
little  assistance.  Having  assembled  a  force  of  six  hundred  men, 
Stuy'vesant  marched  into  New  Sweden,  and  after  a  short  struggle, 
overthrew  the  government  and  incorporated  the  settlement  with  his 
own.  A  few  of  the  inhabitants  returned  to  their  native  country  ; 
the  greater  part  yielded  to  the  mild  sway  of  the  conqueror.  About 
the  same  time  a  little  art  enabled  him  to  evade  the  claims  of  Lord 
Baltimore. 

The  company,  though  they  did  not  grant  any  political  franchises 
to  the  colonists,  took  great  care  to  have  them  well  governed,  and  to 
check  those  despotic  practices  in  which  Stuyvesant,  from  his  military 
habits,  was  prone  to  indulge.  They  prohibited  likewise  all  perse- 
rution,  and  studied  to  make  the  country  a  refuge  for  professors  of 
tvery  creei.  From  France,  the  Low  Countries,  the  Rhine,  Northern 
Germany,  Bohemia,  the  mountains  of  Piedmont,  the  suffering  pro- 
lestants  flocked  to  this  transatlantic  asylum.  Even  the  New  Eng- 
landers,  allured  by  the  fine  climate  and  fertile  soil,  arrived  in  great 


NEW  YORK. 


numbers,  and  formed  entire  villages.  It  therefore  became  expedient 
to  have  a  secretary  of  their  nation,  and  to  issue  proclamations  in 
French  and  English,  as  well  as  Dutch.  To  augment  the  variety,the 
company  introduced  as  many  negro  slaves  as  they  conveniently 
could.  New  York  became,  as  Mr.  Bancroft  terms  it,  a  city  of  the 
world  ;  its  inhabitants  termed  themselves  a  blended  community  of 
various  lineage.  Unluckily  for  the  Dutch,  the  protestants  of  that  age 
carried  generally  with  them  an  ardent  attachment  to  civil  liberty, 
which  was  pushed  to  its  utmost  height  by  those  of  New  England. 
Their  views  soon  found  favour  in  the  eyes  even  of  the  Hollanders ; 
for,  though  some  of  the  more  opulent  were  adverse  to  any  very  broad 
popular  institutions,  they  could  not  forbear  joining  in  the  objection 
to  be  taxed  without  their  own  consent.  Innovations  of  this  nature,  il 
appeared,  were  agreeable  neither  to  the  company  nor  the  governor. 
The  colonists,  having  sent  over  a  deputation  to  the  former,  obtamed 
a  few  municipal  privileges,  but  none  of  the  rights  of  a  representative 
government.  Such  was  their  perseverance,  however,  that  they 
erected  one  for  themselves,  by  calling  two  deputies  from  each  vil- 
lage ;  and  the  body  thus  assembled  presented  a  remonstrance  to 
Stuyvesant,  claiming  that  their  consent  should  be  necessary  to  the 
enactment  of  new  laws,  and  even  to  the  appointment  of  officers.  He 
received  this  address  extremely  ill,  and  bitterly  reproached  them 
with  yielding  to  the  visionary  notions  of  the  New  Englanders; 
stating  that  the  laws  were  good,  and  would  continue  to  be  well  exe- 
cuted, but  could  not  be  allowed  to  emanate  from  the  wavering  mul- 
titude. He  derived  his  authority  only  from  God  and  the  West  India 
Company,  who  would  never  become  responsible  to  their  own  sub- 
jects. The  remonstrants  were  therefore  commanded,  under  a  severe 
penalty,  immediately  to  disperse.  In  this  the  company  firmly  sup- 
ported their  governor,  directing  that  the  people  should  no  longer 
indulge  the  visionary  dream  that  taxes  could  be  imposed  only  with 
their  own  consent.  They,  however,  cherished  a  deep  dissatisfaction, 
which,  though  it  did  not  break  out  into  open  violence,  indisposed 
them  to  make  any  exertions  in  support  of  a  government  under  which 
thoy  enjoyed  no  rights.  This  became  of  serious  consequence  in  the 
crisis  that  was  now  approaching. 

Early  in  1664,  Charles  II.,  by  an  act  of  flagrant  injustice,  ceded 
the  territory  of  New  Netherlands  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York, 
although  Holland  and  England  were  then  at  peace.  To  maka 
good  this  donation.  Sir  Robert  Nichols  was  sent  out  with  an  expe- 


TAKEN   BY   THE  ENGLISH. 


275 


CBABLXS    XL    OIVINO    TBS    Ifl  B.W   NITaBBtANDS     TO    TUU     DDSIC 

OF     TOKK 


diiion,  to  be  reinforced  by  a  detachment  from  another  colony.  He 
cast  anchor  opposite  New  Amsterdam,  in  August,  and  after  landing 
upon  Long  Island,  summoned  the  city  to  surrender,  under  promise 
of  respecting  the  rights  and  property  of  the  inhabitants,  and  permit- 
ting the  continuance  of  their  ancient  laws.  The  governor,  by  delay 
and  negotiation,  attempted  to  avert  the  danger  ;  but  as  Nichols  de- 
clined all  discussion,  the  principal  citizens,  headed  by  Winthrop 
from  Connecticut,  convened  in  the  town-house,  nnd  drew  up  articles 
of  surrender  corresponding  with  the  demand  of  the  English  officer. 
Stuyvesant,  however,  refused  to  sign  them  until  the  place  waj» 
actually  in  the  enemy's  hands. 

The  government  established  by  the  Duke  of  York  was  by  no 
means  so  lenient  a»  the  people  had  a  right  to  expect.  Heavy  taxes 
were  imposed,  and  in  the  War  of  the  League,  when  Louis  XVL  and 
Charles  11.  were  arrayed  against  Holland,  the  colonists  were  treated 
with  absolute  tyranny.  Nichols  exacted  large  sums  of  money  by 
first  obtaining  new  patents  for  the  Dutch,  and  then  levying  heavy 
fees  on  them.  Subsequently, Lovelace  avowed  the  policy  of  making 
duties  so  heavy  that  the  people  might  have  opportunity  to  think  of 
noth/ng  but  the  means  of  paying  them.  Andros  behaved  with  a 
rigoi  which  excited  open  opposition ;  but  notwithstanding  the  num- 


276 


NEW   YOPK. 


JAUB8    IL 


berless  petitions  for  redress,  received  by  the  duke,  he  was  for  a  long 
while  retained  in  office,  and  even  applauded  for  his  energy  in  sup- 
pressing "all  mention  of  asse<nblies."  At  length,  however,  he  was 
recalled ;  and,  wearied  by  importunities,  James  consented  to  allow  the 
colonists  representation. 

The  accession  of  James  II.  was  hailed  by  the  colonists  with  heart- 
felt rejoicings  ;  but  they  soon  found  that  their  satisfaction  had  been 
premature.  The  king  was  determined  to  abolish  all  appearance  of 
democracy.  The  governor  was  instructed  to  call  no  more  assemblies, 
but  centre  the  legislative  power  in  his  own  person.  In  1688,  An- 
dres arrived  from  England  with  authority  to  unite  all  the  New 
England  States  and  New  York  under  one  absolute  control — an  an- 
nexation peculiarly  odious  to  settlements  formed  from  hostile  nations. 
I'ublic  feeling  became  completely  alienated  from  the  crown  ;  so  that 


JACOB  TiEISLER.  277 

ihe  first  rumors  of  the  revolution  were  received  with  uncontrollable 

delight. 

Meantime  the  king  sent  orders  for  Nichols  to  continue  for  the 
present  the  administration  of  affairs.  But  this  officer  had  previously 
been  obliged  to  depart  for  England,  in  consequence  of  the  people's 
opposition.  As  the  appointment  was  accompanied  by  the  provision, 
"or  to  such  as  for  the  time  execute  the  law,"  Jacob  Leisler,  the 
popular  leader,  applied  this  to  himself,  and  assumed  the  gubernato- 
rial oflice.  He  held  two  assemblies,  and  concluded  a  treaty  with 
New  England,  agreeing  to  raise  nine  hundred  men  for  the  mutual 
defence.  But  though  supported  by  a  majority,  a  powerful  party  dis- 
owned his  authority  and  insulted  him  in  the  capital.  After  much 
difficulty  the  opposition  was  put  down ;  but  King  William  took  no 
notice  of  Leisler's  pretensions. 

In  March,  1691,  Colonel  Sloughler  arrived  at  New  York  to  lake 
charge  of  affairs.  Leisler  refused  to  acknowledge  him,  pretending 
that  the  colonel's  commission  was  defective,  and  that  he  would  abdi- 
cate only  by  an  order  from  the  king's  own  hand.  Being  unpopular, 
he  was  compelled,  through  an  insurrection,  to  tender  his  resignation. 
Refusing  to  receive  it,  the  new  governor  arrested  him,  and  appointed 
a  special  commission  for  his  trial.  He  was  speedily  condemned  to 
death,  and  with  Milbourne,  his  principal  adviser,  suffered  on  the 
scaffold.  Sloughter  himself  died  soon  after,  [August  2,  1691,]  and 
was  succeeded  by  Colonel  Fletcher.  The  only  important  act  of 
Sloughter's  administration  was  the  renewal  of  a  treaty  with  the  Five 
Nations. 

Fletcher  was  an  able  officer;  but  his  domineering  temper,  a  fault 
too  common  in  those  days,  soon  involved  him  in  violent  contests  with 
the  Assembly.  A  leading  object  was  the  establishment  of  episcopacy, 
which  after  great  exertions  was  sanctioned  by  the  members,  with  the 
salvo  annexed  that  the  people  should  choose  their  own  ministers.  In 
a  violent  speech  on  this  occasion,  Fletcher  so  far  forgot  the  dignity 
of  his  station  as  to  denominate  the  members  ill-tempered,  stubborn 
and  unmannerly,  and  even  accuse  them  of  attempts  to  engross  the 
entire  legislative  power.  After  the  failure  of  his  attempt  to  obtain 
command  of  the  Connecticut  militia,  he  seems  to  have  moderated  his 
views,  and  gave  up  the  fruitless  scheme  of  intimidating  the  colonial 
Msemblies. 

Fletcher  was  succeeded  [1698]  by  the  Earl  of  Bellamont,  whose 

mild  gove-nment  went  far  toward  soothing  the  jealousies  still  existing; 
•  a  A 


278 


MtW   YOUK. 


TBBA.TT  WITB    THV    VIVB    MATIOHa 


'■(««•.. 


^ 


between  the  partisans  of  Leisler  and  their  aristocratic  opponents.  I' 
was  under  his  administration  that  the  famous  Captain  Kidd  was 
commissioned  to  suppress  piracy,  which  had  increased  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent.  This  individual  betraying  his  trust,  turned  pirate  him 
self,  and  after  making  his  name  a  terror  to  seamen,  was  at  length 
arrested  at  Boston,  and  sent  to  England  for  trial. 

Bellamont  died  m  1701,  and  was  succeeded  by  Lord  Cornbury,  a 
degenerate  descendant  of  the  Earl  of  Clarendon.  Entirely  opposite 
to  his  predecessor,  he  showed  an  embittered  enmity  to  the  popular 
party,  accompanied  by  a  bigoted  attachment  to  episcopacy,  and 
hatred  of  all  other  forms  of  religion.  He  seconded  also  the  attempts 
made  by  Dudley  to  subvert  the  charter  of  Connecticut.  Indulging 
in  extravagant  habits,  he  squandered  large  sums  of  the  public  money, 
and  contracted  debts,  the  payment  of  which  his  official  situation  en 
abled  him  to  evade.  He  thus  rendered  himself  odious  and  con- 
temptible to  all  parties,  who  united  in  a  firm  remonstrance  to  Queen 
Anne,  and  induced  her  to  revoke  his  commission.  No  longer  pre 
tected  by  the  privileges  of  office,  he  was  thrown  into  prison,  and  oD 


GOVEUNORS  HUNTER  AND  BIRNET. 


279 


lained  liberation  only  when  the  death  of  his  father  raised  hin.  to  the 
peerage. 

Lord  Lovelace  succeeded,  who,  on  his  arrival,  made  a  demand, 
destined  to  cause  much  dissension,  for  a  permanent  salary  to  the 
governor.  Yet  his  general  deportment  was  popular  and  sotisfactory  ; 
but  he  lived  only  a  few  months.  The  reins  were  then  held  for  a 
short  lime  by  Ingoldsby,  who  also  made  himself  very  acceptable  ;  and 
in  1710,  the  office  was  filled  by  Sir  Robert  Hunter,  a  man  of  wit  and 
talent,  by  which  he  tad  raised  himself  from  a  low  rank  in  society. 
He  went  out,  however,  strongly  imbued  with  monarchical  prin- 
ciples, and  determined  to  resist  the  claims  of  the  Assembly.  In  ad- 
vancing the  demand  for  a  fixed  income,  he  made  use  of  very  offensive 
expressions,  insinuating  doubts  of  their  right  to  appropriate  the  public 
money,  and  suspicions  that  it  was  the  government,  not  the  governor, 
whom  they  disliked.  In  the  council  also,  the  doctrine  was  advanced, 
that  the  Assembly  existed  only  "  by  the  mere  grace  of  the  crown." 
The  latter  body  strenuously  vindicated  their  rights,  and  refused  to 
grant  more  than  a  temporary  provision.  They  remonstrated  strongly 
also  against  the  establishment  of  a  court  of  chancery,  suspected  to  be 
with  a  view  of  increasing  his  emoluments.  On  this  ground  there 
seemed  great  hazard  of  a  collision  ;  but  Hunter,  being  a  sensible 
man,  and  seeing  their  very  strong  determination,  deemed  it  expedient 
to  yield ;  and,  during  his  latter  years,  he  studied  with  success  to 
niainlain  harmony  among  the  different  branches  (if  the  administration. 

He  was  succeeded  by  Burnet,  a  son  of  the  celebrated  bishop  and 
historian,  an  accomplished,  amiable  man.  He  appears  to  have  zea- 
lously studied  the  welfare  of  the  colony  ;  he  became  very  generally 
popular  ;  and  was  particularly  successful  in  gaining  over  the  Indian 
tribes.  His  attempt,  however,  to  maintain  the  obnoxious  couit  of 
chancery,  involved  him  in  violent  disputes  with  the  Assembly.  On 
the  advice  of  a  few  patriotic  but  indiscreet  individuals,  he  adop.ed 
the  injurious  measure  of  prohibiting  all  commercial  intercourse  be- 
tween New  York  and  Canada.  In  1720  he  was  removed,  thoagh 
compensated  with  the  government  of  Massachusetts. 

After  a  short  interval,  the  direction  of  affairs  was'  assumed  in  1733 
by  Coionel  Cosly,  a  man  of  such  a  violent  character  as  created 
general  aversion  to  him.  Strong  interest  was  excited  by  the  trial  of 
Zenger,  editor  of  a  journal  which  had  attacked  his  administration  ; 

but  through  the  exertions  of  Hamilton,  an  eminent  advocate,  he  was 

triumphantly  acquitted.     Cosby  died  in  1736,  and  was  followed  by 


v» 


"f^ 


280 


KBW  YORK. 


L 


Clarke,  who,  having  given  scarcely  more  satisfaction,  yielded  thn 
place  in  1741  to  Clinton,  who  ruled  upwards  of  ten  years  w>th  Cdn- 
«iderablc  success  and  popularity.  Mis  successor,  Sir  Danvers  Os- 
borne, suflered  severely  by  the  discovery,  in  175^1,  of  very  ari)itrary 
instructions  transmitted  to  him  from  home.  A  great  ferment  was 
thus  kindled,  but  gradually  subsided  ;  and  we  find  the  royal  uutho* 
rilv  subsequently  respected  till  the  time  of  the  Revolution. 

ITHERTO  little  has  been  said  concerning 
the  Indian  tribes  ^f  this  colony.  Difficulties 
with  the  Five  Nations  and  other  tribes  early 
occurred.  In  1040,  Staten  Island  was  at- 
tacked and  New  Amsterdam  threatened; 
but  peace  was  at  length  secured  through 
the  exertions  of  Roger  Williams.  Kieft 
rendered  himself  infamous  for  his  cruelty 
to  the  red  men,  which  but  for  the  far  different  policy  oi"  Stuyvesant, 
would  have  produced  serious  results.  In  1603,  Kingston,  [then  called 
Esopus,3  was  unexpectedly  entered  by  the  Indians,  and  sixty-five 
persons  killed  or  carried  away.  This  was  retaliated  by  a  force  from 
New  Amsterdam,  who  laid  waste  the  Indian  villages,  and  killed  a 
number  of  their  warriors. 

But  the  most  terrible  calamity  which  befel  the  colony  while  in  the 
hands  of  the  English,  was  the  burning  of  Schenectady.  Early  in 
1090,  several  hundred  French  and  Indians  marched  from  Canada,  to 
attack  this  village,  which  was  then  a  somewhat  remote  settlement  on 
the  Mohawk.  The  weather  was  so  intensely  cold,  and  the  road 
through  wilds,  forests,  and  mountain  districts,  so  difficult,  that  only 
three  hundred  reached  the  Mohawk,  but  in  so  dispirited  a  condition 
that  they  resolved  to  surrender.  Arriving  at  Schenectady  about 
midnight,  and  finding  every  thing  in  unconscious  security,  they 
again  changed  their  design,  and  resolved  to  improve  so  fair  an  op> 
pnrtunity  for  massacre.  They  spread  themselves  through  the  vil- 
lage, fired  it  in  different  places,  and  tomahawked  all  ages,  sexes  and 
conditions,  that  fell  into  their  hands.  Sixty  were  killed  and  thirty 
carried  off  for  torture.  Many  of  those  who  escaped  the  massacre, 
froze  to  death  in  journeying  to  other  settlements.  This  was  followed 
by  various  movements  against  the  neighbouring  tribes,  until  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  1713. 


WAasAU  UALL,  Maw  jBRsar. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 


NEW   JERSEY. 


'EW  JERSEY,  being  a  branch  de- 
tached from  the  state  just  named, 
will  be  considered  most  advanta- 
geously  in  connection  with  that  colo- 
ny. When  Nichols,  in  1664,  made 
the  conquest  of  the  united  territory, 
the  tract  along  the  seacoast,  from  the 
west  end  of  Long  Island  to  the  Dela- 
ware, appeared  to  him  the  most  fa- 
vourable for  settlement.  He  invited 
ihither  farmers  from  New  England,  who  already  displayed  a  migra- 
tory and  enterprising  character,  and  going  in  considerable  numbers, 
formed  along  the  shore  a  range  of  villages.  While  Nichols,  how- 
ever, was  exulting  in  the  success  of  these  efforts,  he  was  struck  with 
dismay  by  a  commission  being  presented  to  him,  in  which  the  Duke 
of  York  constituted  Lords  Berkeley  and  Carteret  proprietors  of  this 

M  2  A  2  281 


282 


NEW   JERSEY. 


whole  line  of  coast.  It  had  been  granted  even  before  the  news 
of  the  conquest  arrived,  and  it  may  be  presumed  that  a  pecuniary 
consideration  was  given,  though  nothing  transpired  on  that  subject. 
Chagrined  beyond  measure,  he  addressed  to  the  duke  a  long  letter, 
complaining  that  he  had  unguardedly  parted  with  the  most  valuable 
portion  of  his  patent,  leaving  New  York  almost  without  a  territory. 
Not  choosing  to  accuse  the  proprietors  of  having  deceived  his  grace, 
he  throws  the  blame  on  a  Captain  Scot,  who  he  declares  was  born  to 
work  mischief.  The  grantees,  it  is  urged,  should  be  made  to  accept 
a  tract  of  100,000  acres  on  the  Delaware,  which,  by  an  expenditure 
of  £20,000,  might  yield  profit,  not  to  themselves  perhaps,  but  to 
their  children's  children.  The  duke,  however,  honourably  deter- 
mined to  adhere  to  his  engagement, 

HE  proprietors,  in  order  to  in- 
cite settlers,  granted  franchises 
of  some  importance.     One  was 
an  Assembly,   half  at   least   of 
__  „.  _  ,„_    „„    _,    the  members  of  which  were  to 
_ja»»^=ijK—: ,  1H^i^ ■■■<i3?--^-^-*r»---:>— :^  be  representatives,  and  without 

whose  consent  no  tax  could  be 
imposed.  The  owners  reserved 
to  themselves  the  veto  and  judi- 
cial appointments  ;  but  they  per- 
mitted full  freedom  of  religious  worship.  Carteret  went  out  as 
governor,  and  in  compliment  to  him  the  colony  was  called  New 
Jersey.  The  profit  of  the  proprietors  was  to  arise  solely  from  a 
quit-rent  of  Id.  an  acre,  to  be  levied  only  at  the  end  of  five  years. 
All  went  on  smoothly  till  that  term  arrived,  when  the  settlers,  being 
called  u;^on  for  payment,  showed  very  little  disposition  to  comply. 
They  urged,  that  they  had  purchased  their  lands  from  the  Indians, 
and  it  was  extremely  hard,  after  advancing  a  price,  to  be  required  to 
give  a  rent  also.  Discontents  rose  so  high,  that  Carteret  was  obliged 
to  leave  the  colony,  and  a  natural  son  of  his  own  was  elected  in  his. 
room.  Soon  afterwards,  the  country  was  conquered  by  the  Dutch , 
and  on  its  restoration  next  year,  the  people  peaceably  received  back 
their  old  governor,  who  gratified  them  by  postponing  to  a  later  period 
the  demand  for  quit-rents,  and  by  other  concessions.  The  proprie- 
•ors,  however,  were  considerably  annoyed  by  the  rulers  of  New  York, 
who.  claiming  rights  of  jurisdiction  and  taxation,  particularly  sought 
to  prevent  any  trade,  unless  through  the  medium  of  their  capital. 


I  HHJ  Ui  "JUp^Vn^"!?*^^ 


^DAKER  AND   PRESLYTERIAN   SETTLERS. 


28:J 


James  does  not  seem  to  have  been  disposed  to  sanction  any  actual 
breach  of  the  original  contract  ;  and  Jones,  the  chief-justice,  reported 
on  the  most  essential  points  in  favour  of  the  settlers.  The  local 
power,  however,  of  the  greater  colony,  wielded  by  the  impetuous 
Andros,  was  successfully  exerted  to  harass  them  in  various  modes. 
_  EANTIME,  as  latt-  as  1(J74,  Lord  Berke- 
ley, disappointed  in  the  hopes  with  which 
he  had  embarked  in  the  undertaking,  sold 
half  his  territory  for  £1000  to  a  party  of 
Quakers,  among  whom  the  chief  were 
Byllinge,  Fenwick,  and  William  Penn. 
In  arranging  with  Carteret,  who  still  re* 
tuined  his  share,  it  was  found  most  convenient  to  divide  the  province 
into  uvo  pans  ;  tnese  were  caned  East  ano  West  Jersey — tlie  laiier 
tMjing  assigned  to  the  new  owners.  But  ine  uukc,  whose  concur- 
rence was  required  in  the  transaction,  took  the  opportunity  of  re- 
asserting his  dominion  over  that  portion,  which  was  subjected  to  the 
arbitrary  rule  and  taxation  of  New  York.  Jones,  however,  decided 
that,  there  having  been  no  reservation  of  such  claims  in  the  original 
grant,  they  could  not  be  now  legally  enforced.  Hence,  in  1<)80,  the 
province  was  delivered  in  full  right  to  the  proprietors,  whose  object 
was  to  render  the  place  an  asylum  for  the  persecuted  Quakers, 
a  considerable  number  of  whom  were  soon  assembled.  It  became 
necessary  to  gratify  them  by  a  constitution,  based  on  principles  of 
I'herty  and  even  of  equality  ;  and  they  made  pretensions  to  the 
ijlection  of  their  own  governor. 

N  1682,  Carteret,  finding  little  satis-, 
faction  in  his  possession  of  New  Jer- 
sey, sold  all  his  rights  to  another 
body  of  twellve  Quakers,  Penn  being 
again  one.  The  new  owners,  with 
a  view  to  extend  their  influence,  add- 
ed to  their  number  twelve  more  of 
different  professions — the  principal 
of  whom  was  the  Duke  of  Perth,  a 
nobleman  of  great  power  in  Scotland 
His  object  was  to  offer  an  asylum  to  the  Presbyterians  of  that  country, 
under  the  iniquitous  persecutions  to  which  they  were  exposed. 
Hunted  like  wild  beasts  from  place  to  place,  it  was  justly  thought 
that  many  would  gladly  accept  a  home  in  the  New  World.     A  cou 


284 


NBW  JERSBT. 


Biderable  number  were  accordingly  conveyed  thjther,  and  they  formed 
n  laborious,  useful,  and  respectable  class  of  settlers. 

OTHING,  however,  could  secure  them  against 
the  determination  formed  by  James  to  subvert 
the  rights  of  all  the  colonies,  and  establish  in 
them  a  completely  despotic  administration. 
Andros,  without  any  express  authority,  began  to 
exercise  both  jurisdiction  and  taxation;  and  as 
these  were  strenuously  resisted — the  juries  re- 
fusing to  convict  under  them — complaints  were 
sent  home  of  their  insubordination.  The  duke  hereupon,  forgetting 
pll  his  former  pledges,  ordered,  in  April,  1686,  that  writs  of  quo 
warranto  should  be  entered  against  both  East  and  West  Jersey, 
"  which  ought  to  be  more  dependent  on  his  majesty."  The  proprie- 
tors, having  in  vain  attempted  to  deprecate  this  measure,  at  length 
deemed  it  expedient  to  surrender  their  patent,  only  soliciting  a  grant 
securing  their  title  to  the  soil ;  but,  before  the  transaction  could 
be  completed,  it  was  interrupted  by  the  Revolution,  which  left  them 
in  the  possession  of  all  their  claims.  They  acted  on  them  so  feebly 
however,  that  the  country  is  represented  as  remaining  nearly  in  a 
state  of  anarchy  till  1703,  when  they  were  induced  to  surrender  all 
their  political  powers  to  the  crown.  The  two  Jerseys  were  then  re 
united,  and  were  governed  from  that  time  as  a  royal  colony. 


.yi  will  1.1  >»nip|wr»i^F*'»"' 


■WILLIAM    PSNN. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


PENNSYLVANIA  AND  DELAWARE. 


ILLIAM  PENN  was  one  of  the  most  illustrious 
characters  of  modern  times.  Born  to  rank  and 
distinction,  son  of  an  admiral  who  had  attained 
celebrity  under  Cromwell  by  the  conquest  ol 
Jamaica,  he  embraced  at  college  the  persecuted 
cause  of  the  Quakers,  and  devoted  himself  to  it 
throughout  his  whole  life.  Refusing  to  retract  or  compromise  his 
views,  he  was  expelled  from  his  father's  house,  becoming  amenable 
to  all  the  rigours  then  enforced  against  eccentric  modes  of  religious 
worship  and  teaching.  He  indulged  at  first  in  certain  extravagances  ; 
but  ripening  years,  combined  with  extensive  study,  and  travel  over  a 
?reat  part  of  Europe,  enlarged  his  mind,  and  while  retaining  the 
same  devoted  attachment  to  what  was  valuable  in  his  system,  he 
purified  it  from  its  principal  errors.  His  steady  course  of  Christian 
kindness  gained  for  him  the  general  esteem  of  the  public,  and  ulti- 


286 


PENNSVLVANIA   AND   DELAWARE. 


nmtely  lea  to  a  reconciliation  with  his  parent,  who  bequeathed  to  him 
I  he  whole  of  his  property. 

MONG  the  tenets  of  this  school,  which  Penn  at  all 
times  advocated  with  the  utmost  zeal,  was  that  of 
complete  liberty  in  religious  opinion  and  worship. 
It  became,  indeed,  a  leading  object  of  his  life  to 
render  himself  a  shield  not  only  to  his  own  people, 
but  to  all  who  on  this  ground  were  exposed  to  suf- 
fering and  persecution.     Unable  as  yet  fully  to  accomplish 
his  end  in  the  Old  World,  he  conceived  the  plan  of  providing 
for  them,  in  the  new  continent,  an  asylum  similar  to  that  of  their 
pilgrim  ancestors.     By  founding  there  a  state  open  to  the  votaries  of 
every  faith,  he  might,  he  hoped,  fulfil  this  benevolent  purpose,  and 
at  the  same  tin>e  .«pcur»>  foj"  himsef  a  Hefrrpe  o^  iiiportance  and 
wealth.     He  possessed,  in  virtue  of  his  father's  services,  a  claim  on 
government,  estimated  at  £16,000;  but  after  a  long  delay,  amid  the 
exigencies  of  the  court,  he  could  not  without  difficulty  have  rendered 
it  effective  in  any  shape,  except  for  one  favourable  circumstance. 
He  enjoyed  the  favour  both  of  Charles  II.  and  James  II.,  and  was 
always  a  welcome  guest  at  Whitehall.    This  intercourse  with  princes 
whose  character  was  so  unlike  his  own,  excited  in  that  age  a  feeling 
of  surprise  which  we  can  scarcely  avoid  sharing.    The  most  injurioui 
surmises  arose — he  was  represented  as  a  Papist,  and  even  a  Jesuit. 
He  seems,  however,  to  have  clearly  proved,  that  he  never  concurred 
in  any  of  the  illegal  measures  of  those  rulers,  but  employed  his  in- 
fluence almost  solely  with  the  view  of  obtaining  protection  for  those 
numerous  sufferers  in  whom  he  took  so  deep  an  interest,     Hiid  his 
object  been  money,  he  must  have  encountered  many  obstacles  in  ob- 
taining it  from  the  dilapidated  treasury  of  Charles.     It  was  much  , 
easier  to  get  the  royal  assent  respecting  a  desert  region  beyond  the 
Atlantic,  whence  no  immediate  benefit  was  derived.     His  petition, 
presented  in  June,  1680,  was  referred  to  the  agents  of  the  Duke  of 
York  and  Lord  Baltimore,  who  declared  it  to  be  unobjectionable,  pro- 
vided the  rights  of  these  individuals  were  preserved  inviolate.    Penn, 
therefore,  submitted  the  draft  of  a  charter,  which,  after  being  revised 
by  Chief  Justice  North  and  the  Bishop  of  London,  was  passed  under 
the  seal-royal.     It  granted  to  him  the  tract  in  America  extending 
northwards  from  the  40th  to  the  43d  degree  of  latitude,  and  five  de- 
grees of  longitude  westward,  from  a  boundary-line  drawn  twelve 
m'les  from  Newcastle  on  the  Delaware.     Nearly  the  same  privileges 


FIRST   CONSTITUTION. 


287 


were  conceded  as  were  formerly  granted  to  Lord  Baltimore.  The 
proprietor  was  empowered  to  dispose  of  the  lands  in  fee-simple,  to 
levy  taxes  with  the  consent  of  the  freemen  or  their  delegates,  te 
erect  courts  of  justice,  and  (what  one  might  scarcely  have  expected) 
to  raise  forces  for  the  defence  of  the  province  by  sea  and  land.  There 
was  reserved,  however,  the  sovereignty  of  the  crown,  and  its  claim 
to  allegiance  ;  also  an  appeal  from  the  courts  to  the  king  in  council, 
and  the  right  of  parliament  to  levy  custom-duties.  The  acts  passed 
by  the  Assembly  and  the  owner  were  to  be  transmitted  within  five 
years  .to  his  majesty,  and  if  considered  unconstitutional,  might  be  dis- 
allowed. The  Bishop  of  London  stipulated  for  the  reception  of 
a  preacher,  as  soon  as  one  should  be  requested  by  twenty  of  the 
settlers. 

hNVESTED  with  these  ample  powers, 
}  Penn  proceeded  to  give  to  the  colony 
[  a  constitution,  on  a  very  liberal  footing. 
A  council  of  seventy-two,  elected  by 
the  body  of  the  people,  and  having  a 
third  of  their  number  renewed  every 
year,  carried  on  the  executive  govern- 
ment, in  conjunction  with  the  proprie- 
tor, who  was  allowed  three  votes.  This 
body  was  divided  into  four  committees, 
of  plantation,  trade,  justice,  and  education.  They  prepared  the  bills 
and  propositions  which  were  submitted  to  the  General  Assembly, 
also  elected  by  the  people.  They  were  to  sit  nine  days  only,  during 
eight  of  which  they  were  to  consider  the  proposals  made  by  the 
council,  and  on  the  ninth  to  pronounce  their  decision.  This  system, 
said  to  have  been  copied  chiefly  from  the  Oceana  of  Harrington,  was 
not  very  well  fitted  for  practical  purposes,  and  had  not  a  long  dura- 
tion. 

kENN  now  circulated  widely  his  proposals 
,  through  Britain,  France,  and  Germany  ; 
the  oppressed  and  impoverished  of  every 
class  being  invited  to  this  land  of  promise.     He  re- 
commended it  not  only  to  those  who  suflfered  undei 
religious  persecution,  but  "to  industrious  labourers 
and  handicraftsmen — ingenious  spirits  low  in  the 
world — younger  brothers  of  small  inheritances,  instead  of  hanging  od 

*s  retainers  on  their  elder  brother's  table  and  charity — lastly,  to  men 
19 


US8 


PENNSYLVANIA   AND    DELAWAUB. 


THB    THBATT     llONDM«ST    ON    TH*    SITS    OF    TH8     SLM    TH«B,     -WHIHIf 
PSNN'a     TBB4.TY      W«.3     U&Olt. 


of  an  universal  spirit,  who  have  an  eye  to  the  good  of  posterity." 
The  necessary  expense  of  conveyance  was  stated  to  be — for  an  adult, 
£5;  a  child  under  twelve,  £2  lOs.;  goods  £2  per  ton.  Those  who 
could  not  afford  even  this  moderate  amount,  were  informed  that,  on 
engaging  with  emigrants  of  property  for  a  service  of  four  years,  not 
only  would  their  passage  be  defrayed,  but  at  the  end  of  the  term 
they  would  receive  fifty  acres,  at  2s.  rjnit-rent.  An  extent  of  five 
thousand  acres  was  sold  for  £100,  with  50s.  quit-rent,  commencing 
only  in  1684.  Those  who  preferred  might  pay  merely  a  quit-rent 
of  Id.  an  acre,  or  j£20,  16s.  8d,  Smaller  tracts  were  disposed  of  at 
corresponding  prices.  Poor  men  were  allowed  fifty  acres  at  jrf.  per 
acre. 

HESE  advantageous  terms,  the  troubled 
;;?,"   state  of  Europe,  and  the  high  character 
ifi^l    of  the  proprietor,  caused  his  proposals 
'        to   be   received    with   general  favour. 
An  influx   into   America    took   place, 
such  as  had  never  been  equalled  since 
the  days  of  the  first  settlers.    Between 
1682  and   1685.  there  arrived  ninety 
sail,  conveying  an  average  of  eighty 
passengers,  in  ail  seventy-two  hundred, 
besides  one  thousand  who  had  lande  1 
o  1681.     They  had  been  sent  under  his  kinsman  Markham,  to  Uike 


TREATY   WIIU    THE   INDIANS. 


283 


po5Si«ssion  of  the  country,  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  larger  colciiy. 
He  found  no  difficulty  in  completing  the  purchase  of  an  extensive 
tract  of  land  frcmi  the  Indians,  on  terms  satisfactory  to  them,  yet 
moderate  for  the  buyer. 

N  October,  1682,  Penn  arrived,  with  a  body  of 
two  thousand  emigrants.  After  some  time 
spent  in  surveying  his  new  possessions,  he,  in 
the  beginning  of  1683,  arranged  a  meeting 
with  the  native  chiefs,  under  the  canopy  of  a 
spacious  elm  tree,  near  the  present  site  of 
Philadelphia.  They  appeared  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, in  their  rude  attire,  and  with  brandished  weapons,  beneath 
the  shadow  of  those  dense  woods  which  covered  what  is  now  the 
district  of  Kensington.  On  learning  that  the  English  approached, 
they  deposited  their  arms  and  sat  down  in  groups,  each  tribe  behind 
its  own  chieftain.  Penn  then  stepping  forward,  in  his  usual  plain 
dress  and  unarmed,  held  forth  in  his  hand  the  parchment  on  which 
the  treaty  was  engrossed.  In  a  simple  speech,  he  announced  to 
them  those  principles  of  equity  and  amity  upon  which  he  desired 
that  all  their  future  intercourse  should  be  conducted.  He  besought 
them  tc  keep  this  parchment  during  three  generations.  The  Indians 
replied,  in  their  usual  solemn  and  figurative  language,  that  they 
would  live  in  peace  with  him  and  \(rith  bis  children  while  the  sun 
and  moon  should  endure.  A  friendly  display  like  this  is  by  no 
means  unusual  in  the  first  opening  of  intercourse  between  civilized 
and  savage  nations  ;  but  seldom,  indeed,  does  it  long  continue  un 
broken,  or  fail  even  of  being  succeeded  by  an  embittered  enmity. 
Pennsylvania  afforded  at  least  one  happy  exception.  Her  founder 
continued  with  this  savage  people  on  terms  not  only  of  peace,  but  of 
intimate  union ;  he  visited  them  in  their  villages,  he  slept  in  their 
wigwams ;  they  welcomed  him  almost  as  a  brother.  Forty  years 
afterwards  they  said  to  the  governor.  Sir  William  Keith,  as  the 
highest  possible  compliment : — "  We  esteem  and  love  you  as  if  you 
were  William  Penn  himself."  What  was  still  more  wonderful,  the 
colonists,  though  they  had  to  struggle  with  many  uncongenial  spirits 
in  their  own  body,  succeeded  in  maintaining  good  terms  with  the  na- 
tives ;  and  for  nearly  a  century,  the  Indian  tomahawk  was  never 
lifted  against  a  people  who  would  have  considered  it  unlawful  to 
'eturn  the  blow. 


SB 


1 

!  'I 


/  \ 


290 


PEN'NSYLVANIA   AND   DELAWARE. 


IHTSRVIXW     BSTWIBN    wfLLIAM    PBNN    AND    LOBD    BALTIWOB*. 


"IS  next  object  was  to  found  a  capital 
for  his  new  settlement.     He  chose  a 
site  upon  a  neck  of  land  between  the 
Schuylkill  and  Delaware,  in  a  situa- 
tion which  appeared  at  once  agree- 
able and  healthy,  abounding  in  water, 
and  with  convenient  river  communi- 
cations.    He  gave  to  it  the  nanici  of 
Philadelphia  (brotherly  love),  under 
which  it  has  become  one  of  the  most 
flourishing  cities  in  the  New  World.     Combining  the  taste  for  neat- 
ness and  regularity  characteristic  of  his  people,  with  a  love  of  rural 
nature,  he  planned  a  town  composed  of  parallel  streets,  each  a  hun- 
dred feet  broad,  crossed  by  others  also  spacious,  and  some  indicating 
by  their  very  names,  Vine,  Mulberry,  Chestnut,  that  the  verdure  of 
'le  country  was  still  to  enliven  them.  The  purchasers  of  five  thousand 
s  were  to  have  a  house  in  one  of  the  two  principal  streets,  with 
len  and  orchard  ;  those  of  one  thousand  in  the  three  next ;  <)ucb 


CONSEQUENCES   OP   THE  REVOLUTION. 


201 


as  \vere  under  one  thousand  acres,  in  the  cross  streets.  In  1684, 
fifty  villages,  arranged  in  regular  squares,  had  sprung  up,  on  a 
similar  plan,  though  on  a  smaller  scale. 

In  December,  1682,  Penn  held  an  interview  with  Lord  Baltimore 
Bt  Maryland,  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  the  dispute  concerning} 
the  boundary  line  of  the  new  colony.  After  a  tedious  session,  and  a 
still  more  tedious  correspondence,  the  lower  counties  of  the  Delaware, 
comprising  the  present  state  of  that  name,  were  yielded  to  Penn, 
while  Maryland  retained  the  eastern  shore  of  the  bay. 

The  second  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  convened  at  Philadelphia 
m  the  spring  of  1683.  A  charter  of  liberties  was  proposed  by  Penn 
and  adopted,  thus  securing  to  the  people  all  the  privileges  of  a  pure 
democracy.  In  the  summer  of  1684,  the  proprietor  was  obliged  to 
return  to  England,  and  the  government  devolved  on  Thomas  Lloyd 
as  president,  assisted  by  a  council.  The  members  of  the  latter  body 
appear  to  have  disagreed  considerably  among  themselves,  but  the 
colony  enjoyed  tranquillity  until  1691,  when  the  lower  counties 
separated  from  the  main  colony.  They  ever  afterward  remained 
distinct  under  the  name  of  Delaware. 

HE  Pennsylvanians,  who  had  owed  every 
thing  to  James  II.,  did  not  share  the  general 
joy  at  his  abdication  in  1688.  The  news 
was  unwillingly  believed  ;  and  the  govern- 
ment, till  September,  1789,  was  still  admin- 
istered in  his  name.  This  was  carefully  re- 
ported from  New  York  :  while  in  England, 
charges  were  brought  against  the  proprietor 
IS  adhering  to  Popery,  or  at  least  strongly  attached  to  the  exiled 
nouse.  William,  after  some  hesitation,  deprived  him  of  his  patent ; 
and  in  April,  1693,  Benjamin  Fletcher,  governor  of  New  York,  as- 
sumed authority  also  over  Pennsylvania.  The  Assembly  professed 
their  willingness  to  obey,  provided  they  were  ruled  in  the  usual 
manner,  and  by  laws  founded  on  letters-patent.  But  he  intimated 
that  they  were  much  mistaken  ;  that  the  change  had  been  made  on 
account  of  neglects  and  miscarriages ;  and  that  his  majesty's  mode 
of  governing  would  be  in  direct  opposition  to  that  of  Mr.  Penn.  It 
was  even  maintained  that  all  the  former  laws  had  been  abrogated, 
though  a  willingness  was  expressed  to  re-enact  the  greater  number 
The  Assembly,  however,  insisted  on  their  validity  ;  and,  while 
Bcknuwifdijing  the  authority  of  the  king,  denied  the  charge  of  formei 


oqo 


PKNNSYLVANIA   AND   DELAWARE. 


misgovernment.  They  resisted  also  the  deinnnds  for  money ;  niid 
thus  a  perpetual  strife  reigned  between  them  and  the  governor,  who 
declared  that  nothing  would  remedy  the  evil  but  annexation  to  New 
York  ;  and  complained  that,  though  his  door  was  never  shut,  it  wai 
avoided,  as  if  it  had  been  treason  to  be  seen  in  his  company. 

ENN,  meantime,  passed  through  many  trials ;  and, 
after  being  repeatedly  acquitted,  was  arraignrd  on 
fresh  charges.  However,  he  was  strongly  supported 
by  Locke,  Rochester,  and  other  friends ;  and  as  no- 
thing could  be  proved  against  him  except  a  personal 
}t^^  attachment  to  King  James,  without  sharing  his  bigot- 
ry, William,  in  August,  1694,. passed  the  patent  for 
his  restoration.  As  he  could  not  go  out  in  person,  Markham  was 
again  appointed  deputy.  But  the  Assembly,  though  pleased  to  be 
rid  of  the  royal  government,  did  not  show  any  greater  deference 
to  that  of  the  proprietary. 

N  1699,  Penn  again  visited  the  colony.  His  object 
seems  to  have  been  to  obtain  the  consent  of  the  people 
to  f  constitution  which,  granting  them  every  reasona- 
ble franchise,  might  preserve  to  himself  the  ordinary 
powers  of  an  executive  head.  After  much  difficulty 
and  opposition,  he  had  the  address  to  carry  his  point.  The  original 
frame  was  surrendered,  and  a  new  one  formed,  based  on  the  more 
common  and  approved  principles  of  representative  government.  The 
Assembly,  as  elsewhere,  was  to  have  the  power  of  originating  bills ; 
but  these  were  to  require  the  assent  of  the  proprietary.  He  obtained 
also  the  important  privilege  of  naming  the  council,  and  had  thus  to 
contend  with  only  one  popular  body  instead  of  two. 

Penn  had  come  to  the  colony  with  the  avowed  intention  of  ending 
his  days  in  it  ;but  he  was  prevented  doing  so  in  consequence  of  the 
introduction  into  parliament  of  a  bill  for  the  abolition  of  all  proprie- 
tory governments.  The  measure  was  supported  even  by  a  consider- 
able body  of  his  own  colonists.  On  reaching  England,  however,  h 
was  gratified  to  find  that  the  project  had  been  renounced  and  the  bill 
withdrawn.  He  acquired  considerable  favour  with  Glueen  Anne; 
but  circumstances  prevented  his  return  to  Pennsylvania.  He  died  in 
1718,  leaving  the  government  of  the  province  to  his  sons,  John, 
Thomas,  and  Richard.  At  the  opening  of  the  Revolutionary  War, 
it  was  one  of  the  principal  colonies,  and  Philadelphia  was  becoma 
the  metropoUs  of  the  British  possessions. 


SAVANNAH    IN     177  8. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


THE    CAROLINAS   AND    GEORGIA. 


HE  English  were  not  so  enger  to  settle 
the  regions  now  called  Carolina  as  they 
had  been  those  of  Virginia  and  New 
England.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
the  Spanish  claim  to  that  part  of  the 
Atlantic  coast  north  of  Florida  was 
still  good  as  far  as  Albemarle  Sound  ; 
and  the  first  intruders  on  its  soil  had 
learned  by  fatal  experience  that  his 
Catholic  majesty  was  not  disposed  to 
permit  encroachments  on  his  territory 
without  at  least  an  attempt  to  resist  them.  If  we  except  a  few  set- 
I'tirs  at  Mansemond  river,  on  the  borders  of  Virginia,  and  some  New 

2B3  89S 


2M 


THB  CAROLINAS   AND   QEORaiA. 


England  emigrants,  who  had  purchased  from  the  Indians  a  distrid 
around  Cape  Fear,  no  Englishman  had,  as  late  as  the  year  1G30, 
made  any  effort  to  settle  south  of  Virginia.  In  that  year  Sir  Robert 
Heath  obtained  a  patent ;  but  being  unable  to  fulfil  the  conditions,  it 
was  declared  forfeited. 

The  first  productive  grant  of  this  territory  was  given  by  Charles  V, 
on  the  24th  of  March,  1663,  and  included  under  the  name  of  Caro- 
lina the  whole  coast  from  the  36th  degree  north  to  the  river  Sad  Ma- 
theo.  Among  the  patentees  were  Monk,  duke  of  Albemarle,  Lord 
Clarendon,  Lord  Ashley  Cooper,  afterwards  Earl  of  Shoftesbury, 
Lord  Berkeley,  and  his  brother  Sir  William,  governor  of  Virginia. 
Drummond,  a  prudent  and  popular  man,  was  the  first  governor. 
Settlements  were  made  at  Albemarle  and  Cape  Fear,  while  the  emi- 
grants enjoyed  political  and  personal  immunities  greater  than  those 
of  the  neighbouring  colonies.  In  1605  a  new  patent  was  obtained, 
extending  their  territory  to  the  Pacific.  New  privileges  were  heaped 
upon  the  settlers ;  Lord  Shaftesbury,  assisted  by  the  celebrated  John 
Locke,  drew  up  for  them  a  constitution  designed  by  the  authors  as  a 
monument  of  legislative  wisdom.  It  provided  for  two  orders  of  no- 
bility, divided  the  territory  into  counties,  each  containing  four  hun- 
Jred  and  eighty  thousand  acres,  with  one  landgrave,  or  higher  noble, 
and  two  caciques  to  each  county.  Lords  of  manors  and  freeholders 
were  likewise  established;  but  the  tenants  could  hold  no  political 
franchise,  nor  attain  to  higher  rank.  The  proprietors  were  to  be 
eight  in  number,  possessing  the  whole  judicial  power,  with  the  su 
preme  direction  of  all  the  tribunals.  Such  a  ponderous  system  of 
barons,  caciques,  lords,  and  manors,  might  have  suited  the  feudal 
iges ;  but  it  was  totally  unfit  for  the  government  of  a  new  colony, 
and,  although  strenuously  supported  by  the  proprietors,  never  went 
into  operation.  Until  the  people  should  be  ripe  for  its  establishment, 
a  series  of  temporary  laws  was  established,  more  appropriate  to  the 
condition  of  the  new  territory. 

Meanwhile  the  people,  having  become  dissatisfied  with  the  ad- 
ministrator and  collector  of  the  revenue,  rose  in  a  body,  put  him  in 
prison,  and  summoned  a  parliament  of  their  own.  Culpepper,  their 
leader,  went  to  England  to  plead  their  cause  ;  but  he  was  there  ar- 
rested for  high  treason,  and  thrown  into  prison.  Lord  Shaftesbury, 
however,  procured  his  acquittal.  The  proprietors  then  sent  out  as 
governor  Seth  Sothel ;  but  his  administration  was  so  unpopular  as  to 
lead  to  deposition  by  the  colonists,  and  subsequent  trial  before  their 


CnARLESTON   FOUNDED. 


29fi 


TBI      lABL     or     OLA.  HI  NOON 


Assembly.     He  was  banished  for  one  year,  and  declared  incapable 
rf  again  holding  the  office  of  governor  in  Carolina. 

The  settlers  now  began  to  pay  some  attention  to  the  more  southern 
provinces.  In  1G70  they  sent  out  a  considerable  body  of  emigrants 
under  William  Sayle,  who  was  named  governor.  Dying  soon  after, 
he  was  succeeded  by  Sir  John'Yeamans,  who  was  subsequently  ac- 
cused of  sordid  proceedings  in  carrying  on  what  trade  the  youthful 
colony  enjoyed.  A  season  of  dissatisfaction  seems  to  have  succeeded, 
which  was  terminated  only  by  the  appointment  of  Governor  West, 
a  man  highly  acceptable  to  the  settlers,  and  who,  during  an  adminis 
tration  of  eight  years,  enjoyed  almost  unbounded  popularity.  Emi 
grants  flocked  to  the  territory,  comprising  among  their  number  many 
of  the  valuable  mechanics  driven  from  France  by  the  revocation  of 
the  edict  of  Nantes.  Proposals  were  soon  made  for  the  founding  of  a 
city.  These  being  favourably  received  by  the  people,  a  site  was 
chosen  on  a  high  piece  of  ground  above  the  Ashley  river ;  but  this 
was  afterwards  changed  to  another  spot,  called  Oyster  Point,  at  the 
junction  of  that  stream  with  the  Cooper.  At  the  former  place  Old 
Charleston  was  founded  in  1671,  and  the  new  city  at  the  latter  iu 
1080. 


2P6 


TIIK   CAROLINAS  AND    GEOROrA. 


EST  was  succeeded  in  1682  by  Moieton 
and  he,  in  IGSO,  by  Colleton,  brother  ta 
one  of  the  proprieturs,  and  endowed  with 
the  rank  of  landgrave.  Under  these  men 
^  the  spirit  of  faction,  which  had  for  some 
time  slumbered,  broke  forth  with  violence; 
and,  during  several  years,  disputes  of  the 
most  aggravated  nature  were  carried  on 
between  the  proprietors,  the  governor,  and 
the  colonists.  Amid  this  ferment  Seth  Sothel  suddenly  made  h)s 
appearance ;  and,  by  the  influence  of  party,  found  no  difficulty  'n 
gaining  the  office  of  his  unpopular  predecessor,  and  in  calling  a  par- 
liament which  sanctioned  all  his  proceedings.  On  hearing  of  this 
affair,  the  proprietors  issued  orders  for  his  immediate  recall,  ap- 
pointing Philip  Ludwell  as  governor,  with  instructions  to  examine 
and  report  as  to  any  real  grievances.  Locke's  constitution,  which 
here,  as  well  as  in  the  northern  provinces,  had  given  rise  to  the 
greatest  disorder,  was  abrogated,  and  quiet  in  a  general  degree  re- 
stored. But  a  new  source  of  dissension  was  found  in  the  numerous 
body  of  French  Protestant  refugees,  wbo  were  regarded  by  the  ori- 
ginal "Church  of  England"  settlers  with  feelings  of  national  and 
religious  aversion,  and  refused  the  rights  of  citizenship.  At  such 
treatment  they  were  justly  indignant;  and  disputes  rose  so  high  that 
the  proprietors  s^nt  out  one  of  their  own  body,  John  Archdale,  a 
Gluaker,  with  full  power  to  investigate  and  redress  grievances.  Con- 
ducting himself  with  great  prudence,  he  succeeded  in  greatly  allay- 
ing the  discontent  of  the  Protestant  settlers.  After  remaining  a  year, 
he  left  as  his  successor  Joseph  Blake,  who  steadily  pursued  the  same 
system  ;  so  that  in  a  few  years  parties  became  reconciled,  and  the 
French  were  admitted  to  all  the  rights  of  citizenship.  In  1700  Blake 
was  succeeded  by  Moore,  who,  two  years  after,  planned  and  con- 
ducted an  expedition  against  St.  Augustine,  which  brought  disgrace 
upon  himself  and  a  heavy  debt  on  the  colory.  In  1706,  the  Span- 
iards, by  way  of  retaliation,  appeared  before  Charleston,  and  sum- 
moned it  to  surrender.  Governor  Nathaniel  Johnson  returned  an 
indignant  defiance.  The  invaders  sent  on  shore  a  small  party,  who 
were  iaimediately  cut  ofT.  Six  small  vessels,  under  Captain  Rhett, 
•hen  sailed  against  their  armament,  which  fled  in  alarm.  An  addi- 
tional force,  both  of  ships  and  troops,  was  subsequently  captured  by 
the  settlers. 


INDIAN    WAR. 


297 


A  repose  of  several  years  followed  this  success,  which  ended  by 
a  war  with  the  numerous  Indian  tribes  of  the  vicinity.  It  broke  oin 
first  with  the  Tuscaroras.  This  brave  tribe  made  a  furious  attack  on 
the  Roanoke  settlers,  killing  more  than  one  hundred  of  their  number, 
and  laying  waste  part  of  the  villages ;  but  being  mtt  by  Captain 
Barnwell,  from  South  Carolina,  with  nine  hundred  and  sixty  men, 
they  were  totally  annihilated  as  a  nation,  the  remnant  soon  afterwards 
emigrating  to  the  north,  where  they  joined  the  Five  Nations. 

kUT  a  far  more  terrible  struggle  was 
now  at  hand.  Instigated  by  the 
Spaniards,  the  Yamassees,  Creeks, 
Cherokees,  and  other  tribes  between 
Cape  Fear  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
united  in  a  grand  confederacy  to  ex- 
tirpate the  English.  They  num- 
bered six  thousand  warriors,  but  their 
preparations  for  a  general  massacre 
were  enveloped  in  profound  secrecy. 
On  the  morning  appointed,  the  work  of  death  commenced  in  the 
vioinity  of  Port  Royal,  where  ninety  planters  perished.  Happily 
£.  vessel  lay  in  the  harbour,  on  which  the  people  crowded,  and  were 
conveyed  to  Charleston.  The  Indians,  collecting  from  all  sides,  ad- 
vanced upon  that  town  ;  two  detachments,  attempting  to  stop  them, 
were  drawn  into  an  ambuscade,  and  suffered  severely.  But  Governor 
Craven,  having  mustered  twelve  hundred  men  fit  to  bear  arms,  suc- 
ceeded in  stopping  their  progress ;  after  which,  having  received  a 
reinforcement  from  North  Carolina,  he  resolved  on  becoming  the 
assailant,  and  moved  against  the  allied  camp.  A  struggle,  long  aod 
fierce,  succeeded.  The  Indians,  having  stationed  themselves  in  an 
irregular,  tangled  spot,  admirably  adapted  to  their  mode  of  war'are, 
defended  themselves  with  accustomed  bravery.  They  were  How- 
ever, completely  defeated,  and  forced  to  abandon  the  colony.  This 
war  was  followed  by  a  series  of  internal  commotions,  which  lasted 
several  years,  and  were  ended  only  by  the  appointment  of  Sir  Francis 
Nicholson  governor,  under  a  commission  from  the  king.  A  great, 
object,  during  his  administration,  was  the  suppression  of  piracy 
which,  for  a  long  period,  had  prevailed  to  an  alarming  extent  in  the 
Bahama  and  neighbouring  islands.  In  1729  the  proprietors  surren 
dered  their  rights  to  the  crown,  which  gratified  the  colonists  by  tho 
fulire  remission  of  their  quit-rents. 


^^^^s!mm  jw  Ml  111.1   -'    m 


298 


THE   CAROLINAS  AND   GEOKuriA. 


IN  URAL    OaliKTBORFB. 


An  event  took  place  in  1(594,  which,  though  trivial  in  itself,  was 
destined  to  lay  the  foundation  of  an  important  commercial  product  in 
the  southern  states.  This  was  the  introduction  of  rice.  The  cap- 
tain of  a  Madagascar  vessel  touching  at  Carolina,  presented  the  go- 
vernor with  a  bag  of  this  article,  which,  being  distributed  among  the 
planters,  was  sown,  and  throve  so  remarkably  as  in  a  few  years  lo 
become  a  staple  commodity.  Negro  slavery  was  about  the  same  time 
introduced. 

N  1728,  General  Oglethorpe,  and  other  distinguished 
'  persons  of  England,  presented  a  plan  to  government 
for  the  settlement  of  the  large  district  between  the  Sa- 
vannah and  Alatamaha  rivers,  which  had  hitherto  been 
claimed  by  Florida.  This  was  to  liberate  from  the 
jails  all  persons  confined  for  debt,  or  minor  offences,  and  transport 
them  to  the  new  territory,  where,  under  the  guidance  of  a  committee 
of  trustees,  they  might  act  as  a  defence  to  the  more  inland  provinces. 
The  scheme  was  favourably  received,  large  sums  were  voted  by  opu- 
lent individuals  for  its  execution;  and  in  1732,  Oglethorpe,  with  one 
hundred  and  sixteen  persons,  sailed  for  the  new  settlement.  In  South 
Carolina  his  followers  were  most  enthusiastically  received.     The 


SETTLEMENT   OV  GEORGIA. 


21t9 


colony  was  named  Georgia,  in  honour  of  the  reigning  king.  On 
arriving  there,  Oglethorpe's  first  care  was  to  conciliate  the  neighbour 
ing  Indians  belonging  to  the  powerful  Creek  race.  His  efforts  being 
guided  by  sincerity  and  discretion,  were  crowned  with  success.  Th« 
Creek  king  met  him  at  the  settlement  since  called  Savannah,  attended 
by  fifty  principal  chiefs,  and  was  subsequently  induced  to  visit  Eng- 
land, where  he  held  an  interview  with  George  I.  The  colony  rapidly 
increased.  Augusta  was  founded  on  the  upper  Savannah,  in  1734. 
In  the  same  year  two  parties  of  emigrants  arrived,  numbering  more 
thati  five  hundred.  One  hundred  and  fifty  Highlanders  also  joined 
the  colony.  In  1740,  the  trustees  reported  that  2,500  emi- 
grants had  been  sent  out,  at  an  expense  of  eighty  thousand  pounds. 
Among  the  residents  were  the  celebrated  clergymen  John  and 
Charles  Wesley.  The  colonists  complained  of  labouring  un 
disadvantages.  Rum  and  slaves  were  both  forbidden — a  circum- 
stance which  caused  them  to  look  upon  the  Carolinas  with  peculiar 
envy.  The  lands  were  divided  into  small  lots  of  twenty-five  acres, 
and  granted  only  on  condition  of  military  service,  and  descending  to 
male  heirs  alone.  Religious  feuds  were  added  to  civil  ones.  The 
Wesleys  were  driven  from  the  colony.  For  a  short  period  Georgia 
appeared  on  the  verge  of  civil  war. 

FFAIRS  were  rendered  still 
farther  critical  by  the  Span- 
ish war,  which,  after  nume- 
rous petty  aggressions,  broke 

-X'-il M\  out  in  1738.     Oglethorpe  de- 

'     termined   to  attack    St.  Augustine,  the 

{d  capital  of  Florida.     Great  preparations 

were  made  for  this  enterprise ;  Virginia 

and  the  Carolinas  furnished  a  regiment, 

■rib^  as  well  as  £  120,000  currency  ;  and  an 

Indian  force   undertook  to  assist.      The 

governor,  who  was  thus  enabled  to  make  an  invasion  with  two  thou- 
sand men,  reduced  two  successive  forts;  but  the  castle  of  St.  Augus- 
tine itself  was  found  too  strongly  fortified  to  allow  a  reasonable  hopu 
of  reducing  it  unless  by  blockade.  This  he  expected  to  accomplish 
by  the  aid  of  a  strong  flotilla,  which  came  to  co-operate  with  him. 
It  proved,  however,  a  very  discouraging  service  for  his  undisciplined 
warriors;  and  the  Indians,  disgusted  by  an  expression  which  escaped 
him,  of  horror  at  their  cruelty,  went  off.     The  Highlanders,  his  best 


300 


THE   CAROLINAS    AND   GEORQIA. 


troops,  were  surprised,  and  a  number  cut  to  pieces  ;  while  the  militia 
lost  co'irage,  broke  the  restraints  of  discipline,  and  deserted  in  great 
numbers.  It  being  impossible  to  prevent  the  enemy  from  procuring 
B  reinforcement  and  large  supply  of  provisions,  he  was  obliged  to 
raise  the  siege,  and  return  with  his  armament  seriously  shattered, 
and  his  reputation  impaired. 

HE  Spaniards,  two   years   after 
[1742,]  attempted    to    retaliate; 
and    Monteano,  governor  of  St. 
Augustine,  with   thirty-two  ves- 
sels and  three  thousand  men,  ad* 
vanced  to  attack  Frederica.    Ogl-'thorpe's 
force   was   very  inadequate,  and   the  aid 
'^-  from  the  north  both  scanty  and  very  slow  in 
■  arriving ;  yet  he  acted  so  as  completely  tc 

redeem  his  military  character.  By  skilfully  using  all  the  advantages 
of  his  situation,  he  kept  the  enemy  at  bay  ;  then  by  various  strata- 
gems conveyed  such  an  exaggerated  idea  both  of  his  actual  force  and 
expected  reinforcements,  that  the  Spanish  ultimately  abandoned  the 
enterprise,  without  having  made  one  serious  attack. 

Georgia  was  thus  delivered  from  foreign  dangers;  but  she  con- 
tinued to  suffer  under  her  internal  evils.  The  colonists  complained 
that  absurd  regulations  debarred  them  from  rendering  their  produc- 
tions available,  and  kept  them  in  poverty.  Numbers  removed  to 
South  Carolina,  where  they  were  free  from  restraint;  and  the  iVIoia- 
vians,  being  called  upon  to  take  arms  contrary  to  their  principles, 
departed  for  Pennsylvania.  Great  efforts  were  made,  as  formerly  in 
Virginia,  to  produce  silk,  but  without  any  success.  In  1753  the 
trustees  relinquished  their  charge.  Georgia  became  a  royal  colony, 
and  the  people  were  left  at  full  liberty  to  use  all  the  means,  good 
and  bad,  of  advancing  themselves;  lands  were  held  on  any  tenure 
that  best  pleased  them;  negroes  and  rum  were  imported  without 
restriction  ;  and  a  free  intercourse  was  opened  with  the  West  Indies 


OENERAti    WOLTB, 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


THE    SEVEN   YEARS     WAB. 


(^  ITHERTO  we  have  traced  the  history  of  each  of  the 
English  colonies  in  America  separately  ;  for,  although 
occasionally  we  have  seen  them  forming  political 
combinations,  yet,  until  the  opening  of  the  Seven 
Years'  War,  no  object  had  been  presented  to  them 
J  sufficiently  great  to  cause  a  combination  of  their  ener- 
gies for  its  attainment.  Such  an  object  now  appeared  ;  and  from 
1754,  the  year  in  which  the  French  War  commenced,  the  general' 

2  0  aoi 


802 


THE   SEVEN  YEARS     WAH. 


zation  of  our  colonial  history  is  the  natural  consequence  of  the  pro- 
gress of  events. 

The  claim  of  France  to  the  river  St.  Lawrence  and  the  adjoining 
country,  was  founded  on  the  early  visits  of  Cartier.  Settlement  was 
first  attempted  by  De  la  Roche,  a  Briton,  who  obtained  from  Henry  IV. 
a  patent  of  similarly  extensive  powers  to  those  granted  in  England 
to  Gilbert  and  Raleigh.  "New  France"  was  found  to  open  into 
regions  of  vast  extent;  and  though  not  of  so  luxurious  an  aspect  as 
Virginia,  yet  affording  great  advantages  to  an  enterprising  nation, 
both  by  a  lucrative  fur  trade,  and  valuable  coast  fisheries.  Roche'? 
experiment  proved,  however,  a  failure ;  and  De  Monts,  who  made  a 
similar  one,  was  equally  unsuccessful. 

The  career  of  enterprise  was  next  undertaken  hy  Samuel  Cham 
plain,  who  became  the  father  of  New  France,  or  Canada.  After 
exploring  the  country,  he  built  and  fortified  Q,uebec,  allying  himself 
with  two  powerful  Indian  tribes,  the  Hurons  and  Algonquins.  This, 
however,  involved  him  in  war  with  the  Iroquois,  who  were  friendly 
to  the  English  ;  and  thus,  at  the  outset,  the  new  colony  became  in- 
volved in  cruel  arfd  unsatisfactory  wars.  Champlain's  charter  was 
soon  after  abrogated,  and  another  substituted,  whose  object  was  to 
convert  New  France  into  a  colony  of  the  first  magnitude.  This  ex- 
cited the  jealousy  of  the  English,  who  drove  their  rivals  out  of  Aca- 
dia, and  captured  Gluebec;  but  in  IGii'i  both  were  restored  to  France 
by  conventional  agreement.  Thirty  years  of  prosperity  succeeded, 
during  which  the  settlers  obtained  from  the  Indians  rumours  of  a 
mighty  river  to  the  west,  larger  than  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  empty- 
ing into  some  unknown  ocern.  Supposing  this  to  be  the  long-sought 
stream  opening  the  way  to  the  golden  regions  of  China  and  India, 
Talon,  the  governor  at  that  time,  used  every  exertion  to  discover  it. 
Two  of  the  colonists,  Joliet  and  Marquette,  sailed  in  two  little  Indian 
barks,  holding  each  three  men,  to  explore  the  mysterious  regions. 
Sailing  onward,  they  ascertained  that  the  river  emptied  into  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  when,  fearful  of  falling  into  Spanish  hands,  they  returned. 
In  1699,  D'Iberville  founded  Louisiana.  New  Orleans  was  settled  in 
1717 ;  and,  in  1730,  assumed  so  promising  an  aspect,  that  other  set- 
tlements were  extended  up  the  Mississippi.  Then  it  was  that  having 
control  of  the  northern  lakes,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  in  the 
south,  with  considerable  military  strength  in  duebec,  Montreal,  and 
other  settlements,  the  French  first  conceived  the  grand  scheme  of 
extending  a  line  of  military  posts  along  the  Ohio  and  Mississij'pi 


FRENCn   AND   ENGLISH   CLAIMS. 


803 


from  Canada  to  Louisiana,  thus  restricting  the  English  colonies  to 
the  territory  c^jt  of  the  Alleghanies.  As  a  commencement,  they 
built  Fort  Duo'iesne,  (named  after  the  governor  of  Canada,)  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Monongahela  and  Alleghany  rivers,  and  commanding 
th«  communication  from  Montreal  to  New  Orleans. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  English  king's  charter  had  granted 
th»  land  extending  to  the  Pacific.  The  French  settlements  were, 
therefore,  considered  as  encroachments,  which  the  Atlantic  colonists 
determined  to  resist.  The  territory  around  Fort  Duquesne  was 
claimed  by  a  British  society  culled  the  London  Company,  three  oi 
whose  servants  were  taken  by  the  French,  and  sent  to  a  second  fort 
on  Presque  Isle.  Soon  after  the  French  built  two  other  forts,  thus 
•"■  !pleting  the  contemplated  chain  of  fortresses. 

HESE  proceedings  were  considered 
by  Lieutenant-Governor   Dinwid- 
die,  of  Virginia,  as  so  many  acts 
of    aggression.      Accordingly, 
\ /^'''^^^^   with  the  approbation  of  the  As- 
"^       i/V'v'i    sembly,  he   despatched    Major 
U\  George  Washington  with  a  let- 
ter to  the  commandant  of  Fort 
Duquesne,  ordering  him  to  eva- 
cuate. In  this  expedition  Wash- 
ington suffered  man}    lardships, 
and    on   one  or  two   occasions 
came  very  near  losing  his  life 
Dinwiddle's    request    was    re- 
fused. 

Resolving  to  expel  the  aggressors  by  force,  the  Assembly  raised  a 
regiment,  and  placed  it  under  the  command  of  Washington.  After 
defeating  a  body  of  the  Indians  at  the  Great  Meadows,  he  encountered 
a  strong  force  under  De  Villiers.  Hastily  retreating,  he  threw  up 
Fort  Necessity,  at  the  Meadows,  where  he  was  attacked,  July  4th, 
1754.  After  fighting  all  day  against  five  times  his  numbers,  he 
capitulated  on  honourable  terms,  and  was  allowed  to  return  to  Vir- 
ginia. On  the  same  day,  a  convention  of  delegates  at  Albany,  after 
having  efltcted  a  treaty  with  the  Five  Nations,  reported  a  plan  of 
colcmial  union,  to  be  governed  by  a  general  assembly  of  delegates, 
with  a  governor  appointed  by  the  crown.  It  was  disapproved,  how 
ever,  by  England  and  Massachusetts,  and  did  not  go  into  effect.  A 
20 


R04 


THE  SEVEN  YEARS     WAR. 


WASHINGTON    8     INTSRVHW     WITH     8T.      PIKRHW. 


plan  was  finally  adopted  to  carry  on  the  war  by  British  troops,  aidec 
by  such  soldiers  as  the  colonists  could  raise. 

Early  in  1755,  General  Braddock  arrived  in  Virginia  with  two  re- 
giments, designed  as  an  expedition  against  Fort  Duquesne.  At  hi? 
request  a  convention  of  the  colonial  governors  assembled  in  Virginia 
and  resolved  on  three  expeditions — one  ngainst  Fort  Duquesne;  the 
second,  under  Governor  Shirley,  against  Niagara;  and  the  third 
against  Crown  Point.  While  this  session  was  being  held,  three 
thousand  militia  of  Miissachusetts  invaded  Nova  Scotia,  captured  the 
military  posts,  and  drove  ofTthe  inhabitants. 

Late  in  June,  General  Braddock,  with  twelve  hundred  picked 
troops,  and  ten  pieces  of  artillery,  marched  for  the  Alleghany.  With 
the  most  culpable  pride,  he  rejected  the  representations  of  Washing- 
ton and  other  provincial  officers  to  scour  the  woods  in  advance ;  and 
thus,  while  marching  in  the  European  fashion,  he  permitted  himself 
to  be  drawn  into  a  narrow  defile  on  the  Monongahela,  seven  miles 
from  the  fort.  Here,  on  the  8th  of  July,  he  was  attacked  by  an 
unseen  enemy  securely  posted  amid  the  deep  forests  on  each  side. 
His  men  fought  with  stern,  but  useless  bravery.  Whole  platoons 
sunk  before  the  Indian  rifle,  while  not  a  foe  was  in  view ;  Braddock 


BRADDOCK  S    DEFEAT. 


SOL 


was  mortally  wounded  ;  every  officer,  except  Washington,  carried 
from  the  field ;  and  rout,  despair,  and  uproar,  took  the  place  of  dis 
cipline.  The  provincials  under  Washington  alone  remained  firm 
and  to  their  praiseworthy  efl^orts  while  covering  the  retreat  and  beat- 
ing back  the  shouting  foe,  was  owing  the  salvation  of  that  wretched 
retimant.  Seven  hundred  British,  besides  provincials,  were  killed 
and  wounded — and  sixty-four  out  of  eighty-five  officers.  The  whole 
army,  including  a  reserve  of  eight  hundred  under  General  Dunbar, 
fled  in  disgraceful  hurry  to  Philadelphia,  leaving  the  frontier  ex- 
posed to  the  incursions  of  the  vindictive  foe.  The  victors  in  this 
battle  are  supposed  to  have  numbered  nin^  hundred.  Shirley's  ex- 
pedition against  Niagara  was  also  a  complete  failure. 

At  Crown  Point  a  large  party  of  General  Johnson's  troops  was 
totally  defeated  by  the  Baron  Dieskau,  who  subsequently  made  an 
attack  upon  the  English  camp.  In  this  he  was  mortally  wounded 
and  ca[)tured,  one  thousand  of  his  men  killed  or  wounded,  and  his 
army  driven  away.  After  this  success  Johnson  might  have  advanced 
with  flattering  prospects  of  success  against  Ticonderoga ;  but  he  spent 
the  remainder  of  the  campaign  in  idleness. 

In  the  following  spring,  war  was  declared  between  France  and  Eng 
land.  The  plan  for  this  year's  campaign  was  similar  to  that  of  1755. 
Crown  Point  was  to  be  attacked  by  ten  thousand  men,  Niagara  by 
six  thousand,  Duquesne  by  three  thousand.  While  deliberations 
were  going  on  as  to  which  should  be  attacked  first,  Montcalm,  sue 
cesser  to  Dieskau,  investe  J  Oswego,  stormed  and  took  the  works, 
made  the  whole  garrison  prisoners,  and  razed  the  fortifications  to  the 
ground.  At  this  daring  exploit  the  British  were  confounded,  their 
grand  schemes  broken  up,  and  the  whole  fall  and  summer  spent  in 
doing  nothing. 

At  the  close  of  the  year  a  strong  reinforcement  of  British  troops 
arrived  under  Lord  Loudoun ;  and  the  campaign  of  1757  opened  with 
high  hopes  of  success.  Loudoun's  design  was  to  improve  on  the 
errors  of  his  predecessors,  and  make  but  one  grand  attack,  of  which 
Louisburg  was  the  object.  He  sailed  there  with  a  great  army,  and 
finding  the  works  stronger  than  had  been  expected,  returned  to  New 
York.  About  the  same  time  Montcalm  descended  from  Canada  to 
the  works  on  Lake  George,  and  captured  Fort  William  Henry,  one 
of  the  main  dependencies  of  the  English.  While  the  garrison  was 
marching  out,  a  furious  attack  was  made  upon  them  by  the  hostile 
Indians,  and  no  less  than  fifteen  hundred  men,  women,  and  children 
»  aoa 


306 


THE    SEVEN    YEARS     WAH. 


U\SSiCWK     AT     FORT     WILL1A.M     HBNUV 


massacred.  Whether  Mintcalin  could  have  prevented  this  butchery 
or  not,  is  unknown ;  but  it  has  left  an  indelible  stain  upon  his  me- 
mory. This  event  dissipated  the  shadowy  achievements  which  were 
to  have  been  accomplished  that  year,  and  left  the  French  complete 
masters  of  all  the  territory  claimed  by  them  at  the  beginninij  of 


u'je  war. 


This  course  of  folly  and  imbecility  was  about  drawing  to  a  close. 
The  king,  compelled  by  popular  indignation,  appointed  a  new  min- 
istry, of  whom  the  master  spirit  was  William  Pitt,  afterwards  Lord 
Chatham.  He  was  probably  the  greatest  war  minister  ever  Eng- 
land produced.  He  was  so  popular  in  America,  that  in  answer  to  a 
requisition  for  troops,  three  colonies  raised  in  a  little  while  fifteen 
thousand  troops.  At  the  opening  of  the  campaign  of  1758,  Genera! 
Abercrombie,  successor  to  Loudoun,  found  himself  at  the  head  of  fifty 
thousand  men.  Part  was  to  reduce  Louisbourg;  part,  Ticonderoga 
and  Crown  Point,  and  the  remainder  Fort  Duquesne. 

The  first  expedition  numbered  fourteen  thousand  men  under  Gene- 
ral Amherst,  and  reached  Louisbourg,  June  2.  The  French  garrison 
numbered  three  thousand  men,  under  the  Chevalier  Drucourt.  Tlie 
■iege  was  prosecuted  with  vigour  for  three  weeks,  when  the  town 
surrendered. 

Abercrombie  mustered  his  forces  at  Albany,  and  embarked  on 
akc  George  with  fifteen  thousand   men  and  a  formidable  train  i-t 


de 


AT5AXD0NMENT   OF   FOKT    DUQUESNE. 


807 


ABSKCHOMBIS     CRUSSINa     L  A  K  B     0  S  O  K  O  X 


of 


.TOga 

Jene- 

krison 

The 

1  town 


{irlillery.  On  laying  siege  to  TiconJeioga  he  led  his  troops  upon  a 
breastwork  of  trees,  where,  becomincr  entangled,  they  were  fired 
upon  by  a  perfectly  secure  enemy  until  two  thousand  of  their  num- 
ber were  killed  or  wounded.  'I'he  designs  upon  the  f()rt  and  Crown 
Point  were  then  abandoned;  but  a  detachment  was  sent  against  Fort 
Frontignac,  which,  being  abandoned  by  the  greater  part  of  its  gar- 
rison, surrendered.  Circumstances  gave  to  this  last  feat  more  im- 
portance than  it  could  ever  have  acquired  on  the  basis  of  military 
♦  merit.  It  had  hitherto  formed  the  depot  of  Fort  Duquesne,  which, 
Being  now  cut  ofT  from  provisions,  was  abandoned  by  its  garrison, 
who  descended  the  Ohio  in  boats.  At  this  unexpected  turn  of  for- 
tune. General  Forbes,  leader  of  the  third  expedition — who  had  been 
from  July  to  November  marching  from  Fort  Cumberland,  Va.,  to  the 
Laurel  Hills,  sometimes  at  the  rate  of  a  mile  a  day — pushed  rapidly 
forward,  and  [November  25]  entered  the  abandoned  works  without 
resistance.  The  name  was  changed  to  Pittsburg.  General  Forbes 
died  during  his  return  to  Philadelphia. 

In  the  following  year  Pitt  determined  to  attempt  the  conquest  of 
Canada.    The  main  attack  was  to  be  conducted  by  General  Wolfe, 
a  young  .officer  who  had  distinguished   himself  before   Louisbourg 
General  Amherst,  who  succeeded  Abercrombie,  after  reducing  Ticon- 
deroga  and  Crown  Point,  was  to  join  Wolfe  at  Quebec.    Niagam 


808 


TUB   SEVEN   YKAR8    WAR. 


BUINa    OF    TIOONDBBODA. 


was  to  be  reduced  by  General  Pridcaux.  Tirnnderoga  was  aban- 
doned by  its  garrison  on  the  appearance  of  the  English  army.  The 
same  thing  happened  nt  Crown  Point.  Fort  Niagara  was  besieged 
by  General  Prideaux  on  the  6th  J>i!y;  but  he  being  killed,  the  com  , 
mand  devolved  on  Sir  William  Johnson,  who  gained  a  battle  over  the 
garrison  in  an  open  field  chosen  by  themselves.  After  this  they  '•s- 
tired  to  their  works,  and  on  the  25th  capitulated. 

Meanwhile  Wolfe  embarked  at  Louisbourg  with  eight  thousand 
men,  and  landing  before  dnebec  offered  General  Montcalm  battle. 
It  was  accepted,  and  the  English  wore  defeated.  Not  discouraged, 
Wolfe  landed  his  men  [September  3]  at  Point  Levi,  and  determined 
to  scale  the  heights  of  Abraham,  hitherto  considered  inaccessible. 
On  the  following  morning  the  astonished  Montcalm  beheld  his  enemy 
drawn  up  in  battle  array  on  the  mountain.  But  with  the  courage 
of  a  noble  nature,  he  determined  to  march  out  and  give  battle.  The 
disposition  of  the  armies  was  masterly,  and  the  action  worthy  of  tiie 
two  greatest  generals  in  America.     At  its  commencement,  Wolfe  was 


■"",'  "W 


%''.  'fifJl"  '<^:*t-  ,p;a 


Pi  » 

IP 


i^J. 


I 


^^'■m 


o 

B) 

u 

» 

H 

o 


^ 


QUEBEC   T.^KEN    BY   THE   ENGLISH. 


309 


DEATH     OF     OENEBAL     WOLFK 


wounded  in  the  wrist,  and  not  long  afterwards  in  the  body;  but  he 
still  cheered  on  his  men  until  a  third  ball  pierced  his  breast,  and  he 
was  conveyed  1 1  the  rear.  Monckton,  second  in  command,  also  fell. 
About  this  time  the  French  centre  was  broken  ;  and  the  Highlanders, 
rushing  forward  with  drawn  swords,  completed  the  rout.  When  in 
the  agonies  of  death  Wolfe  was  told  that  the  enemy  were  flying,  he 
exclaimed — "I  die  content."  Some  time  after,  his  gallant  antagonist, 
Montcalm,  also  mortally  wounded,  expired,  expressing  his  satisfaction 
that  he  "would  not  live  to  see  the  surrender  of  Gluebec."  The  city 
immediately  capitulated.  Next  year  Montreal  was  taken,  with  all  its 
dependencies;  and  henceforth  Canada  was  a  British  province.  This 
victory  closed  the  war  in  America.  The  treaty  of  February  10, 1703, 
secured  to  the  colonies  and  mother  country  all  they  had  claimed  be- 
fore the  war,  together  with  the  entire  French  possessions  in  the 
DOW  United  States,  except  Louisiana. 


f 


SAUUBti    AT]  A  MS 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 


COMMENCEMENT  OF  THE  REVOLUTION. 


JHEN  the  Seven  Years'  War  had  closed,  the  peop.« 
of  the  American  colonies  of  Great  Britain  were  fuil 
of  loyalty  and  attachment  to  the  mother  country. 
But  these  dispositions  were  speedily  changed  by  the 
ill-judged  measures  of  the  British  ministry.  Plan? 
for  taxing  the  colonies  had  been  successively  proposed  to  Walpole 
and  Pitt ;  but  those  wary  ministers  declined  the  experiment.  Gren- 
ville  was  bolder,  and  after  causing  duties  to  be  imposed  on  several  arti 
cles  of  import,  succeeded  in  carrying  the  famous  Stamp  Act  in 
March,  1765.  This  act,  which  imposed  a  tax  on  the  paper  used  foi 
notes  of  hand,  bills  of  exchange,  and  other  documents  used  in  the 
ordinary  transactions  of  business,  was  regarded  by  the  colonies  as 
unreasonable  and  tyrannical.  It  was  received  with  a  burst  of  indig 
nation  throughout  the  country.  The  colonial  Assemblies  generaH? 
no 


WBU'piJ" 


K''V"Jtf«   i|ii.|i)  »»»»"i H4i'uni  ■ 


THE   STAMP  ACT. 


811 


ST1.MP    AOT    RIOT 


P'ssed  resolutions  denouncing  the  act  in  strong  terms.  A  congres.i 
of  deputies,  summoned  by  a  resolution  of  the  Massachusetts  Assem 
bly,  met  in  New  York,  Octob.T,  17G5,  to  consult  on  the  grievances 
under  which  the  colonies  laboured,  in  consequence  of  the  late  enact- 
ments of  the  British  Puiliainent.  All  the  colonies  exdept  New 
Hampshire,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  and  Georgia,  were  repre- 
sented. A  declaration  of  rights  and  grievances,  a  petition  to  the 
king,  and  a  memorial  to  each  house  of  parliament,  firmly  remon- 
strating against  the  oppressive  acts  of  parliament,  and  earnestly  en- 
treating a  redress  of  grievances,  were  voted,  and  the  congress  dis- 
solved on  the  25th  of  October. 

The  storm  of  popular  indignation,  however,  still  continued,  and 
serious  riots  ensued  in  Boston  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country, 
where  the  Stamp  Act  was  attempted  to  be  enforced  by  the  officers 
ol  government.  Resolutions  and  combinations  against  the  importa- 
tion and  use  of  British  manufactures  followed  these  popula'r  demon- 
strations. 

Meantime  Dr.  Franklin,  and  the  other  American  agents  in  Lon- 
don, aided  by  the  Prime  Minister  Conway  and  William  Pitt,  were 
earnestly  endeavouring  to  obtain  a  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act. 


811' 


COMMENCEMENT   OF  THE   REVOLUTION. 


HKcaeTioti   or    iiiH    nbws   of  tub    kki-kal   o  if  ■!  ii  b   stamp    act. 


V 

* 


•1% 


To  the  furtherance  of  this  measure,  the  ministers  first  introduced 
what  they  called  the  Declarnlory  Act.  It  pronounced  that  the  king 
and  parliament  had  a  rio;ht  to  make  laws  to  bind  the  colonies  and 
people  of  America,  subjects  of  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  in  all 
cases  whatsoever.  As  soon  as  this  bill  was  passed,  that  for  the 
repeal  of  the  stamp  act  was  introduced.  After  violent  and  protracted 
debates,  in  which  Pitt  participated,  althtiuj^h  he  was  dangerously 
sick,  the  bill  at  length  passed  the  House  of  Commons,  by  a  vote  of 
276  to  167  ;  and  notwithstanding  a  still  more  violent  opposition,  and 
the  entry  of  two  protests,  its  friends  succeeded  in  getting  it  through 
the  House  of  Lords.  After  receiving  the  king's  approval,  i;  became 
a  law,  March  19,  17(>6. 

The  passage  of  this  bill  was  received  with  the  liveliest  demon- 
strations of  joy  by  the  inhabitants  of  London,  where  the  church-bells 
were  rung  and  the  houses  illuminated.  In  America,  where  the 
people  could  not  even  hope  for  such  an  event,  the  intelligence  pro- 
duced a  transport  of  surprise,  exultation,  and  gratitude.  Thanks 
were  voted  by  the  legislatures  to  Lord  Camden,  Pitt,  and  others,  who 
had  befriended  the  colonial  interests. 

The  burst  of  good  feeling  which  followed  this  conciliatory  measure 
was  somewhat  allayed  by  the  declaratory  act,  in  which  the  right  of 
fixation  was  still  asserted  ;  and  new  acts  of  oppression  soon  re- 
Jiwakened  discontent.  Indemnity  for  damage  done  by  the  riots  was 
demanded  ;  troops  were  ordered  to  be  quartered  on  the  citizens ; 
an  act  imposing  duties  on  glass,  paper,  pasteboard,  white  and  red 
lead,  painters'  colours,  and  tea,  was  passed,  (June  29,  1707,)  and 
new  regulations  for  collecting  the  revenue  were  rigorously  enforced. 
\ltercations  between  the  colonial  Assemblies  and  the  royal  governors 


THE   BOSTON   MASSACUB. 


313 


JOHN     HANCOCK. 


lnliDwcd  theje  measures  of  Townsliend,  llie  minister,  who  died  in 
17()7,  and  was  succeeded  by  Lord  North. 

The  seizure  at  Boston  of  the  sloop  Liberty,  owned  by  the  populal 
merchant,  John  Hancock,  led  to  a  serious  riot;  and  the  quartering  of 
troops,  (November  10,  17()7,)  in  the  representatives' chamber,  the 
court-house,  and  that  cradle  of  liberty,  Faneuil  Hall,  was  regarded 
as  the  most  terrible  outrage  which  tlie  citizens  had  ever  endured. 

JNon-imporlation  agreements  were  entered  into  by  nearly  all  the 
coloni(s,  on  the  one  hand,  and  a  proposition  for  trying  American 
ofll'iuKTs  in  England,  was  entertained  on  the  other;  while  the  alter- 
cations l)etween  the  royal  governors  and  the  colonial  Assemblies  were 
vigorously  kept  up.  In  Boston,  the  presence  of  the  British  troopt 
was  a  perpetual  source  of  irritation.  On  the  5th  of  March,  1770,  a 
collision  took  place  in  King  street  now  called  State  street,  between 
the  soldiers  and  citizens.  The  soldiers,  being  pelted  with  snow- 
balls and  pieces  of  ice,  called  for  the  protection  of  a  guard.  Captain 
Preston's  company,  then  on  guard,  came  to  their  relief.  A  charge 
was  ordered  without  effect.  The  mob  dared  the  soldiers  to  fire,  and 
un  one  of  their  number  being  actually  felled  with  a  club,  they  fired. 
Three  men  were  killed,  and  several  others  wounded,  of  whom  oncj 
afierw  ards  died. 

«  3D 


811 


COMMENCEMENT    OF   THE   REVOLUTION. 


FA.NBDIL     HALL, 


These  martyrs  to  the  cause  of  liberty  were  buried  with  great 
pomp,  and  the  Boston  massacre  was  annually  commemorated  lonpf 
after  by  a  grand  assemblage  and  the  delivery  of  an  exciting  oration. 
The  officer  and  soldiers,  who  had  caused  the  death  of  the  citizens, 
were  defended  on  their  trial  by  John  Adams  and  Josiab  duincy. 
The  captain  and  six  men  were  acquitted,  and  two  men  were  found 
guilty  of  I  manslaughter. 

In  Rhode  Island,  the  destruction  of  the  British  armed  schooner 
Gaspee,  in  consequence  of  her  firing  on  a  merchantman,  was  one  of 
the  bold  acts  which  mark  the  spirit  of  the  time.  A  reward  of  £500, 
together  with  a  pardon  to  the  informer,  failed  to  shake  the  fidelity  of 
any  of  the  numerous  party  concerned  in  this  aflliir. 

The  determination  of  the  colonists  to  resist  the  introduction  of  tea 
sent  out  by  the  East  India  Company,  led  to  the  most  serious  riots. 
The  permission  to  the  company  to  export  this  article  free  of  duty 
made  it  cheaper  to  the  American  consumer  than  before  U  had  Deeti 


THE  TEA   RIOTS. 


815 


nODTON     MA38A0BE. 


made  a  source  of  revenue,  so  that  in  this  instance  the  resistance  was 
made  to  the  principle  of  taxation.  Cargoes  were  sent  to  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Charleston,  (South  Carohna,)  and  Boston.  The  inha- 
bitants of  the  cities  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  sent  the  ships  back 
to  London,  "and  they  sailed  up  the  Thames  to  proclaim  to  all  tho 
nation,  that  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  would  not  be  enslaved." 
The  inhabitants  of  Charleston  unloaded  the  tea  and  stored  it  in  damp 
cellars,  where  it  could  not  be  used,  and  where  it  finally  was  all 
spoiled.  The  inhabitants  of  Bostdn  tried  every  measure  to  send 
back  the  three  tea  ships  which  had  arrived  there,  but  without  suc- 
cess. The  agents  of  the  company  would  not  release  the  captains 
from  their  obligations  ;  the  custom-house  officers  refused  them  clear- 
ances, and  the  governor  would  not  allow  them  to  pass  Castle  William. 

The  vessels  containing  the  tea  lay  for  some  days  in  the  harbour, 
watched  by  a  strong  guard  of  citizens,  who,  from  a  numerous  town- 
meeting,  despatched  the  most  peremptory  commands  to  the  ship- 
masters not  to  land  their  cargoes.  At  length,  the  popular  rage 
could  be  restrained  no  longer,  and  the  consignees,  apprehending 
violence,  took  refuge  in  Castle  William,  while,  on  the  16ih  of  De 
cember,  an  assemblage  of  men,  dressed  and  painted  like  Mohawk 
Indians,  boarded  the  vessels,  and  threw  the  tea  into  the  dock.  In 
the  space  of  about  two  hours,  the  contents  of  three  hundred  ar.d 
'brty-two  chests  of  tea,  valued  at  £18,000  sterling,  were  thus  de- 
stroyed. 

This  act  led  to  the  passage  of  the  Boston  Port  Bill,  (31st  March 


IU6 


COMMENCEMENT   OP  THE   REVOLUTION. 


[3TRCT0TI0N   OF   THS    T  B  A.  1 N    B03T0K    HARBOUR. 


1774,)  prohibiting  the  lading  or  unlading  of  goods  and  merchandize 
at  Boston  after  the  1st  day  of  June,  until  the  return  of  obedience  and 
the  indemnification  of  the  East  India  Company  for  the  tea  destroyed. 
To  enforce  the  enactments  of  this  bill,  four  ships  of  war  were  ordered 
to  sail  for  the  proscribed  town.  General  Gage,  commander-in-chief 
in  America,  was  appointed  Governor  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  the 
room  of  Mr.  Hutchinson  ;  and  he  was  authorized  to  remit  forfeitures 
and  grant  pardons.     He  arrived  on  the  13th  of  May. 

The  effect  of  this  stringent  proceeding  was  exactly  the  reverse  of 
what  had  been  anticipated  by  the  British  ministry.  Instead  ot 
dividing  and  intimidating  the  colonies,  it  united  and  emboldened 
them. 

The  necessity  of  a  general  congress  was  soon  universally  perceived, 
and  the  measure  was  gradually  adopted  by  every  colony,  from  New 
Hampshire  to  South  Carolina.  On  the  4th  of  September,  delegates 
from  eleven  colonies  appeared  at  Philadelphia  ;  and,  the  next  day, 
the  first  continental  congress  was  organized  at  Carpenter's  Hall,  in 
Chestnut  street.  On  the  14th,  members  from  North  Carolina  ar 
rived,  making  fArelve  colonies  that  were  represented.  It  was  resolved 
that  each  colony  should  have  one  vote,  whatever  might  be  the  num 
ber  of  its  representatives.  They  made  a  declaration  of  rights ;  re- 
aolved  on  an  address  to  the  king,  a  memorial  to  the  people  of  Britkb 


THE   MINUTE   MEN. 


817 


0ARPBMTSB8    HALL. 


Amprica,  and  an  address  to  the  people  of  Great    Britain.     These 
papers  had  a  great  effect  both  in  America  and  England.     They  in 
spired   the   people   with   confidence  in  their  delegates  ;    and   their 
dfcency,  firmness,  and  wisdom,  caused  a  universal  feeling  of  r<  sped 
for  the  congress. 

General  Gage,  in  the  mean  time,  was  evidently  anticipating,  a  re 
Sdrt  tu  arms.  He  seized  all  the  deposits  of  powder  and  provision 
which  he  could  reach  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Boston,  and  began  to 
fortify  the  Neck,  which  unites  it  to  Roxbury.  The  representatives 
of  the  people  of  Massachusetts  assembled  in  convention ;  remonstrated 
ngainst  these  proceedings;  appointed  a  committee  to  prepare  a  plan 
for  the  immediate  defence  of  the  province  ;  gave  orders  for  the  en 
listment  of  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  to  be  in  readiness,  at  a 
minute's  warning,  to  appear  in  arms,  and  elected  three  general 
(ifRcers,  Preble,  Ward,  and  Pomeroy,  to  command  these  minute-men. 
At  a  subsequent  session,  in  November,  they  took  measures  for  arm- 
ing the  militia,  and  appointed  two  more  officers,  Prescottand  Heath. 
They  also  secured  the  co-operation  of  New  Hampshire,  Rhode 
Island,  and  Connecticut,  in  raising  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men. 

2D2 


318 


OO-MMENCEMENT  OP   THE   RBVOLUTIOy. 


In  Ifhode  Island  and  New  Hampshire,  the  ordnance  and  ammunition 
wen;  secured  for  the  use  of  the  people. 

The  British  ministry,  when  apprised  of  these  acts,  disregarded  the 
attempts  of  Chatham  and  Burke  to  have  the  grievances  of  the  colo- 
nist? removed,  declared  Massachusetts  in  a  state  of  rebellion,  and 
caused  a  bill  to  be  passed  restricting  the  colonial  commerce  and  fish- 
eries, while  John  Hancock  and  Samuel  Adams,  and  a  band  oi  other 
leading  spirits,  were  stimulating  the  colonies  to  the  most  determined 
resistance.  Oppression  and  menaces  of  force  on  the  one  hand,  and 
discontent  and  a  determmation  to  be  free,  or  die  in  the  cause  ct  free- 
dom, on  the  other,  were  now  speedily  bringing  affairs  to  a  rnsis. 


«BtTI«H    NAVAL    OOSTnllB,      1776 


BIIOX     or     BOSTON. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 


FIRST   HOSTILITIES    OF   THE   REVOLUTIONARY  WAR. 


HE  first  serious  collision  between  the  colo- 
nists and  the  British  troops  ar  ise  from  an 
expedition  sent  out  from  Boston  by  Gene- 
ral Gage,  to  destroy  some  military  stores 
deposited  at  Concord.  For  the  execution 
of  this  design,  he,  on  the  night  preceding 
the  19th  of  April,  detached  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Smith  and  Major  Pitcairn,  with 
eight  hundred  grenadiers  and  light  inftintry,  who,  at  eleven  o'clock, 
embarked  in  boats  at  the  bottom  of  Boston  Common,  crossed  Charles 
river,  and  having  landed  at  Phipp's  farm,  in  Cambridge,  commenced 
n  silent  and  expeditious  march  for  Concord.  Although  measures 
had  been  taken  to  intercept  any  expresses  that  might  be  sent  from 
Boston  to  alarm  the  country,  yet  some  messengers  from  Dr.  Warren 
eluded  the  British  patrols,  and  gave  the  alarm,  which  was  rapidly 
spread  by  church-bells,  signal-guns,  and  volleys.     On  the  arrival  of 

21  810 


8*J0       FIRST   HOSTILITIKS   OP  THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR. 


4rr&:R    at    lexin3ton. 


the  British  troops  at  Lexington,  six  miles  below  Concord,  they  found 
about  seventy  men,  beion«ring  to  the  minute  company  of  that  town, 
on  the  parade,  under  anus.  Major  Pitcairn,  who  led  the  van,  gal- 
loping up  to  them,  called  out,  "Disperse,  disperse,  you  rebels! 
throw  down  your  arms,  and  disperse!"  The  sturdy  yeomanry  not 
instantly  obeying  his  order,  he  advanced  nearer,  fired  his  pistol, 
flourished  his  sword,  and  ordered  his  soldiers  to  fire.  The  troops 
cheered,  and  immediately  fired  ;  several  of  the  provincials  fell,  and 
the  rest  dispersed.  The  British  continuing  to  discharge  their  mus- 
kets after  the  dispersion,  a  part  of  the  fugitives  stopped,  and  returned 
the  fire.  Eight  Americans  were  killed,  three  or  four  of  them  by  the 
first  discharge  of  the  British,  the  rest  after  they  had  left  the  parade. 
Several  were  also  wounded. 

The  British  now  pressed  forward  to  Concord,  and  destroyed  the 
stores  ;  but  in  their  retreat  they  encountered  the  exasperated  people 
who  had  risen  in  a  mass.  A  severe  conflict  took  place  at  Concon 
bridge.  Their  retreat  towards  Lexington  was  harassed  by  a  galling 
fire  from  behind  stone  walls,  trees,  hillocks,  and  hedges.  The  pro- 
vincial soldiej-s  were  excellent  marksmen,  and  their  superior  know- 


BATTLE   OF   LEXINQTON. 


321 


1,0  RD    PB  KCT. 


ledge  of  the  cnuntry  enabled  them  to  hend  ofT  the  British  troops  at 
every  turn  of  the  road.  Thus  harassed,  they  reached  Lexington, 
where  they  were  joined  by  Lord  Percy,  who,  most  opportunely  for 
them,  had  arrived  with  nine  hundred  men,  and  two  pieces  of  cannon. 
The  enemy,  now  amounting  to  about  eighteen  hundred  men,  having 
halted  an  hour  or  two  at  Lexington,  recommenced  their  march  ;  but 
the  attack  from  the  provincials  was  simultaneously  renewed,  and  an 
irregular  yet  very  galling  fire  was  kept  up  on  each  flank,  as  well  as 
on  the  front  and  rear.  The  close  firing  threw  the  British  into 
great  confusion;  but  they  kept  up  a  retreating  fire  on  the  militia  and 
minute-men.  A  little  after  sunset,  the  regulars  reached  Bunker's 
Hill,  where,  exhausted  with  excessive  fatigue,  they  remained  during 
the  night,  under  the  protection  of  the  Somerset  man-of-war,  and  the 
next  morning  went  into  Boston.  If  the  Salem  and  Marblehead  regi- 
ments had  arrived  in  season  to  cut  oflT  their  retreat,  in  all  probability 
but  few  of  the  detachment  would  ever  have  reached  Boston.  Of  the 
Americans  engaged  throughout  the  day,  fifty  were  killed  and  thirty- 
four  wounded.  The  British  loss  was  sixty-five  killed,  one  hundred 
and  eighty  wounded,  and  twenty-eight  prisoners.  To  their  wounded 
prisoners  the  Americans  behaved  with  the  utmost  tenderness  and 
hutnanity,  and  apprised  Gage  that  he  was  at  liberty  to  send  the  sur- 
geons of  his  own  army  to  minister  to  them. 

41 


3J2       FIRST   HOSTILITIES   OP  THE   HEVOLUTIOXARY   WAR. 


0OX.ONaL     ALLXN     0  A.  P  T  n  H  I  N  a     TICONDBHOQA 


The  affair  of  Lexington  was  the  signal  for  war.  The  provincial 
congress  of  Massachusetts  met  the  next  day  after  the  battle,  and  de- 
termined the  number  of  men  to  be  raised  ;  fixed  on  the  payment  of 
the  troops ;  voted  an  issue  of  paper  money;  drew  up  rules  and  regu- 
.alions  for  an  army;  and  all  was  done  in  a  business-like  manner. 

The  news  of  the  battle  caused  a  rush  of  volunteers  towards  the 
scene  of  action  from  the  surrounding  colonies;  and  twenty  thou- 
sand men  were  soon  assembled,  forming  a  line  of  encampment  from 
Roxbury  to  the  river  Mystic,  holding  the  British  army,  under  Gene- 
ral Gage,  besieged  in  Boston. 

In  Connecticut  an  expedition  was  set  on  foot  for  surprising  the 
fortresses  of  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point.  Forty  volunteers  pro- 
ceeded to  Castleton,  where  they  met  Colonel  Ethan  Allen  with  two 
hundred  and  thirty  men. 

Here  they  were  all  unexpectedly  joined  by  Colonel  Benedict  Ar- 
nold, who  meditated  a  similar  project.  He  was  admitted  to  act  as 
auxiliary  to  Allen,  who  held  the  chief  command.  They  proceeded 
on  their  expedition,  -.id  arrived  on  the  night  of  the  9th  of  May  on 
the  shore  of  Lake  Champlain,  opposite  to  Ticonderoga.  Allen  and 
Arnold  crossed  with  eighty-three  men,  and  the  two  colonels  entered 
'hf  "ort  abreast,  at  break  of  day.     All  the  garrison  were  asleep,  ex- 


BATTLE   OF  BUNKER   HILL. 


323 


repl  one  sentinel,  whose  piece  missing  fire,  he  attempted  to  escape 
into  the  fort ;  but  the  Americans  rushed  after  him,  and  forming  tiiem- 
selves  into  a  hollow  square,  gave  three  loud  huzzas,  which  instantly 
aroused  the  garrison.  Some  skirmishing  with  swords  and  bayonets 
ensued.  De  la  Place,  the  commander,  was  required  to  surrender 
the  fort.  "By  what  authority?"  he  asked,  with  no  unnatural  sur- 
prise. "  I  demand  it,"  replied  Allen,  "  in  the  name  of  the  Great 
Jehovah,  and  of  the  Continental  Congress  I"  This  extraordinary 
summons  was  instantly  obeyed;  and  the  fort,  with  its  valuable  stores 
and  forty-nine  prisoners,  was  surrendered  without  delay. 

Colonel  Seth  Warner  was  then  despatched  to  Crown  Point ;  and 
he  took  prssession  of  this  place,  in  which  a  serjeant  and  twelve  pri- 
vates f  >rnied  the  whole  of  the  garrison.  A  British  sloop-of-war  lying 
off  St.  Johns,  at  the  northern  end  of  Lake  Champlain,  was  soon  after 
captured  by  Arnold. 

Thus  the  Americans,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man,  acquired, 
by  a  bold  and  decisive  stroke,  two  important  posts,  a  great  quantity 
of  artillery  and  ammunition,  and  the  command  of  Lake  Greorge  and 
Lake  Champlain. 

In  May,  Generals  Howe,  Burgoyne,  and  Clinton,  arrived  at  Bos- 
ton, with  reinforcements  for  the  besieged  garrison.  General  Gage 
nuw  offered  pardon  to  all  who  would  lay  down  their  arms,  except 
Samuel  Adams  and  John  Hancock ;  and  he  declared  the  province 
under  martial  law.  In  June,  the  colonial  generals  determined  to 
occupy  Bunker  Hill,  in  Charlestown.  On  the  evening  of  the  16th 
of  June,  Colonel  Prescott  marched  from  Cambridge  for  this  purpose; 
but,  by  some  mistake,  he  took  ground  on  Breed's  Hill,  much  nearer 
Boston,  and  within  range  of  its  cannon.  By  labouring  diligently 
through  the  night,  bis  men  succeeded  in  raising  a  respectable  redoubt, 
which  was  assailed  at  break  of  day  by  The  Lively  sloop-of-war,  and 
a  battery  of  six  guns  on  Copp's  Hill,  at  the  north  end  of  Boston. 
Undismayed  by  the  fire,  the  provincial  soldiers  laboured  at  their  in- 
trenchments  till  the  breastwork  reached  from  the  redoubt  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  hill  near  the  Mystic.  New-mown  hay  and  wooden  fences 
formed  a  part  of  their  materials. 

As  the  secure  possession  of  Breed's  Hill  would  render  Boston  un- 
tenable. General  Gage  detached  Generals  Howe  and  Pigot,  at  noon, 
with  tan  companies  of  grenadiers,  ten  of  infantry,  and  some  artillery, 
to  dis  odge  the  provincials.  Landing  at  Morton's  Point,  Howe  de- 
cided to  wait  for  reinforcements,  and  at  3  o'clock  moved  to  the 


524       FIRST   HOSTILITIES   OF  THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAH. 


OSNBR&.L  WABRBN. 


attack  with  three  thousand  men  ;  while  the  town  of  Charlestown 
being  set  on  fire,  added  terrific  grandeur  to  the  approaching  contest 

The  Americans,  who  had  been  reinforced  by  a  second  detachment 
under  Generals  Warren  and  Pomeroy,  permitted  the  enemy  to  ap 
proach,  till,  according  to  the  characteristic  order  of  Putnam,  they 
could  see  the  whites  of  their  eyes,  and  then  poured  in  upon  the  ad- 
vancing columns  a  tremendous  fire  of  musketry,  which  prostrated 
whole  platoons,  and  sent  the  enemy,  broken  and  disordered,  back  to 
their  landing-place. 

By  the  exertions  of  the  officers,  they  were  again  brought  to  the 
attack.  The  Americans  again  reserved  their  fire  until  the  enemy 
were  within  five  or  six  rods,  when  they  gave  it  with  deadly  preci- 
lion,  and  put  them  a  second  time  to  flight.  General  Clinton  now 
arrived  from  Boston,  and  aided  Howe  in  persuading  the  troops  tc 
march  a  third  time  to  the  attack. 

But  by  this  time  the  powder  of  the  Americans  began  to  fail,  and 


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BATTLE   OF  BUNKER   HILL. 


327 


Iheir  fire  slackened.  The  British  brought  some  of  their  cannon  to 
jear,  which  raked  the  inside  of  the  breastwork  from  end  to  end ;  the 
(ire  from  the  ships,  batteries,  and  field-artillery,  was  redoubled  ;  and 
the  redoubt,  attacked  on  three  sides  at  once,  was  carried  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet.  The  Americans,  though  a  retreat  was  ordered,  de- 
layed, and  made  an  obstinate  resistance  with  the  butts  of  their  guns, 
until  the  assailants,  who  easily  mounted  the  works,  had  half-filled 
the  redoubt.  Meanwhile  the  breastwork  had  been  bravely  defended 
against  the  light-infantry,  who  were  mowed  down  in  ranks  by  the 
close  fire  of  the  Americans ;  but  the  redoubt  being  lost,  the  breast- 
work was  necessarily  abandoned.  The  troops  had  now  to  make 
their  way  over  Charlestown  Neck,  which  was  completely  raked  by 
the  Glasgow  man-of-war  and  two  floating  batteries ;  but  by  the  skill 
and  address  of  the  officers,  and  especially  of  General  Putnam,  who 
commanded  the  rear,  the  retreat  was  efl^ected  with  little  loss.  Gene- 
ral Warren  fell  in  the  battle,  fighting  like  a  common  soldier. 

The  New  Hampshire  troops,  under  Stark,  Dearborn,  and  others, 
vere  in  the  battle,  near  the  rail-fence.  They  were  marching  from 
their  native  slate  towards  Cambridge,  and  came  upon  the  battle- 
ground by  their  own  impulses,  having  received  no  orders  from  the 
commander-in-chief.  The  British  had  three  thousand  men,  th*" 
.Americans  fifteen  hundred.  The  former  lost  one  thousand  and  fifty- 
four  killed  and  wounded,  the  latter  one  hundred  and  thirty-nine 
killed,  and  three  hundred  and  fourteen  wounded  and  missing.  The 
moral  efl^ect  of  this  battle  was  immense.  It  had  been  doubted 
whether  the  provincials  would  fight.  That  question  was  now  defi- 
nitively settled. 

The  British  held  and  fortified  Breed's  Hill.  The  Americans 
aaintained  their  original  lines  of  investment,  and  held  the  enemy  as 
c  osely  besieged  as  before  the  battle. 

A  second  continental  congress  assembled  at  Philadelphia,  on  the 
10th  of  May,  under  the  presidency  of  Peyton  Randolph.  They 
voted  addresses  to  the  king,  the  people  of  Canada,  and  the  Assembly 
of  Jamaica ;  they  resolved  that  twenty  thousand  men  should  be  raised 
and  equipped  for  the  common  defence ;  and  they  chose  George 
Washington  for  commander-in-chief.  All  this  was  done,  and  bills 
of  credit  emitted  in  the  name  of  the  twelve  united  colonies.  The 
Revolution  was  thus  formally  organized.  Georgia  soon  after  sent  in 
her  delegates,  and  the  thirteen  colonies  were  indissolubly  united. 
The  battle  of  Bunker  Hill  (so  called,  although  fought  on  Bre'sd's 


328       FIRST   HOSTILITIES   OP   THE   REVOLUTIONARY    WAR. 


'WASHINQTOH  S  H  B  A.  D -QU  A  B  T  X  BS  AT  OAMBRIOa] 


Hiil)  was  followed  by  active  hostilities  at  sea.  Privateers  and  ves- 
sels fitted  out  by  Massachusetts  and  other  colonies  captured  many 
merchantmen  and  transports, — aggressions  which  were  retaliated  by 
the  burning  of  Falmouth,  and  the  sacking  of  other  defenceless  towns 
on  the  coust. 

General  Washington  joined  the  army  at  Cambrid<:e  on  the  2d  of 
July.  He  found  fifteen  thousand  men  encamped  around  Boston,  ill- 
armed,  undisciplined,  and  disorderly.  They  were  deficient  in  gun- 
powder; but  the  garrison  of  ten  thousand  men  in  Boston  were  well 
^upplied  with  munitions  of  war.  The  terms  of  enlistment  of  many 
expired  during  the  siege,  and  their  numbers  were  at  one  time 
less  than  those  of  the  British  army.  Active  operations  seemed  im- 
practicable ;  but  on  the  3d  of  March,  1776,  and  on  the  succeeding 
nights,  a  heavy  bombardment  was  kept  up  on  the  British  lines;  ana 
on  the  4th,  General  Thomas,  with  a  strong  detachment,  took  posses- 
sion of  Dorchester  Heights,  and  with  the  aid  of  fascines  provided  by 
General  Ward,  they  succeeded  in  erecting  works  during  the  night 


KV^nUATlON   OF  LOSTON. 


8:i9 


QXNKBAL     WAKD. 


9uflicieni  for  their  defence.     Howe  was  astonished  when  h>i  saw  these 
works,  and  he  determined  to  dislodge  the  Americans.     A  detach 
ment  of  about  two  thousand  troops  fell  down  to  the  castle  in  tran- 
sports;  but  a  furious  storm  scattered  them,  and  they  were  unable  to 
proceed  to  the  scene  of  action.     The  works  were  soon    rendered 
nearly   impracticable;  and   a  council   of  war,  held  by   the   British, 
decided  to  evacuate   the  town  as  soon   as    possible.      A   fortnight 
afterwards  the  measure  was  effected  ;  and  at  ten  in  the  morning  of 
the  17th  of  March,  the  royal  troops  and  their  adherents,  who  had 
lately  held  possession  of  Boston,  were  sailing  away  from  its  shores  ; 
and  Washington  triumphantly  entered  the  city. 
Thus  terminated  the  siege  of  Boston.     The  British  proceeded  to 
alifax,  and  Washington  withdrew  his  forces  to  New  York,  which 
fc  rightly  deemed  would  be  the  next  point  of  attack. 


tit 


OBNBHAL    MONTOOMEBT. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 


EXPEDITION   TO   CANADA. 


T  was  very  natural  for  the  colonists  to  ex- 
pect that  Canada,  recently  conquered  and 
filled  with  descendants  of  the  French,  would 
readily  join  in  the  revolutionary  movement 
directed  against  their  ancient  enemies,  the 
British.  Addresses  had  already  been  sen> 
to  them  by  Congress.  An  army  under  Gen- 
erals Schuyler  and  Montgomery  soon  fol- 
lowed. On  the  10th  of  September,  1775. 
one  thousand  men  were  landed  at  St.  Johns,  one  hundred  and  fifteer 


^j" 


1 


DEATH  OF  GENERAL  MONTGOMERY. 


831 


miles  north  of  Ticonderoga  ;  but  they  soon  retreated  to  Isle  Aux  Noix, 
where  General  Schuyler,  being  ill,  left  the  army  under  command  of 
Montgomery,  who  soon  returned  and  laid  siege  to  St.  Johns.  General 
Carieton  advanced  against  him  with  eight  hundred  men,  but  was  in- 
tercepted while  attempting  to  cross  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  driven 
back  by  Colonel  Warner,  with  three  hundred  men.  St.  Johns  then 
capitulated,  and  Montgomery  advanced  to  Montreal.  During  the 
siege,  Colonel  Ethan  Allen  was  captured  and  sent  to  England. 
Montgomery  took  Montreal  and  its  garrison  with  eleven  armed  ves- 
sels ;  but  Sir  Guy  Carieton  escaped  to  Quebec. 

Meantime  General  Washington  had  despatched  Arnold  througH 
the  wilderness  of  Maine,  with  eleven  hundred  men,  who  left  the 
camp  at  Cambridge  on  the  13th  of  September,  and  after  enduring  in- 
credible hardships  in  their  march,  reached  Point  Levi,  near  Q,iiebec, 
on  the  9th  of  November;  but  he  had  no  boats  for  crossing  the  river, 
ana  was  not  in  a  condition  to  assault  the  garrison.      He  was  joined 
by  Montgomery  on  the  1st  of  December,  and  a  whole  month  was 
spent  ill  besieging  the  city,  and  finally  in  preparations  for  an  assault, 
which  took  place  on  the  31st.     Two  feigned  attacks  were  made  on 
the  upper  town  by  Majors  Brown  and  Livingston,  whilst  Montgomery 
and  Arnold  made  two  real  attacks  on  the  lower  town.    Montgomery, 
advancing  along  the  St.  Lawrence,  at  the  head  of  his  troops,  at  first 
met  with  success,  and  the  battery  was  deserted  by  all  the  enemy  ex- 
cept two  or  three  persons,  one  of  whom,  in  retiring,  applied  a  slow- 
match  to  one  of  the  guns,  and  fired  it.     This  shot  was  fatal  to  Mont- 
gomery, and  several  other  officers.     Colonel  Campbell,  on  whom  the 
command   devolved,  precipitately    retreated   with   the   rest    of  the 
division. 

Meantime,  Arnold,  with  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  made  an 
attack  on  the  other  side  ;  but  he  received  a  musket-ball  in  the  leg, 
and  was  carried  off  to  the  camp.  Captain  Morgan,  with  a  Virginia 
company  of  riflemen,  pressed  forward,  and  carried  the  battery,  cap- 
turing the  guard.  Morgan  formed  his  men  ;  but  from  the  darkness 
of  the  night  and  his  ignorance  of  the  town,  he  was  unable  to  pro- 
ceed further.  He  was  soon  joined  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Green  and 
other  officers,  and  his  numbers  were  increased  to  two  hundred  men. 
At  daylight  they  were  attacked  by  the  garrison,  and  after  sustaining 
the  whole  force  of  the  enemy  for  three  hours,  they  were  compelled 
0  surrender. 
Arnold,  upon  whom  the  command  now  devolved,  with  but  three 


832 


EXPEDITION  TO   CANADA. 


DKATB     or     MONTaOMIRT. 


or  four  hunarecl  men  lit  for  duty,  maintained  a  blockade  of  the  city 
till  February.  But  the  misconduct  of  his  soldiers  defeated  the  main 
object  of  the  expedition,  which  was  to  conciliate  the  people  of 
Canada.  Reinforcements  arrived,  and  the  siege  was  kept  up  till 
May,  when  the  opening  of  the  river  brought  in  a  British  fleet,  and 
Quebec  was  effectually  relieved.  General  Thomas,  who  had  super- 
seded Arnold  in  the  command,  was  obliged  to  raise  the  siege  and 
retreat,  leaving  his  baggage,  artillery,  stores,  and  a  number  of  sick 
soldiers,  whom  Carleton  treated  with  great  humanity. 

The  remaining  incidents  of  the  expedition  are  uninteresting.  Tlie 
Americans  were  driven  by  the  greatly  superior  force  of  the  enemy, 
»o  Montreal,  which  Arnold  was  compelled  to  quit  on  the  15lh  of 
June,  ao^  -etire  to  Crown  Point. 

In  the  succeeding  campaign,  Carleton  being  determined  to  take 
Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  first  obtained  possession  of  Lake 
Champlain,  which  was  bravely  but  inefTectualiy  defended  by  Arnold 
w  ith  a  flotilla  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  the  British.  The  action  took 
place  in  October,  1770,  and  the  defeat  of  Arnold  was  succeeded  by 
the  fall  of  Crown  Point,  whicJi  was  taken  by  Carleton  on  the  15ih 


FAILURE   OP  THE   EXPEDITION. 


333 


of  October.  The  garrison  retreated  to  Ticonderoga.  This  post,  oc- 
cupied by  Gates  and  Schuyler,  with  a  resolute  garrison,  Carlcton  did 
not  think  it  prudent  to  attack  ;  but  retired  into  winter  quarters  in 
Canada. 

It  is  not  improbable  that  with  more  prudent  management  on  the 
part  of  Arnold,  Quebec  might  have  been  taken  by  surprise  on  his 
hrst  descent.  But  the  rashness  of  this  officer  was  at  least  equal  to 
his  undoubted  courage.  The  most  unfortunate  circumstance  p.ttend- 
ing  the  disastrous  expedition  against  Canada,  was  the  loss  of  the 
hei  )ic  General  Montgomery,  one  of  the  best  and  bravest  officers  in 
lh(  American  army.     His  full  was  universally  lamented. 


5^  '.^Sfc*< 


■■■'     ■■'  h   '      ''*^ 


M^tintlENT    TO    aSNBRAL    MONTOOMaRT,     AT    ST.     PAULS    OBOT 

MXW    TORK. 


B ATTLS 


'ROUND  OF  TRBMTON. 


CHAPTER  XXTX. 


CAMPAIGN    OF   ITTtJ. 


HE  object  of  Washington  in  procepd- 
ing  to  New  York,  after  the  siege  of 
Boston  was  closed,  was  to  anticipate 
the  arrival  of  the  British,  as  he  was 
satisfied  that  the  intended  direction  of 
the  invading  force  was  against  that 
colony.  This  was  the  more  dreaded, 
as  the  feeling  in  favour  of  the  royal 
rausc  was  there  very  strong,  especially  in  the  city ;  while  Captain 
Parker  still  commanded  the  harbour,  and  Queen's  County  in  Long 
Island  had  refused  to  send  deputies  to  the  provincial  convention. 
The  Congress  had  ordered  a  party  of  troops  to  enter  that  district,  and 
seize  the  arms  of  all  the  royalists  ;  but  this  injunction  was  after- 
wards withdrawn,  a  step  much  disapproved  by  Washington.  He 
hesitated  not  to  sanction  the  proposal  of  General  Charles  Lee,  one  of 
'he  most  enterprising  of  the  provincial  leaders,  who  hastily  raised  « 


DEFENCE   OF   FORT   MOULTUIR. 


3.^.> 


h'dy  of  tronps  in  Connecticut,  nflvanccd  by  forced  marches  upon 
N 'W  York,  and  disregarding  the  remonstrances  of  the  inhabitants, 
occupied  the  city,  and  began  to  erect  fortifications  on  its  different 
sides.  After  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  the  commander-in-chief,  as 
we  have  alrcndy  stated,  left  it  defended  by  a  comparatively  smal. 
force  under  Ward,  and  proceeded  with  the  main  army  to  New  York, 
where  he  arrived  on  the  l!Uh  of  April. 

As  some  months  would  still  elapse  before  the  British  could  assemble 
their  troops  and  open  the  general  campaign,  they  determined  to  send 
an  expedition  immediately  against  the  southern  states,  where  the 
rlimate  would  oppose  no  obstacle,  and  a  decisive  blow  might  be 
struck  with  a  smaller  arnty.  Bntta  censures  this  course  as  weaken- 
ing their  force  by  division.  Hud  he,  however,  perused  the  official 
despatches,  he  would  have  seen  that  concentration  formed  the  ori- 
ginal plan  of  the  campaign,  and  that  this  enterprise  was  merely  to 
fill  up  the  interval  till  the  whole  should  be  mustered.  A  chimerical 
hope  was  even  cherished,  that  Clinton,  the  commander,  might  pursue 
a  victorious  career  northwards,  till  he  should  join  Howe  at  New 
York  ;  at  all  events,  he  was  instructed  to  be  there  before  the  opening 
of 'he  campaign.  After  touching  at  New  York,  he  joined  Governor 
Martin,  near  Cape  Fear  ;  but  the  main  force  was  to  consist  of  seven 
regiments  conveyed  from  England  by  Sir  Peter  Parker  and  Lord 
Gornwallis.  Various  contingencies  delayed  its  arrival  till  the  begin- 
ning of  May  ;  and  June  came  before  the  expedition  reached  Charles- 
ton, its  destination.  Its  movements,  and  an  intercepted  letter,  had  by 
that  time  betrayed  the  design.  The  most  active  preparations  were 
made,  the  principal  inhabitants  labouring  in  concert  with  the  lower 
classes,  aided  by  a  numerous  body  of  slaves.  The  defences  were 
greatly  strengthened,  and  a  new  fort,  named  in  honour  of  its  com- 
mander, Moultrie,  erected  on  Sullivan's  Island,  separated  by  a  nar- 
row creek  from  a  larger  one  named  Long  Island,  commari^ed  the 
entrance.  Between  five  and  six  thousand  men  were  assembled, 
nearly  half  of  them  regulars,  and  the  chief  command  was  taken  by 
General  Lee,  who  seemed  to  court  every  post  of  danger. 

The  expedition  arrived  on  the  4th  June,  and  the  troops  were 
landed  on  Long  Island  ;  yet  from  various  obstacles,  the  attack  was 
not  made  till  the  28th.  The  fleet  comprised  two  ships  of  fifty  guns, 
and  six  bearing  from  twenty  to  thirty  ;  but  three  of  the  latter,  through 
the  unskilfulness  of  the  pilot,  were  entangled  in  the  shoals,  and  could 
not  be  brought  into  action.  The  others,  stationed  before  the  fort, 
22 


836 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1776. 


IIR    FBTXR    FARKBB. 


operipd  a  tremendous  fire,  which  was  kept  rp  with  the  greatesJ 
energy  and  spirit.  The  defenders  maintained  their  post  with  equal 
firmness  ;  and  the  walls,  though  low,  were  composed  of  a  firm 
spongy  palmetto  wood,  in  which  the  balls  sunk  without  shattering 
them.  The  garrison  returned  a  cool,  steady,  and  remarkably  well 
directed  fire,  which  did  terrible  execution  ;  the  ships  were  rendered 
almost  unmanageable,  several  of  the  chief  officers  fell,  and  the  c 
niodore  was  at  one  time  left  alone  on  his  own  deck.  Clinton,  fri... 
the  land-side,  did  not  co-operate,  having  unexpectedly  found  the 
creek  impassable.  He  offered,  by  conveying  over  two  battalions,  to 
efl'ect  a  diversion  in  favour  of  the  naval  commander  ;  but  the  latter, 
he  complains,  returned  no  answer,  being  too  confident, and  ambitious 
of  doing  the  whole  himself.  The  fleet  finally  moved  oflT  in  i  mosf 
shattered  state,  having  lost  about  two  hundred  men,  {""."luding  Lord 
William  Campbell  and  other  officers  of  rank  ;  while  the  Americans 
had  thirty-five  killed  and  wounded.  The  whole  affair  was  most  for- 
tunate, adding  another  to  the  series  of  successes  gained  by  the  Ameri- 
cans, and  inspiring  them  with  fresh  courage. 

During  the  course  of  this  winter,  a  momentous  design  was  in 
active  progress,  which  had  a  veiy  important  issue.     Several  Itidinjj 


PUBLIC  FEELINQ. 


837 


SBFafOB     OF    70BT    M  O  U  L  T  B  I  B. 


men,  particularly  in  New  England,  had,  from  the  beginning,  extended 
their  views  to  the  entire  dissolution  of  their  connection  with  Britain. 
Overpowered,  however,  by  a  majority  of  their  own  number,  and  by 
the  force  of  public  opinion,  they  did  not  openly  acknowledge  theii 
designs,  but  watched  the  train  of  events.     Down  to  1775,  the  great 
body  of  the  people  seem  to  have  entertained  no  wish,  or  even  idea, 
of  final  separation;  though  in  the  course  of  that  year  some  partial 
movements  began  in  its  favour.     In  May,  a  convention  in  Mecklen- 
burg county.  North  Carolina,  declared  for  it,  but  the  example  was 
nowhere  followed,     Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  Virginia,  and 
other  royal  colonies,  being  left  without  a  government,  authority  was 
given  to  the  people  to  establish  one  for  themselves,  limited  to  the 
continuance  of  the  dispute  with  the  mother  country.     Towards  the 
close  of  the  year,  detached  parties  everywhere  began  openly  to  pro- 
nounce for  independence ;  yet  the  general  feeling  was  still  strong 
against  it.     This  sentiment  was  forcibly  expressed  by  the  Assemblies 
of  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  the  latter  declaring  "  their  detestation 
of  that  horrid  measure."    Dr.  Franklin,  though  not  openly  professing 
it,  circulated  articles  of  union  and  confederation ;  but  they  were 
coldly  received,  and  not  even  sanctioned  b}^  Congress. 

In  spring,  1776,  news  was  received  that  the  petition  of  the  Congress 
had  been  rejected ;  that  they  had  been  declared  rebels;  that  large  armies 
were  preparing  to  subdue  them,  and  that  their  whole  commerce  was 
utterly  prohibited.     Thenceforth  a  large  majority  of  the  leading  men 


4? 


ar 


338 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1776. 


formed  the  determined  purpose  of  asserting  independence.  The 
Union,  it  appeared  to  them,  could  never  be  then  restored  on  any- 
footing,  but  that  of  complete  subjugation. 

GENERAL  desire,  accordingly,  was  now  felt 
to  carry  out  this  measure  in  a  decided  form, 
before  the  expected  military  force,  or  the 
conciliatory  commission,  should  arrive  from 
Great  Britain.  The  press  was  most  actively 
employed  in  urging  the  measure,  through 
gazettes,  newspapers,  and  pamphlets.  The 
essay  named  Common  Sense,  by  Thomas 
Paine,  from  its  rough  and  homely  shrewdness,  produced  a  very 
powerful  effect.  As  a  preparative,  Congress  authorized  the  imme- 
diate suppression  of  royal  jurisdiction  in  all  the  colonies,  and  the 
formation  of  governments  emanating  from  the  people;  while  they 
met  the  prohibition  against  their  trade  by  throwing  it  open  to  the 
whole  world,  except  Britain. 

On  the  22d  April,  the  convention  of  North  Carolina  empowered 
their  delegates  to  concur  with  the  others  in  the  establishment  of  in- 
dependence. That  of  Virginia  went  farther,  instructing  theirs  to 
propose  it.  Boston  was  now  somewhat  less  forward,  merely  inti- 
mating, if  Congress  should  think  it  necessary,  their  willing  concur- 
rence. Thus  supported,  Mr.  Lee,  a  Virginia  delegate,  on  the  7th 
June,  1776,  submitted  a  resolution  for  dissolving  all  connection  with 
Great  Britain,  and  constituting  the  united  colonies  free  and  inde- 
pendent states.  It  was  warmly  debated  from  the  8th  to  the  10th, 
when  it  was  carried,  by  a  majority  of  one.  As  this  was  not  a  foot- 
ing on  which  so  mighty  a  change  could  be  placed,  the  final  decision 
was  postponed  till  the  1st  July  ;  and  during  the  interval,  every  pos- 
sible engine  wfis  brought  to  act  upon  the  dissentient  colonies.  The 
smaller  states  were  threatened  with  exclusion  from  all  the  benefits 
and  protection  which  might  be  derived  from  the  proposed  union.  As 
the  Assemblies  of  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  still  refused  theircon- 
currence,  conventions  of  the  people  were  called,  where  majorities 
were  at  length  obtained.  Thus,  on  the  4th  July,  votes  from  all  the 
colonies  were  procured  in  favour  of  the  measure. 

The  Declaration  of  Independence,  which  had  already  been  care- 
fully prepared,  was  forthwith  emitted.  In  this  instrument  Congress 
solemnly  published  and  declared,  that  "these  United  Colonies  are, 
«nd  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  states,"  and  en 


STATE  OP  THE   AMERICAN  ARMY. 


339 


titled,  as  such,  to  carry  on  war,  make  peace,  form  alliances,  regulate 
commerc",  and  discharge  all  other  sovereign  functions.     This  mo 
mentous  deed  was  signed  on  the  2d  Augustj  1776,  by  all  the  mem- 
bers then  present. 

l,_0     I N  the  decisive  posture  which 
')ri('         afTairs  had    now  assumed, 


Washington  was  actively 
endeavouring  to  organize 
the  means  of  maintaining 
the  contest.  His  most  urgent  repre- 
sentations to  Congress  upon  the  ne- 
cessity of  forming  a  permanent  army 
had  been  disregarded;  and  he  founa 
himself  at  the  head  of  a  motley 
group,  in  which  soldiers,  enlisted 
only  for  a  year  half  elapsed,  were 
mixed  with  militia  whose  services  were  to  be  still  mere  temporary. 
In  these  circumstances,  the  restraints  of  discipline  extended  little 
beyond  the  general  orders.  In  general,  however,  the  soldiers  were 
williag  to  fight,  and  had  shown  themselves  capable  both  of  forming 
and  defending  intrenchments.  Washington  made  it  a  rule  never  to 
spare  the  spade  ;  many  were  well  skilled  in  the  desultory  use  of  the 
rifle,  yet  ill  fitted  for  a  field  campaign  with  a  large  body  of  regular 
troops.  Even  of  these  inefl^ective  soldiers  there  were,  at  the  begin- 
ning of  July,  1776,  only  seventeen  thousand;  and  though  they  were 
raised  in  a  few  weeks  to  twenty-seven  thousand,  it  was  mostly  by 
militia,  numbers  of  whom  were  soon  on  the  sick-list. 

Meantime,  General  Howe  was  engaged  in  conveying  his  anny  to 
.he  scene  of  action.  The  abrupt  departure  from  Boston  had  consi- 
derably deranged  his  plans,  as  all  the  supplies  were  directed  toward 
that  city,  and  some  thus  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  In 
June,  however,  the  armament  set  sail ;  and  he  himself  landed  at 
Sandy  Hook.  He  preferred,  however,  to  land  the  troops  on  Staten, 
an  island  south  of  Long  Island,  much  smaller,  and  separated  by  a 
narrow  channel.  On  the  3d  of  July,  he  disembarked  there  without 
opposition,  being  greeted  with  warm  assurances  of  welcome  and  sup- 
port from  the  adjacent  territories.  On  the  12th,  he  was  joined  by 
his  brother,  Lord  Howo,  who  had  been  appointed  commander  of  the 
fleet,  and  also  joint  commissioner  to  treat  of  pacification  ;  while  the 
«hips,  with  the  iar'^e  reinforcements  from  Britain,  began  arriving  in 


fcli 


840 


CAMPAIGN   OF   177G. 


rSDIPBNDBNOB     HALL,    PHILADBLPHIA,    WHEBB     THB     DBOLiHiTIOH 

OF   I^'DBPa^lDaNOB    was    sioned. 


successive  detachments.  As  operations  were  delayed  till  tHe  whole 
were  assembled,  his  lordship  circulated  a  proclamalion,  offering  full 
pardon  to  all  who  should  return  to  their  duty,  and  to  any  port  or  co- 
lony so  acting,  peace,  protection,  and  free  trade.  No  cc.  ;ession 
being  mentioned  as  to  the  original  grounds  of  dispute,  C  )rgress  con- 
sidered it  so  unsatisfactory  that  they  studiously  circulated  it  among 
the  people.  Lord  Howe  also  attempted  to  open  communications 
with  Washington;  but  as  he  did  not  choose  to  address  him  in 
his  letter  under  his  title  of  general,  his  advances  were  politely 
declined. 

The  British  designs  had  been  well  concealed,  and  the  American 
commander  remained  long  in  anxious  doubt  whether  the  inroad  was 
not  to  be  made  on  the  side  of  Canada.  Considering  New  York, 
however,  as  the  most  probable  and  dangerous  point,  he  had  been 
diligently  strengthening  all  its  approaches.     Having  determined  also 


BATTLE   OF   LONG    ISLAND. 


341 


LORD     HOWB 


to  make  a  stand  for  the  defence  of  Long  Island,  he  formed  strong 
lines  at  Brooklyn,  nearly  opposite  to  the  city,  stationing  the  flower 
of  his  troops  along  a  range  of  strongly  fortified  heights  in  front  of  tLe 
British  quarters  on  Slaten  Island.  Howe,  meantime,  waited  till  his 
whole  force  was  mustered,  when  he  could  follow  up  without  inter- 
ruption any  success  he  might  obtain.  About  the  middle  of  August, 
he  had  been  joined  by  nearly  all  the  reinforcements  from  Britain, 
and  also  by  those  from  the  south  under  Clinton  and  Cornwallis, 
which  augmented  his  force  to  about  thirty  thousand  men.  He  still, 
however,  waited  a  few  days  on  account  of  the  intense  heat,  which, 
he  dreaded,  would  injure  the  health  of  the  troops. 

At  length,  on  the  23d  August,  the  British  army  crossed  the  chan- 
nel, and,  covered  by  the  guns  of  the  fleet,  landed  on  Long  Island, 
taking  post  opposite  to  the  range  of  heights  occupied  by  the  Ameri 
cans.     Washington,  in  the  immediate  view  of  this  grand  contest 
issued  repeated  addresses,  strenuously  encouraging  his  men,  and 


84: 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1776, 


GBMBRA.L    BOWS. 


Becking  to  inspire  confidence.  Howe,  on  viewing  Washing  .on 'a 
position,  considered  it  too  strong  to  be  carried  in  front,  but  formed  a 
plan  for  turning  it.  Before  day,  on  the  27th,  General  Grant,  with 
the  Hessian  troops  under  De  Heister,  attacked  the  American  right 
wing,  which,  being  connected  with  Brooklyn,  was  considered  the 
most  important,  and  which  the  Americans  directed  all  their  efforts  to 
re.  nforce.  These  officers,  in  conjunction  with  the  fleet,  kept  up  a 
brisk  and  continued  fire,  tending  to  confirm  this  impression,  yet 
avoiding  to  make  any  material  advance.  Meantime,  during  the 
night,  a  strong  detachment  of  the  English  army,  under  Clinton  and 
Cornwallis,  made  a  wide  circuit  through  a  pass  in  the  hills  round 
the  extreme  American  left.  This  had  been  insufficiently  guarded 
by  a  mere  party  of  observation,  which  was  surprised  and  captured; 
10  that  Clinton  reached  ahnost  unresisted  the  level  plain  behind  the 


EFFORTS   FOR   PACIFICATIOX. 


348 


OBNEBAL     SaLLIVAN. 


ptisition  of  the  American  army.  About  half-past  eight,  he  appeau'd 
in  their  rear,  while  Grant  and  De  Heister  began  pushing  forward 
with  their  utmost  vigour.  No  choice  was  then  left  but  for  the'whole 
American  army  to  regain  the  intrenched  camp  at  Brooklyn,  in  reach- 
ing which  they  fell  into  the  utmost  confusion,  and  were  pursued  on 
both  flanks  with  dreadful  slaughter.  Lord  Stirling  attempted  to 
cover  the  retreat  by  an  attack  with  a  chosen  corps  upon  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  but  was  surrounded  and  taken  prisoner  with  all  his  detach- 
ment. The  entire  loss  is  slated  by  Howe  at  upwards  of  three 
thousand,  inrhniiiig  eleven  hundred  prisoners,  among  whom  was 
General  Sullivun.  That  of  the  British  was  only  three  hundred  and 
sixty-seven  killed,  wounded,  and  taken. 

On  the  29lh,  Washington  with  great  activity  conveyed  over  during 
the  night  the  whole  army,  with  most  of  its  artillery,  in  safety  to  New 
York, 

The  British  commissioners,  who  showed  an  anxious  desire  foi  pa- 
cification, chose  this  occasion  lO  send  Sullivan,  the  captured  general, 
to  Congress,  stating  that  tney  could  not  indeed  as  yet  acknowledge 
its  political  character,  but  inviting  some  of  its  members  to  a  confe- 
rence. A  deputation  was  sent,  consisting  of  Adams,  Franklin,  and 
Hutledge — strenuous   votaries  of  independence.      Lord    Howe  re 


844 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1776. 


THK     RBI'BBAl'     OF    THE     AMERICAN     ARMY     FROM    LONO     ISLAND. 


ceived  them  with  great  politeness;  but  his  offers  included  merelj-, 
as  usual,  a  general  amnesty,  and  a  promise  to  reconsider  the  ob- 
noxious acts;  while  they  declared  a  treaty  inadmissible  on  any  basis, 
except  that  of  the  states  being  acknowledged  independent.  On  these 
terms  there  could  not  be  the  least  approximation  betweea  the  two 
parties. 

General  Howe  now  proceeded  with  measures  for  diiving  the 
Americans  out  of  New  York,  which,  as  usual,  he  sought  to  effect 
rather  by  circuitous  mancEuvre  than  by  direct  assault.  He  prepared 
expeditions  to  ascend  the  opposite  branches  of  the  Hudson,  which 
enclose  New  York  Island,  and,  by  landing  above  the  city,  oblige  the 
Americans  either  to  evacuate  or  be  completely  shut  up  within  it. 
Washington,  viewing  with  alarm  these  movements,  called  a  council 
of  officers,  and  recommended  the  immediate  withdrawal  of  the  troops; 
but  strong  objections  being  expressed,  it  was  determined  rather  to 
leave  there  five  thousand  men,  while  the  main  body  occupied  a 
strong  post  at  Kingsbridge,  connecting  the  northern  point  of  the 
island  with  the  continent.  As  the  British  operations  advanced,  the 
perils  attending  this  detached  position  became  evident,  so  that  by 
general  consent  the  evacuation  was  determined  upon,  and  the  utmosi 


BUITISH   ENTER   NEW   YORK. 


845 


activity  emplnyed  in  removing  the  artillery  and  stores.  On  the  15ih 
September,  Clinton  landed  at  Kipp's  Bay,  a  position  strongly  forli- 
tied,  and  defended  by  eight  regiments ;  but,  dispirited  by  lute  disas- 
ters, they  fled  without  attempting  resistance,  and  Washington  in  vam 
strove  to  rally  them.  It  was  then  necessary  with  the  utmost  haste 
to  withdraw  the  troops,  which  was  effected  with  the  loss  of  only 
about  three  hundred  prisoners;  but  they  left  behind  them  a  large 
quantity  of  artillery,  stores,  and  camp  equipage,  the  want  of  which 
was  most  sensibly  felt. 

The  British  army  now  entered  on  the  peaceujle  occupation  of 
New  York  ;  yet  it  was  disturbed  by  a  distressing  occurrence.     On 
the  night  of  the  20ih  or  morning  of  the  21st  September,  a  fire  broke 
out,  which  continued  to  rage  till  a  third  of  the  city  was  consumed. 
Washington  now  took  post  on  Haarlem  Heights,  a  range  which 
crossed  the  island,  and  had  been  so  carefully  fortified  that  Howe  did 
not  venture  an  attack.     His  plan  was  to  oblige  the  Americans  to 
relinquish  the  post  by  landing  on  the  eastern  shore,  thus  threaten- 
ing their  rear  and  communication  with  New  England.     As  a  pre- 
liminary, three  frigates  were  sent  up  the  main  stream  of  the   Hud- 
son ;  and  notwithstanding  the  resistance  made  by  Forts  Washington 
and  Lee,  and  by  chevaux-de-frise  sunk  in  the  channel,  they  passed 
without  injury.     Before  pushing  into  the  interior,  the  British  com- 
niaiider  spent  about  three  weeks, — seemingly  a  needless  waste  of 
time, — in  fortifying  New  York.     On  the  12th  October,  having  placed 
the  flower  of  his  army  in  flat-bottomed  boats,  he  proceeded   up  the 
eastern  channel,  and  through  the  pass  of  Hell-gate,  to  the  point  called 
Frog's  Neck.     Finding  his  advance   here  much  obstructed,  he  re 
embarked  and  landed  higher  up  at  Pell's  Point,  whence  he  advanced 
upon  New  Rochelle.     Washington,  meantime,  had  called  a  council 
of  war,  which  decided  that  the  position  on  New  York  Island  was  no 
longer  secure ;  and  the  troops  accordingly  crossed  at  Kingsbridge, 
taking  up   a   position   extending   thence  eastward    towards   White 
Plains,  which  was  fortified  as  well  as  time  would  admit.     Howe,  on 
Coming  up  and  reconnoitring,  determined  to  attack  first  a  detached 
corps  of  sixteen  hundred  men,  under  General  McDougall,  who,  aftei 
a  sharp  but  short  conflict,  were  dislodged  ;  but  the  general  position 
was  judged  so  strong  as  to  make  it  advisable  to  wait  for  some  rein- 
forcements.    These  arrived,  and  the  attack  was  preparing ;  when, 
during  the  night  of  the  31st,  Washington  retired  to  a  range  of 
teights  five  miles  in   his  rear,  which   he  had  been  employed  in 


846 


CAMPAIGN    OF  177*1. 


strengthening.  To  ihe  cautious  view  of  the  British  comnmniler  thin 
post  appeared  so  formidable  that  he  determined  to  change  the  seat 
of  war  to  New  Jersey,  a  less  defensible  territory,  whither  his  antago- 
nist would  be  obliged  to  follow  him. 

As  a  preliminary,  he  resolved  to  attack  Fort  Washington,  a  strong 
post  still  held  by  the  Americans  on  New  York  Island.  He  de- 
termined to  attempt  the  place  by  storm  ;  and,  on  the  ICth  November, 
♦.he  British,  in  four  divisions,  advanced  to  the  assault.  In  a  few 
hours  they  had. carried  all  the  '  jtvvorks,  in  which  the  chief  strength 
consisted ;  and  Mugaw,  the  governor,  felt  himself  obliged  to  capitulate 
The  prisoners  amounted  to  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eighteen, 
rendering  the  loss  nearly  as  heavy  as  at  the  battle  on  Long  Island  ; 
while  the  royal  army  had  eight  hundred  killed  and  wounded.  Corn- 
wallis  immediately  landed  with  a  strong  force  oa  the  Jersey  shore, 
when  the  Americans  found  it  necessary,  in  great  haste,  to  evacuate 
Fort  Lee,  opposite  to  Fort  Washington.  The  garrison  was  saved, 
but  the  cannon,  tents,  and  stores  were  loft  behind. 

The  American  army  was  now  pursued  through  New  Jersey,  a 
level  country,  which  afforded  no  defensible  position,  and  the  time  was 
not  allowed  to  fortify  any.  After  a  retreat  of  three  weeks,  W^ashing* 
ton  only  secured  himself  by  crossing  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  Dela- 
ware. The  critical  period  was  again  approaching,  when  the  terms 
for  which  the  troops  had  been  enlisted  would  expire.  Exhausted 
and  dispirited,  they  eagerly  availed  themselves  of  the  liberty  thus 
afforded.  He  had  been  urging  in  the  strongest  terms  upon  Con- 
gress the  ruinous  nature  of  the  temporary  system  hitherto  pur- 
sued, warning  them  that,  without  a  permanent  and  well-organized 
army,  the  cause  was  lost.  Seconded  by  the  disastrous  state  of  affairs, 
he  had  been  empowered  to  raise  first  eighty-eight,  and  then  sixteen 
more  regular  lattalions ;  to  give  higher  bounties  and  pay  ;  and  to  act 
in  other  respects  for  six  months  as  a  military  dictator.  The  men, 
however,  were  not  yet  raised,  and  present  circumstances  were  little 
calculated  to  invite  them  into  the  service.  In  crossinjr  the  Delaware, 
he  had  with  him  only  three  thousand,  independent  of  a  detachment 
left  at  White  Plains  under  General  Lee.  That  officer,  while  re- 
luctantly obeying  the  order  to  join  the  main  force,  and  suspected  to 
be  meditating  some  schemes  of  his  own,  was  surprised  and  made 
prisoner, — an  event  which  threw  additional  gioom  over  the  Ameri* 
ran  prospects. 

The  course  seemed  now  open  before  Howe  to  cross  the  Delaware 


UENKRAL   LEE   TAKEX   PRISON'ER. 


343 


•IISAL     LSX    8    HIAD-QU&BTIR3    AT    BASSIMRIDOB. 


With  the  utmost  possible  expedition,  and  advance  on  Philadelphia. 
V/ashington  entertained  no  doubt  of  this  being  his  opponent's  inten- 
tion ;  and,  though  its  accomplishment  "  would  wound  the  heart  of 
every  virtuous  American,"  declares  himself  wholly  without  the  means 
of  preventing  it. 

The  campaign,  thus  far,  had  been  a  series  of  great  and  almost  un- 
interrupted misfortunes.  Still,  though  the  American  cause  seemed 
reduced  to  the  lowest  ebb.  Congress  remained  firm,  announcing  to 
their  countrymen  and  to  the  powers  of  Europe  a  determination  to 
adhere  immutably  lo  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Wash 
ington  fell  the  weight  of  the  evils  that  pressed  upon  the  cause  ; 
yet,  with  a  bold  and  firm  spirit,  he  watched  every  opportunity 
of  retrieving  it.  He  had  collected  about  five  or  six  thousand 
men,  and  prevailed  upon  some,  whose  service  had  expired,  to 
remain  for  other  six  weeks.  The  English  army,  covering  the  Jer- 
seys, was  ranged  along  the  Delaware  from  Trenton  to  Burlington, 
on  'vhich  line  there  was  reason  to  believe  that  no  very  strict  watch 
no  .Id  be  kept.  Washington  determined  on  the  bold  plan  of  crossing 
'le  Delaware,  and  attacking  the  enemy  in  his  own  camp.     Thf 

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350 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1776. 


-WASBINaTOtl     OROSSIMO    THB     DILAWARB. 

troops  being  formed  into  three  detachments,  he,  with  the  strongest, 
amounting  to  two  thousand  four  hundred,  crossed  the  river  on  the 
night  of  the  25th  December,  and  from  two  opposite  points  attaciied 
Trenton,  then  occupied  by  Colonel  Rhalle  w'th  a  strong  body  of 
Hessians.  That  officer,  while  hastily  mustering  his  men,  received  a 
mortal  wound ;  and  the  whole  corps,  surprised  and  surrounded, 
speedily  surrendered.  The  two  other  detachments  were  arrested  by 
severe  cold  and  tempest,  otherwise  they  might,  it  was  hoped,  have 
been  equally  successful,  and  a  sweep  made  of  the  whole  range  of  po- 
sitions. Washington,  however,  had  good  reason  to  congratulate  him- 
self 01.  carrying  off"  nearly  one  thousand  prisoners,  with  only  ten  of 
his  own  men  killed  and  wounded, — a  most  unexpected  event,  which 
wonderfully  revived  the  sinking  spirits  of  his  countrymen. 

Washington  now  crossed  the  Delaware,  and,  with  five  thousand 
men,  took  post  at  Trenton  ;  but  Cornwallis,  mustering  all  his  force, 
advanced  upon  hinrj ;  and,  on  the  2d  January,  1777,  the  two  armies 
were  separated  only  by  a  creek.  Washington  saw  that,  by  engaging 
here  a  superior  army,  he  ran  imminent  hazard  of  being  defeated,  and 
driven  over  the  Delaware  with  great  disadvantage  and  loss.  He 
formed  a  bold  design  :  breaking  up  silently  in  the  night,  he  moved 
round  the  British  right,  and  advanced  rapidly  upon  BrunswicU, 
where  their  chief  magazines  were  lodged.     He  might  seemingly 


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BATTLES   OP  TRENTON   AND   PRINCETON. 


853 


have  succeeded,  had  he  not  encountered  nt  Princeton  three  regi« 
intnts  coming  up  to  join  the  main  army.  The  Americans  were  at 
first  driven  back,  and  General  Mercer  killed  ;  but  Washington,  by 
extraordinary  exertions,  restored  the  action,  separated  his  opponents, 
and  obliged  them  to  retreat  in  different  directions.  He  then,  how- 
ever, saw  advancing  against  him  the  van  of  Cornwallis,  who,  having 
received  the  alarm,  hastened  to  frustrate  his  scheme ;  and  as  he  could 
not  hazard  a  battle  without  the  certainty  of  defeat,  with  the  risk  of 
having  his  retreat  cut  off,  he  prudently  fell  back.  In  this  skirmish, 
the  loss  on  both  sides  was  nearly  equal ;  but  the  having  made  an- 
other bold  offensive  movement  without  disadvantage,  heightened 
greatly  the  favourable  impression  produced  by  his  former  enterprise. 
The  English  general  then  repaired  to  Brunswick,  and  limited  him- 
self to  a  defensive  line  thence  to  Amboy,  merely  covering  New 
York.  Thus  Washington  hai  recovered  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
Jerseys. 


■R>!nTux:n'  09  qif.  u«ac»»  ax  L^xnmt,  snj.  oamrxHT,  PBti.Ai>itJ-iii*. 


2at 


VAtBIVOTOtlS    HB  A  D-QU  A  BT  ■  RS     4T    BRANDTWIHI. 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

CAMPAIGN  OF   1777,   AND   CONCLUSION  OP   THE  TREATY  WITH 

FRANCE. 


|PON  the  approach  of  the  British  towards  Phi- 
ladelphia, (December  12,  1776,)  Congress  had 
removed  its  sittings  from  that  place  to  Balti- 
more. Washington's  successes  in  New  Jersey 
brought  it  back  to  Philadelphia  in  February, 
1777.  On  the  27th  of  December,  1776,  Con- 
gress conferred  upon  Washington  powers  for 
raising  forces  and  conducting  the  war,  which  were  nearly  dictatorial. 
Meantime,  the  British  ministry,  under  the  direction  of  Lord  North, 
maintained  their  determination  to  enforce  the  unconditional  submis- 
sion of  the  colonies,  while  the  opposition  party  in  parliament  were 
earnestly  endeavouring  to  procure  the  adoption  of  conciliatory  mea- 
sures. With  the  majority  of  the  British  nation  the  war  was  popular; 
and  no  difficulty  was  found  in  obtaining  from  parliament  the  requisite 
Buppiies  of  men  and  money  for  carrying  on  the  new  cvmpaign  w>tk 
ngour. 

8M 


SUPPLIES  FROM   FRANCE. 


fS& 


BeFore  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  Washington's  whole  force 
had  been  reduced  to  fifleen  hundred  men.  Early  in  the  year,  how* 
ever,  fifteen  hundred  of  the  new  troops  would  have  been  upon  their 
march  from  Massachusetts;  but  the  general  court  cuuld  not  supply 
them  with  nrms.  This  perplexity  vras  of  but  a  short  continuance. 
A  vessel  arrived  at  Portsmouth,  from  France,  with  11,987  stand  of 
arms,  1000  barrels  of  powder,  1 1,000  gun-flints,  and  other  munitions 
oi  war.  Congress  had  been  under  a  similar  embarrassment  with  the 
Massachusetts  general  court,  as  to  the  procuring  of  sullies  for 
Washington's  army  ;  but  they  obtained  similar  relief  by  the  arrival 
of  10,000  stand  of  arms  in  another  part  of  the  United  States. 

Before  the  royal  army  took  the  field  for  the  ensuing  campaign, 
wo  enterprises  were  resolved  upon  for  the  destruction  of  the  Ameri- 
can stores,  deposited  at  Peekskill,  on  the  North  Ri.er,  and  at  Dan- 
bury,  in  Connecticut.  For  this  purpose,  a  detachment  of  five  hundred 
men,  under  Colijnel  Bird,  was  convoyed  up  the  Hudson  to  Peekskill, 
liy  ihe  Brune  frigate.  General  McDougall,  who  commanded  the 
post,  having  a  weak  garrison,  fired  the  principal  store-houses,  and  re- 
peated to  a  pass  through  the  highlands,  three  miles  distant.  Bird  de- 
stroyed the  greater  part  of  the  stores,  and  re-embarked  on  the  same 
day. 

In  April,  Governor  Tryon,  with  a  detachment  of  two  thousand 
men,  passed  through  the  Sound,  under  a  naval  convoy;  and  landing 
between  Fairfield  and  Norwalk,  advanced  to  Danbury,  on  the  after- 
noon of  the  26th,  the  American  troops  having  retired  with  a  part  of 
the  stores  and  provisions.  The  enemy,  on  their  arrival,  began  burn- 
ing and  destroying  the  remainder,  together  with  eighteen  houses  and 
their  contents. 

On  the  approach  of  the  British  armament,  the  country  was  alarmed : 
and,  early  the  next  morning,  General  Sullivan,  with  about  five  hun- 
dred men,  pursued  the  enemy,  who  had  twenty-thrpe  miles  to  march. 
He  was  joined  by  Generals  Arnold  and  Woostev,  with  about  two 
hundred  militia  ;  and  when  the  royal  troops  quitted  Danbury  on  the 
27th,  the  Americans  marched  after  them.  General  Wooster  was 
mortally  wounded  ;  and  the  Americans  lost  about  twenty  killed  and 
forty  wounded.  Governor  Tryon  lost  about  four  hundred  men  in 
killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners. 

On  the  13th  of  April,  General  Cornwallis  surprised  the  post  at 
Roundbrook,  and  General  Lincoln,  who  commanded  the  American 
force  there,  narrowly  escaf^cd  capture,  with  the  loss  of  sixty  killed, 
28 


8M 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1777. 


OBNIHAL    WOOSTIR. 


irouiided,  and  prisoners.  The  British  destroyed  the  stores  auA 
evacuated  the  place.  This  was  retaliated  by  a  similar  inroad  on 
Sagg  Harbour,  made  by  Colonel  Meigs,  who  destroyed  a  large 
amount  of  shipping,  and  captured  ninety  prisoners,  without  the  loss 
of  a  man.  On  the  10th  of  July,  Colonel  Barton  surprised  and  cap- 
tured General  Prescott,  at  his  quarters  in  Rhode  Island,  which  was 
then  held  by  the  British.  Prescott  was  soon  after  exchanged  for 
General  Charles  Lee. 

While  these  desultory  operations  were  going  on,  Washington  was 
actively  raising  and  organizing  troops.  Levies,  however,  went  on 
very  slowly,  through  the  discouraging  state  of  the  cause  and  the 
rigour  of  the  season  ;  so  that,  at  the  opening  of  the  campaign,  he  had 
not  mustered  quite  eight  thousand  men.  These,  however,  were  in 
an  improved  state  of  discipline,  bearing  somewhat  the  aspect  and 
character  of  a  regular  army ;  and  during  the  winter  months,  he  had 
strongly  intrenched  them  in  a  position  covering  the  route  to  Phila- 
delphia. Howe  considered  it  inexpedient  to  open  the  campaign  till 
the  middle  of  June.  He  then  assumed  a  position  in  front  of  the 
American  army,  which  he  maintained  six  days  ;  but,  after  having 
carefully  reconnoitred  their  camp,  considered  it  too  strong  for  attack, 


BATTLE   OF   DRANDYTHNB. 


85T 


find  Fell  back  to  his  original  ntation.  His  next  manoeuvre  was  to 
rommence  an  apparently  precipitate  retreat,  by  which  Washington 
was  so  far  deceived,  that  he  engaged  in  a  hasty  pursuit,  when  tha 
royal  troops,  as  soon  as  the  enemy  were  close  upon  them,  wheeled 
round  and  made  a  brisk  attack.  Lord  Comwailis  pursued  a  detncb* 
ment  under  Lord  Stirling  to  a  considerable  distance  ;  but  the  Ameri- 
can general,  on  seeing  his  error,  exerted  such  activity  in  withdrawing 
his  detachments,  that  they  regained  their  intrenched  position  without 
very  serious  loss. 

The  British  commander,  having  thus  failed  in  his  attempts  to 
bring  the  Americans  to  action,  conceived  it  impossible,  in  their  face, 
to  attempt  the  passage  of  so  broad  a  river  as  the  Delaware.  There 
appeared  no  alternative  but  to  embark  his  army,  and,  by  a  great  cir- 
cuit, land  them  at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake.  The  British  Atrce 
embarked  on  the  6th  July,  and  did  not  reach  its  destination  till  the 
24th  August,  when  it  was  landed  without  opposition. 

Washington  had  been  carefully  watching  its  movements,  and  re- 
cruiting his  own  force,  which  he  had  raised  to  fourteen  thousand — 
not  the  most  numerous,  but  the  most  efficient  of  any  he  had  hitherto 
'"f^mmanded.  He  determined,  therefore,  to  risk  a  battle  in  defence 
of  Philadelphia,  though  conscious  that  its  issue  must  be  very  doubt- 
ful ;  but  otherwise  the  expectations  of  the  country  would  be  disap- 
pointed, and  a  discouragement  ensue  worse  than  defeat.  The  only 
considerable  river  on  the  route  was  the  Brandywine,  along  whose 
high  banks  he  drew  up  his  army,  erecting  batteries  and  intrench- 
ments  for  the  defence  of  the  principal  fords.  Howe's  advance  to 
this  point  was  obstructed  only  by  skirmishes  with  his  advanced 
guard;  yet  he  did  not  reach  it  till  the  11th  September.  Deter- 
mining then  upon  an  attack,  he  made  his  arrangements  with  skill 
and  judgment.  Knyphausen,  with  the  Hessians,  attacked  the  Ameri- 
can front,  driving  them  across  the  river,  with  apparently  vigorous 
attempts  to  follow,  yet  avoiding  any  actual  advance.  Meantime, 
a  strong  division  under  Comwailis,  accompanied  by  Howe  himself, 
made  a  circuit  of  seventeen  miles  to  pass  by  the  upper  fords.  Wash- 
ington had  received  some  intimation  of  this  movement,  but,  distracted 
by  opposite  reports,  did  not  sufficiently  provide  against  it.  Com- 
wailis reached  the  right  of  the  American  army  before  it  had  time  to 
form,  and,  by  a  vigorous  attack,  he  completely  broke  and  drove  them 
before  him.  Knyphausen,  as  soon  as  he  heard  this  firing,  pushed 
forward  with  his  whole  force,  when  the  American  ceatre,  already 


r.8 


CAMPAIQM   OF   1 


I  I  <. 


^1             ^^T  ^^I^^^^^P^^B 

l'Hi^     ri 

Ln. 

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2"  "'A 

'-"r'S^^IM 



BATTLB     or     BBAVDTwma. 


■larined  by  the  disaster  of  its  right,  p;nve  wny  at  every  point.  A  At, 
•ome  vain  attempts  by  Greene  to  cover  the  retreat,  the  whole  army 
retreated,  losing  nine  hundred  killed  and  wounded, and  four  hundred 
prisoners. 

The  American  general  soon  re-assembled  his  defeated  army,  anrf 
though  slowly  retreating,  did  not  give  up  all  hopes  of  saving  Phila- 
delphia. He  was  even  about  again  to  engage  the  enemy,  when  a 
violent  storm,  continued  during  a  whole  day  and  night,  preventsd 
the  conflict  and  rendered  his  ammunition  useless.  Still  it  was  only 
by  skilful  manoeuvres  that  his  opponent  succeeded  in  entering  the 
capital,  and  obliging  him  to  retreat  beyond  it.  Congress,  who  had 
returned  thither,  removed  first  to  Lancaster  and  then  to  Yorktown. 

Thus  established  in  Philadelphia,  Howe  pushed  forward  the  main 
budy  of  his  force  to  Germantown.  A  large  part,  however,  was 
employed  in  reducing  a  chain  of  forts  and  batteries,  which  the  Ameri- 
cans had  erected  on  the  Lower  Delaware,  interrupting  the  direct 
communication  with  the  sea,  where  Admiral  Lord  Howe,  after  land- 
ing the  troops  at  the  head  of  the  Chesapeake,  had  brought  round  the 
fleet.  Washington,  having  received  some  reinforcements,  determined 
to  take  advantage  of  this  divided  state  of  the  army  by  a  sudden 
attack  on  the  portion  stationed  at  Germantown.  At  seven  o'clock  in 
the  evening  of  the  3d  October,  his  troops  advanced  in  four  divisions, 
end,  having  marched  fourteen  miles,  at  daybreak  took  the  British 
completely  by  surprise.  For  some  time  he  carried  all  before  him  ; 
but  he  was  arrested  by  a  large  stone  building,  the  residence  of  Mr. 
I 'hew,  obstinately  defended   ty  sx  companies,  ly  which  he  wai 


i  ^ 


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j-i.it  u  iir; 


n.»;  (  >. -lung 


■  T"' -'.'•■•.■pr,  idterr'.'; 
.      '«      •  -.il  Lord  n   1-^  '•.  :'J-,:.-,.   ■ : 


.'.   ■   <'    'U: 


'V(? 


;.i.'/L't"  ,nU''i"if'r''i  ;.•."■  f'vr  '/''''.• 


-i-Pii  i-".i.=.7.  t»i  day!' 


V      kV  (H'l't 


dell 

full 

of  £ 

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but  ^ 

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out  w 

Theli 

north, 

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expres 

Upon  ) 

days'  ( 

H'ashii 


BATTLE  OP   QERMANTOWX. 


869 


BATTLS    OF    OIBMAHTOWH. 


delayed,  having  stopped  to  reduce  it.  On  the  opposing  force  being 
fully  drawn  forth,  he  was  obliged  to  retire  with  the  loss  of  upwards 
of  a  thousand  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners.  Notwithstanding 
this  unfortunate  issue,  a  favourable  impression  of  his  resources  was 
conveyed  by  his  resuming  the  offensive  so  soon  after  the  defeat  at 
Rrandywine. 

The  British  troops  were  now  employed  in  reducing  the  defences 
of  the  Delaware.  In  attacking  the  fort  of  Red  Bank,  a  detachment 
under  Count  Donop,  a  gallant  German  officer,  was  repulsed  with  the 
loss  of  about  four  hundred  men,  and  the  commander  mortally  wounded. 
It  was  afterwards  relinquished  on  the  approach  of  a  superior  force  ; 
but  November  had  nearly  closed  before  the  passage  for  the  fleet  was 
completely  cleared.  Howe  then,  on  the  4th  December,  marched 
out  with  the  view  of  again  bringing  the  American  general  to  battle. 
The  latter,  having  received  four  thousand  additional  troops  from  the 
north,  had  taken  up  a  position  at  Wbitemarsh,  about  fourteen  miles 
from  Philadelphia,  which  he  considered  so  strong  that  his  letters 
express  a  desire  of  being  there  attacked  ;  but  the  English  general, 
upon  a  careful  survey,  declined  the  engagement,  and,  after  some 
days'  skirmishing,  fell  back  upon  the  capital.  The  attention  of 
Washington  was  then  anxiously  directed  to  the  choice  of  winter 


860 


OAMPAiaN  o»  1777- 


BATTLI    or    BSD    BASS 


quarters.  *  After  much  hesitation,  he  fixed  upon  Valley  Forge,  on  the 
Schuylkill,  a  very  wild  and  bare  spot,  but  well  fitted  for  straitening 
the  English  position,  and  overawing  the  inhabitants,  many  of  whom 
were  disaffected.  The  troops  laboured  under  a  scarcity  of  pro- 
visions, and  still  more  of  clothes  and  shoes  ;  so  that  their  marches 
were  marked  by  tracks  of  blood  from  their  wounded  feet.  The 
country  people  were  indisposed  to  supply  goods,  and  set  very  little 
value  oA  the  paper  certificates  oflered  in  return ;  but  Washington  on 
one  occasion  only  would  agree  to  a  compuUory  requisition.  The  en- 
campment consisted  of  rude  log-huts,  erected  by  the  soldiers,  in  one 
of  which  twelve  were  lodged.  Their  sufferings  during  the  winter 
were  most  intense,  and  their  endurance  is  highly  creditable  to  their 
own  fortitude,  and  the  persuasive  influence  of  their  distinguished 
commander. 

Howe  had  now  made  two  successful  campaigns ;  yet  his  reports 
to  the  home  authorities,  as  to  the  prospects  of  conquering  America, 
were  by  no  means  flattering.  He  occupied  indeed  New  York  and 
Philadelphia,  with  a  certain  territory  round  them  ;  but  the  American 
army  was  still  unbroken,  and  the  determination  of  Congress  ns  firm 
as  ever. 


SIX 

two 

tnov 

barn 

cans 

been 

three 

Were 

who 

'heir  I 


HABCH  OF  GENERAL  BURQOTNE. 


861 


wa.aax>aToiis   bbao-qu  abt  k  bs   at   vallxt  vobos. 


We  have  already  noticed  that  the  American  expedition  against 
Canada  had  been  signally  disastrous.  After  being  severely  repu'sed 
at  Quebec,  they  had,  in  the  course  of  Decf  .iber,  1776,  been  com- 
pelled entirely  to  evacuate  the  province.  The  plan  was  then  formed 
to  send  from  that  country  a  strong  British  force,  which,  penetrating 
across  the  back  settlements  of  New  York,  might  form  a  junction 
with  Howe,  and  second  his  operations.  The  scheme,  which  was 
owned  by  Lord  Germaine,  had  a  plausible  appearance;  yet  it  must 
be  admitted  that  armies  have  rarely  succeeded  in  finding  their  way 
to  each  other  from  opposite  and  distant  quarters,  with  great  and  un- 
known obstacles  intervening.  The  command  was  bestowed  on  Gene- 
ral Burgoyne;  but  his  superseding  Carleton,  who  had  highly  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  defence  of  Canada,  was  by  no  means 
popular. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  1777,  Burgoyne  began  his  march,  with 
six  thousand  seven  hundred  British  and  Germans,  to  which  he  added 
two  hundred  and  fifty  Canadians  and  four  hundred  Indians.  His  first 
movement  was  against  Crown  Point  and  Ticonderoga,  considered  the 
barriers  of  the  Union  on  that  frontier.  These  forts,  which  the  Ameri- 
cans so  fortunately  acquired  at  the  beginning  of  the  contest,  had 
been  enlarged  and  strengthened,  and  were  now  garrisoned  by  above 
three  thousand  men.  When,  however,  on  the  5th  July,  the  works 
were  nearly  invested.  General  St.  Clair  called  a  council  of  officers, 
who  decided  that  the  force,  being  mostly  militia,  was  insufficient  foi 
their  defence.     A  retreat  was  therefore  effected  during  the  night,  the 


>G2 


CAMPAIGi^    OP  1777. 


baggage  and  stores  being  embarked  upon  Lake  George.  As  soon  as 
morning  betrayed  this  movement,  a  vigorous  pursuit  was  commenced, 
several  detachments  were  cut  cflT,  and  the  flotilla  on  the  lake  de< 
stroyed  ;  while  the  American  forces,  greatly  reduced  ia  numbers, 
retreated  to  Fort  Edward,  on  the  Hudson. 

g^  HIS  triumphant  opening  filled  the  British  with  ex- 
ultation ;  but  they  soon  encountered  great  and  un> 
foreseen  obstacles.  The  country,  wholly  inter«ccied 
with  creeks  and  marshes,  required  a  constant  aitcrna* 
tion  of  land  and  water  conveyance,  which  the  Ameri- 
cans rendered  more  difficult  by  felling  large  trees  and 
laying  them  across  the  paths.  It  was  necessary  to  construct  forty 
bridges,  one  of  them  two  miles  in  extent,  while  the  balteaux  had  to 
be  dragged  from  creek  to  creek  by  ten  or  twelve  oxen.  The  interval 
between  30ih  July  and  15th  August  was  thus  spent  in  an  advance 
of  only  eighteen  miles.  The  inhabitants  were  animated  with  a 
strong  spirit  of  independence,  and  eminently  fitted  for  desultory  war- 
fare. The  "Green  mountain  boys,"  who  roamed  and  hunted  over 
that  lofty  branch  of  the  Alleghany,  poured  down  in  large  bodies,  and 
with  rifles  all  but  unerring,  proved  as  formidable  in  this  wild  region 
as  the  best  trained  regulars.  The  Indians  did  not  yield  services 
equal  to  the  odium  which  their  employment  excited.  This,  how- 
ever, was  lost  sight  of;  and  though  Burgoyne  used  the  utmost 
efllbrts  to  tame  their  savage  spirit,  it  often  broke  out  with  violence. 
Two  of  them  were  employed  to  escort  Miss  Macrea,  a  young  lady 
of  great  personal  beauty,  to  the  camp,  where  she  was  to  be  married 
to  an  officer.  On  the  way  they  quarrelled  about  the  expected  re- 
ward ;  when  one  of  them,  roused  to  fury,  and  resolved  at  all  events 
to  disappoint  his  rival,  struck  her  dead  with  his  tomahawk.  This 
tragical  event  excited  a  strong  sensation  throughout  the  region, 
wholly  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  British  cause. 

Burgoyne  being  now  hard  pressed  for  provisions  and  means  of 
transport,  and  learning  that  there  was  a  large  supply  at  Bennington 
in  Vermont,  sent  thither  Colonel  Baum,  with  six  hundred  Germans. 
The  independents,  however,  mustered  in  unexpected  numbers  and 
were  reinforced  by  General  Stark,  who  was  leading  a  corps  from 
New  Hampshire  to  aid  the  northern  army.  Baum  was  mortally 
wounded,  and  his  party  totally  dispersed.  As  he  had  given  notice 
of  the  threatened  res.'stance.  Colonel  Breyman,  with  five  hundred 
meu,  was  sent  to  his  aid,  but  did  not  arrive  till  all  was  over.    Ha 


BATTLE  OF  BKNNIXQTON. 


3G3 


UUKDXB    OP    UI8S    UAORBA 


A-as  himself  briskly  attacked  ;  and,  though  at  first  he  maintained 
nis  ground,  was  at  length  obliged  to  retreat  with  the  loss  of  twc 
cannon.  Burgoyne  heard  also  of  the  fate  of  an  expedition  of 
one  thousand  men  under  Colonel  St.  Leger,  destined  to  cross  Lake 
Ontario,  capture  Fort  Stanwix,  and,  ascending  the  Mohawk,  re- 
inforce the  principal  corps.  Here  again  the  error  of  divided  move 
ments  and  proposed  meeting  from  distant  quarters  had  been  repeated 
That  officer  found  the  place  more  strongly  defended  than  he  ex- 
pected ;  the  Indians,  who  composed  nearly  half  his  force,  were 
seized  with  a  panic ;  and  he  was  obliged  to  fall  back,  abandoning 
even  his  stores. 

Burgoyne  now  felt  the  difficulties  of  his  situation  daily  thickening 
around  him.  General  Schuyler,  after  successfully  commencing  the 
campaign,  had  been  superseded,  and  General  Gates  had  been  sent  t'» 
take  the  command  of  the  Americans,  bringing  a  body  of  regulars, 
who,  with  the  numerous  volunteers  and  militia,  now  formed  an  army 


864 


OAHPAION   OF   1777, 


BATTLE    OF     BZNNINaTON 


of  thirteen  thousand  men,  with  habits  eminently  fitted  for  this  desul- 
tory warfare.  Considerations  purely  military  would  have  dictated  a 
return  into  Canada,  while  yet  possible  ;  but  the  English  general  had 
to  consider  the  dishonour  of  the  British  arms  by  a  retreat  before  this 
undisciplined  foe  ;  the  strict  injunctions  laid  upon  him  to  advance 
on  Albany,  where  he  was  taught  to  expect  that  Howe  would  be 
waiting  for  his  junction,  while  otherwise  Gates  might  wheel  round, 
and  augment  the  force  acting  against  that  commander.  He  had 
therefore  strong  motives  for  his  determination  to  advance  at  whatever 
cost.  It  was  necessary,  however,  to  give  up  his  communication  with 
Ticonderoga  and  the  lakes,  having  no  force  adequate  to  maintain  the 
necessary  chain  of  posts.  Resolving  to  push  forward  and  cut  his 
way  through  the  American  troops  to  Albany,  he  led  his  army  briskly, 
in  several  columns,  along  the  roads  leading  thither,  disposing  them 
so  as  to  cov^r  his  artillery  and  baggage.    Gates  determined  upon  re- 


UAriLB  OP  STILLWATER. 


363 


OBMBBAL    aOBOTI.]IB. 


sisting  this  movement  by  a  general  attack.  He  commenced  it  at 
Stillwater,  about  noon  of  the  19th  September,  and  maintained  the 
contest  very  obstinately  till  dusk,  when  the  Americans  retired  within 
their  lines.  The  energy  with  which  they  had  maintained  their 
ground,  and  the  loss  of  six  hundred  men  sustained  by  the  already 
reduced  British  force,  gave  this  affair  the  character  of  a  triumph; 
while  it  heightened  the  gloom  which  surrounded  Burgoyne,  who  now 
determined  to  pause,  and  fortify  himself  in  his  present  position.  On 
the  3d  October,  fifteen  hundred  men,  sent  out  to  forage  and  recon- 
noitre, rashly  advanced  to  Bemis's  Heights,  within  half  a  mile  of  the 
American  intrenchnients,  when  the  daring  Arnold  instantly  sallied 
out,  attacked,  and  drove  them  back  to  their  camp.  The  whole  Ame- 
rican army  then  followed  and  commenced  a  most  furious  assault  on 
the  lines.  From  the  British  quarter  they  were  repulsed ;  but  the 
German  intrenchments  were  carried,  two  hundred  prisoners  taken, 
and  Breyman  with  several  leading  officers  killed  or  wounded.  After 
this  disaster  Burgoyne  was  compelled  to  fall  back  upon  Saratoga. 
Burgoyne  had  been  impelled  forward  by  the  belief  that  Howe  witl 

2h2 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1777. 


AaNOLO    AT    B>UI3 


H  it  I  r»  •<  '    s 


his  whole  army  was  waiting  for  him  on  the  Hudson,  an.i  probably  at 
Albany ;  and  having  been  kept  ignorant  of  that  commander's  total 
change  of  destination,  while  his  attempts  at  communicatinn  were  in- 
terrupted by  the  Americans,  he  remained  still  in  the  dark  on  this 
subject.  A  letter  from  him,  however,  reached  New  York,  whero 
Clinton  had  been  left  with  a  force  barely  sufficient  to  maintain  tW 
position,  and  without  any  instructions  to  co-operate  with  Burgoyne, 
so  that  the  intelligence  from  that  general,  though  so  fully  to  be  ex- 
pected, Feems  to  have  fallen  upon  him  like  a  thunderbolt.  Being  an 
energp'.ic  and  active  officer,  he  assembled  three  thousand  men,  and 
be^an  a  brisk  movement  up  the  Hudson.  Meantime,  the  forts  of 
Clinton  and  Montgomery,  which,  on  opposite  banks,  defended  the 
navigation,  were  carried,  sixty-seven  cannon  taken,  two  frigates  and 
two  galleys  burned,  by  detachments  sent  up  the  river  by  General 
Clinton.  Tryon  destroyed  barracks  fitted  to  accommodate  fifteen 
hundred  men;  and  Vaughan  incurred  well-merited  reproach  by 
reducing  to  a.5het   the  town  of  Esopus.      Though  General  Gates 


SUUTENDER   OF    JENEllAL   BURQOTXR. 


nc.T 


BnRaOTNX's     RKTHSiLT     DP     TBS     BaDSOl 


observed  these  movements,  he  wisely  forbore  to  weaken  his  army 
by  detachments  against  this  corps,  which  failed  in  every  attempt  even 
to  open  a  communication  with  the  northern  army. 

Burgoyne  now  felt  that  his  affairs  had  reached  a  fatal  crisis.  The 
Americans  held  and  strongly  guarded  all  the  posts  in  the  rear,  and 
liiid  destroyed  the  flotilla  on  Lake  George ;  while  in  front  they 
had  an  army  superior  to  his  own  in  number,  and  in  such  warfare 
not  much  less  efficient.  A  movement  in  either  direction  must 
therefore  be  followed  by  a  series  of  incessant  and  harassing  attacks, 
destroying  his  army  in  detail.  A  council  of  war  was  called,  and  the 
ronclusion  formed,  that  no  option  was  left  but  the  deeply  mortifying 
one  oi  opening  a  negotiation  for  surrender.  General  Gates's  first 
demand  was,  that  the  whole  force  should  ground  their  arms  and  be- 
come prisoners  of  war ;  but  Burgoyne,  with  all  his  officers,  agreed 
in  the  determination  to  brave  every  extremity  rather  than  submit  to 
such  terms.  Gates,  feeling  the  importance  of  time,  agreed,  after 
some  discussion,  to  grant  the  honours  of  war,  and  a  free  passage  tc 
Britain,  on  condition  of  their  not  serving  again  in  North  Amcriru 


8t'8 


OAMPAIQN 


•  OBBaWDBB    Oy    BT7BaOTNB 


dunng  the  present  contest.  These  conditions,  so  far  as  related  tc 
him,  were  honourably,  and  even  courteously,  fulfilled  ;  but  Congress 
sought  a  pretext  for  evading  the  contract  to  convey  the  t'oops  to  Bri- 
tain. The  general  warned  them,  that  none  could  be  found  in  their 
own  observance  of  the  convention,  which  had  been  strictly  honour- 
able. Burgoyne,  however,  when  complaining  of  the  treatment  which 
his  men  experienced  at  Boston,  used  the  rash  expression,  that  he 
considered  the  convention  13  ihereby  violated  ;  whence  they  inferred, 
that  on  returning  home,  he  would  represent  his  government  as  ab- 
solved from  the  engagement  against  their  serving  in  America.  They 
demanded  lists  of  the  men's  names,  which  was  perfectly  rea- 
sonable, but  was  considered  by  Burgoyne  as  an  impeachment  on 
British  honour.     In  short,  they  determined   not  to  fulfil  the  con 


^liMJlJ-l 


t)'.nijn;<.i<  ti 


—— M<#«m(i(e{,??':: 


vpntior 

approv 

New 

while  { 

The  op 

whole 

most  wi 

men  ha 

Lord  G( 

thing  d( 

sent,  an( 

were  en 

former  oi 

hope  to  1 

himself  1 

a  cessati( 

named  ir 

result  of 

of  Febru 

considera 

warJike  s] 

tf 


DEBATES   IN   PARLIAMENT. 


SAP 


fi^^ia^^i 


OGNBRAL     BOBOOTWa. 


vcntion, — a  course  which  Washington  is  paid  to  have  decidedly  dis- 
approved. 

News  of  Burgoyne's  defeat  arrived  in  England,  November,  1T77. 
while  parliamen'  were  sitting;  and  the  effect  may  be  easily  conceived. 
The  opposition,  justifying  the  conduct  of  the  commanders,  threw  the 
whole  blame  upon  minis'ers.  Chatham  declared  the  expedition  a 
most  wild,  uncornbined,  mad  project ;  and  Fox  said  that  ten  thousand 
men  had  been  destroyed  by  the  wilful  ignorance  and  incapacity  of 
Lord  Germaine.  Ministers,  on  the  other  hand,  contended  that  everj 
thing  depending  upon  them  had  been  done;  large  armies  had  been 
sent,  and  most  amply  supplied  ;  and,  before  being  condemned,  they 
were  entitled  at  least  to  a  full  inquiry.  Lord  North  protested,  as  on 
former  occasions,  his  willingness  to  lay  down  office  if  he  could  thereby 
hope  to  restore  peace ;  but  seeing  no  prospect  of  this,  he  considered 
himself  bound  to  remain  at  the  helm.  Lord  Chatham  had  moved  for 
a  cessation  of  hostilities,  which  was  negatived  ;  but  committees  were 
named  in  each  house  for  an  inquiry  into  the  state  of  the  nation,  the 
result  of  which  was  to  be  taken  into  consideration  in  the  beginning 
of  February,  1778.  Ministers  proposed  and  carried,  though  with 
considerable  opposition,  an  adjournment  till  the  20th  January.  The 
warlike  spirit  of  the  nation  had  been  gradually  subsiding  in  conf  •■ 


870 


CAMPAIGN   OF  1777. 


LOBD     SORT  H. 


quence  of  the  lengthened  contest,  and  the  little  prospect  of  any  den 
sive  success  ;  so  that  the  first  accounts  of  Burgoyne's  catastrophe  pro 
duced  deep  despondence,  and  a  general  call  for  peace.  In  the 
course  of  the  recess,  however,  a  very  decided  reaction  took  place, 
excited  mainly,  we  imagine,  by  the  prevailing  belief,  that  France  was 
about  to  join  America ;  for  David  Hartley  warned  his  friend  Dr. 
Franklin,  that  the  English  would  "fight  for  a  straw  with  their  last 
shilling  and  their  last  man,"  rather  than  be  dictated  to  by  that  power. 
Manchester,  Liverpool,  Edinburgh,  and  Glasgow,  came  forward  to 
supply  regiments ;  six  battalions  were  raised  in  the  Scottish  High- 
lands ;  eleven  companies  in  Wales.  The  voluntary  levies  thus 
effected  before  the  meeting  of  parliament,  amounted  to  fifteen  thou- 
sand men.  The  opposition  exclaimed  against  this  raising  of  troops 
without  consent  or  knowledge  of  parliament ;  but  ministers  had  little 
dread  of  this  charge,  and  boasted  of  the  result  as  decisively  expressing 
the  national  opinion  in  their  favour.  Mr.  Fox  and  the  Duke  of 
Richmond  made  motions  that  no  troops  should  be  sent  out  of  the 
kingdom,  which  were  negatived,  but  not  by  the  usual  large  majori- 
ties :  the  former  only  by  259  to  165;  the  last  by  01  to  34. 


DEBATES   IN   PARLIAMENT. 


371 


Soon  after  the  meeting  of  parliament,  however.  Lord  North  brought 
forward  a  most  extensive  scheme  of  conciliation,  embracing  indeed 
every  demand  which  had  originally  been  made  by  the  colonists. 
The  right  of  taxation  without  their  own  consent  was  to  be  renounced  ; 
the  violated  constitutions  were  to  be  restored  ;  every  act  since  1763 
was  to  be  abrogated,  excepting  such  as  were  manifestly  beneficial  to 
the  colonies. 

HIS  proposal  met  with  no  serious 
opposition,  though  among  the 
supporters  of  the  war  there 
w«re  considerable  murmurs  at  the  re- 
nunciation of  all  its  objects ;  while 
among  its  opponents  a  serious  schism 
was  soon  perceptible.  A  part,  including 
Governor  Pownall,  maintained  that  every 
attempt  to  bring  America  again  under  sub- 
jection was  now  chimerical ;  they  were  and 
must  be  an  independent  sovereign  people ;  the  true  policy  was  to 
treat  with  them  as  such,  and  endeavour  to  form  a  close  federal  and 
commercial  alliance,  which  might  snatch  them  out  of  the  arms  of 
France.  Mr.  Hartley,  General  Conway,  and  the  Duke  of  Richmond, 
Uaned  to  the  same  opinion.  But  Chatham  listened  with  the  deepest 
indignation  to  the  mention  of  severing  from  Britain  that  mighty  em- 
pire which  he  had  been  the  instrument  of  so  widely  extending.  On 
the  7th  April,  he  appeared  in  the  House  of  Lords.  "I  rejoice," 
said  he,  "that  the  grave  has  not  closed  on  me  ;  that  I  am  still  alive  to 
lift  up  my  voice  against  the  dismemberment  of  this  ancient  and  most 
noble  monarchy.  Shall  this  great  kingdom,  that  has  survived  the 
Danish  depredations,  the  Scottish  inroads,  and  the  Norman  conquest ; 
that  has  stood  the  threatened  invasion  of  the  Spanish  Armada,  now  fall 
prostrate  before  the  house  of  Bourbon  ?"  If  peace  could  not  be  pre- 
served with  honour,  why  was  not  war  commenced  without  hesita- 
tion ?  He  did  not  know  what  were  the  means  of  canying  it  on  ;  but 
nny  state  was  better  than  despair.  "  Let  us  at  least  make  one  effort ; 
and  if  we  must  fall,  let  us  fall  like  men."  In  the  course  of  this  de- 
bate, this  great  statesman  was  seized  with  d  paroxysm  of  illness, 
which,  in  a  few  weeks,  terminated  his  life  and  his  splendid  political 
career.  Lord  Shelburne  also  declared,  that  the  moment  Britain 
icknowledged  the  independence  of  America,  her  sun  was  set.    There 

w  htlle  doubt,  that  the  opposite  course  would  even  before  this  ha  a 
24 


872 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1777. 


8ILA8     OB&NB. 


been  the  wisest;  yet  it  was  one  for  which  the  British  nation  in 
general  was  by  no  means  prepared. 

We  must  now  look  to  the  continent  of  Europe,  where  measures 
of  the  deepest  importance  had  been  secretly  in  agitation.  Congress 
for  some  time  declared  that  they  had  abstained  from  any  attempt 
to  seek  support  by  foreign  alliances,  when  they  might  have  done  so 
»v;th  every  prospect  of  success.  France  and  Spain,  it  was  well 
known,  deeply  humbled  by  the  result  of  the  war  ended  in  1763,  and 
the  extensive  territories  then  wrested  from  them,  were  anxiously 
watching  an  opportunity  to  retrieve  and  avenge  these  losses.  The 
latter  power,  indeed,  might  dread  lest  the  same  spirit  should  spread 
to  her  own  settlements ;  but  France  upon  this  head  had  much  less 
to  fear.  In  the  spring  of  ITTO,  all  the  leading  men  in  the  colonies, 
having  fixed  their  minds  upon  independence,  became  disposed  to 
avail  themselves  of  the  advantages  of  foreign  treaties.  Franklin  in- 
deed states,  as  his  first  opinion,  that  America,  "as  a  virgin  state, 
should  not  go  about  suitoring  alliances,"  but  rather  wait  till  she  was 
courted ;  but  he  was  overruled,  and  ultimately  became  the  most  active 
agent.  On  the  29th  November,  1775,  a  committee  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  open  a  correspondence  with  the  friends  of  America  in 


FRENCH   AID. 


373 


Europe.  The  first  person  employed  was  Silas  Deane,  i  member  of 
L'onpress,  w!io  was  instructed  to  visit  Europe  in  the  character  of  a 
n  errhant,  and  endeavour  to  open  private  channels,  by  which  the 
cabinets  might  aid  America  without  openly  committing  themselves 
He  arrived  about  the  1st  July,  1776,  and  found  the  French  court 
wdl  disposed  to  favour  his  views.  Turgot,  a  minister  friendly  to 
peace,  had  been  replaced  by  Vergennes,  who  eagerly  aspired  to  re- 
gain for  France  the  ground  lost  in  the  late  contest.  A  great  dread, 
however,  being  felt  lest  the  povver  and  perseverance  of  America 
should  fail,  and  France  be  left  alone  to  maintain  an  unequal  contest, 
the  minister  intimated,  that  aid  could  not  be  openly  given,  but  that 
no  obstruction  would  be  opposed  to  the  shipment  of  warliite  stores  and 
supplies;  if  any  occurred,  it  need  only  be  stated,  to  be  speedily  re- 
nioved.  In  fact,  Mr.  Deane  was  informed  that  arrangements  had 
already  been  made  for  transmitting  by  a  circuitous  route  a  liberal 
supply.  Beaumarchais,  a  Frenchman,  had  gone  to  London,  and 
sought  out  Arthur  Leo,  the  secret  agent  of  Congress,  whom  he  in- 
formed that  the  court  of  France  had  resolved  to  assist  the  colonies 
with  military  stores  to  the  value  of  £200,000.  Thev  were  nol, 
however,  to  come  direct  from  tlint  high  source,  but  from  himself, 
under  the  fictitious  firm  of  Roderique,  Hortales,  and  Company,  to  be 
ostensibly  established  at  Port  St  Francois  in  St.  Domingo,  whence 
the  great  bulk  of  the  articles  we/e  to  be  furnished.  Mr.  Lee  fully 
understood  them  to  be  delivered  out  of  the  French  magazines,  and 
that  only  a  slight  and  formal  return  was  expected.  By  this  under- 
hand channel,  twenty-five  thousand  muskets  and  other  supplies  were 
in  the  beginning  of  1777  received  in  America,  and  were  of  the  ut- 
most use  to  Washington  in  the  equipment  of  the  new  army  which  he 
was  then  levying.  In  the  end  of  that  year,  however.  Congress  were 
much  surprised  by  the  demand,  from  an  agent  of  Beaumarchais,  of 
payment  for  all  the  stores  thus  furnished.  Several  letters  explaining 
the  transaction  had  been  intercepted  ;  and  the  mystery  in  which  the 
whole  was  involved  rendered  it  impossible  for  them  to  give  an  abso- 
lute refusal.  Their  commissioners,  however,  were  instructed  to  seek 
in  the  most  delicate  manner  an  explanation  from  the  French  mmis- 
ters,  intimating  their  belief  that  they  had  been  indebted  to  his  majesty 
alone  for  these  valuable  supplies.  That  court,  however,  on  being 
repeatedly  pressed  by  the  British  ambassador  upon  this  subject,  had 
not  scrupled  to  deny  having  afforded  any  aid  whatever  to  the  colo- 
'lies;  so  that  a  breach  of  its  honour,  that  is,  an  exposure  of  its  deceit, 
47  ai 


374 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1777. 


THOMAS     PAIN1 


was  apprehended,  in  now  making  the  statement.  The  minister 
therefore  replied,  that  Beaumarchais  had  merely  received  these  stores 
from  his  majesty's  arsenals  as  a  personal  accommodation,  and  on  con- 
dition of  replacing  them  ;  gravely  adding,  that  he  knew  nothing  of 
such  a  house  as  Roderique,  Hortales,  and  Company.  Some  time 
after,  a  controversy  having  arisen  with  Mr.  Deane,  Thomas  Paine, 
then  secretary  of  the  committee  for  foreign  affairs,  published  a  pamph- 
let, broadly  stating  that  the  stores  had  been  supplied  by  the  French 
government  as  a  gift,  and  with  an  express  intimation  that  no  pay- 
ment was  expected.  Hereupon  Gerard,  the  French  ambassador, 
presented  two  memorials  to  Congress,  calling  upon  them  for  an  ex- 
plicit disavowal  of  these  assertions.  That  body,  according  to  Mr. 
Pitkin,  could  not  possibly  at  this  time  quarrel  with  France  on  any 
ground,  and  therefore  put  forth  the  declaration  demanded,  though 
having,  he  admits,  the  strongest  ground  for  believing  it  untrue. 
Paine,  for  his  indiscretion,  was  obliged  to  resign  his  office ;  and  "* 
became  impossible  to  escape  from  the  engagement  to  pay  m  the 
course  of  three  years  the  demands  of  Beaumarchais.  Congress  still 
hoped  that  the  French  ministry  would  in  some  way  interpose  to  avert 
this  burdensome  obligation ;  but  they  were  disappointed ;  and  through 
this  chain  of  circumstances  they  were  under  the  hard  necessity  of 
paying  a  profligate  adventurer  for  supplies  which  had  in  fact  been 
freely  furnished  to  them  out  of  the  French  magazines.  He  even  in- 
tercepted one  of  three  millions  of  livres  covertly  presented  to  them  by 
iheir  ally  ;  but  before  the  final  settlement  they  learned  this  Iraud, 
and  deducted  it  from  the  payment. 


^RBNOH  AID. 
Assoonaslhe  DprU-o.-        r,  ^75 

«f  foreign  ,ni,r.es.    0„  .he  l,u,Jul"  T*    "°"°""°"''<'''j« 

•»  prepare  .  plan,  „hich  wa,  no  h„  "^-"-"lee  waa  app„i„,„j 

">e  I7.h  Sep,e„be,,  when  Dr  plnll'T'"""'  ""'  '"<■'-''■>  « 

■    »e,e  appointed  commissioners  ,!"'"•*•'• '^^"=.  »"■)  Mr.  li 

from  his  «igh.  of  ,t.„:;™   °  P--    •»  France.    The  ,„„i:^ 

•l-os. , he  eniire  direction.    On  reaoh' '    r'°''  •"''  ■">''-"•  tad 

•»'.  >™.he  found  .h,  c.br„«Tv  :"'"'•'""'""•'■"  i^«m- 

«Po"se,hecauseof  .heS,a,e"  orev       "T  '"■''"'^''  "P'-y  » 
Penlence.    Friend,,  profesrns"  1"  'T'""'""'?"  'kc'  ind  " 
pnvate  .„„o„rs  Proled ,  Z  .herw^    ' "'  '  "°""-"«  "f 
•S.."S   pr»=eedi„g  f.„h„  ,,„  /,  °™  ">  "»  "'den.  de,ermina,io„ 
r-s.  .he  shock  of  ,he  British    rlt     'e  l'"'  ""f"  ""^  "■"" 
»»  »evere.     The  disas.ers  of  .he  cal'  ,  '       ""  "'  """'"■  "«  •"" 
Congress  upon  .he  subjec.,    ThevZ*     '"""''''  ""  '"^'"f  " 
V-cnna.  Spain,  P,„ssia  and  ZZIT  T""""™"' '"  "''  '^""^  of 
'»  declare  open,,  in  ,h,i,  f.'    r/^' !""  ,'"  """  '»  -duce  Pmnce 
-crce  and  fishery,  ,„i  even  "he  t  *"  ""''"''«"  '"  «»»- 

*nds  as  migh,  fe  cap,„,ed  dnr ^1?""  "o"""  ^"'  '"««> 
'«es  which  impelled  .o  .hese  „  ™t      „  h'   .^"'  "'  -">»  ■«»- 
•■^ceprng  .hem,  and  i,  con.innedr     Ik    .      ""  """  '""'"<"  "f 
"".paign  of  ,777,  no.wi.hs.a„d,n! ".Im    f      '"'"  "''  ""-»•    ^te 
"Ted  prospecs  of  making  .  peZnenr       i"?'  ""  '"""'''-'f  >» 

'•fc^ch  arrived  from  America  N  T  '""•"«'"«  ""d  even  ,ep„„ 
yy  in  December,  ofXmlmen^  ?  '""''  P'"^'  ""  "■«  arriv^r 
^;:.  "kich  a.  once  Jl  ^1":;:  ^"^^  °f.B"rgo,ne-s  surren' 

0"  "l"  IM.  M.  Gerard  in.ima.ed    o  ,1,  "'"'  "''  "■'  «W»«- 

I'-e  deliberaiion,  ,he  king  had  del  !  "^""""i^'ioners  .ha.,  after 
P;"dence  of  ,he  UnLed^,  es  "T'T"  '°  -""-Wge  .he  inde- 
"71.  .hereby  involving  i  m s'e,    /n  '°  '"'•'"'  "■'""  -PP»'«. 

'"■"lily  admined  .hal  he  .h,,         V  "P'nsive  war.     I,   „„ 

P-i.ion  .owards  .hem,  b„.t  .h'     '  ""'  """"'  ''-"  '  «™dly  d" 

'^'  1"»J  of  Spain,  referring';. ^Lt:,:™'  "  '"'" '"  ''^  ""*• 
"'e  enemy.    During  the  S„,  ''"'  '°""°on  and  invere- 

"'»"i-3„pp|ie3„f  ^:„t/;;;7  "'>"'-.'■«  kad  afforded  to      e 

-P  "".brage,  and  woniT  no  do TbH  °'  ""t"  ^"«''°^  >"'  '"''■' 
■--^W.    Tbe.meriel:Lt-::-:~^^^^^ 


•J  (I 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1777. 


OONOLnslOB     or    the     THVATT     with     FHANOa. 

not  to  be  subdued,  but  Britain  might  succeed  in  her  present  attempts 
to  form  a  close  and  friendly  alliance  with  them,  and  thus  turn  her 
arms  undivided  against  her  continental  enemies  ;  now,  therefore,  was 
the  time  to  form  such  a  connection  fis  might  prevent  any  reunion 
between  them  and  the  mother-country. 

In  pursuance  of  these  views,  there  was  concluded,  on  the  6th 
February,  a  treaty  of  commerce,  accompanied  by  one  of  defensive 
alliance  in  the  well-foreseen  case  of  war  being  the  result.  The 
allies  were  to  make  common  cause  with  the  States,  and  to  maintain 
their  absolute  independmre.  Whatever  conquests  should  be  made 
on  the  continent  were  to  be  secured  to  them,  but  those  in  the  WeiU 
Indies  to  the  crown  of  France. 


coml 
rupJ 

goocj 


COUMODOHE    JOHN     PAUL    JONBb 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 


CAMPAIGN    OP   1778. 


HE  treaty  between  France  and  America,  though 
soon  generally  known,  was  for  some  time  stu- 
diously concealed  from  the  British  minister. 
On  the  13lh  March,  however,  the  French  am- 
bassador at  London  delivered  a  note  referring 
to  the  United  States  as  already  in  full  possession 
of  independence,  whence  his  majesty  had  con- 
cluded with  them  a  treaty  of  friendship  and 
commerce,  and  would  take  effectual  measures  to  prevent  its  inter- 
ruption. Professions  were  made  of  the  king's  anxiety  to  cultivate  a 
good  understanding  with  Britain,  and  his  sincere  disposition  for  peace 
of  which  it  was  ironically  said  that  new  proofs  would  be  found  in  thi. 

48  8ia  877 


m 


CAMPAIQN   OF   1778. 


communication.  On  the  17th,  this  document  was  laid  before  parlia- 
ment, with  a  message  from  the  crown,  stating  that  the  British  ambas- 
sador had  in  consequence  been  ordered  to  withdraw  from  Paris,  and 
expressing  trust  in  the  zealous  and  affectionate  support  of  the  people 
for  repelling  this  unprovoked  aggression  combined  with  insult.  An 
address  echoing  the  message  was  moved  in  both  houses  ;  but  the 
opposition  rep'opched  ministers  with  not  having  duly  foreseen  or 
prepared  for  tai  emergency  ;  while  a  few  repelled  as  now  hopeless 
the  idea  of  holrling  America  under  any  kind  of  dependence.  It  was 
carried,  however,  by  majorities,  in  the  Commons,  of  263  to  113  ;  in 
the  Lords,  of  68  to  25.  The  message  for  calling  out  the  militia  was 
sanctioned  without  a  division. 

In  Pennsylvania,  meantime,  the  two  armies  continued  viewing 
each  other  without  any  material  warlike  movement.  The  distress 
suffered  by  Washington  at  Valley  Forge  was  extreme.  Congress 
taking  no  efficient  measures  to  supply  the  troops  with  clothes  or 
even  provisions.  That  body  indeed  showed  a  decided  jealousy  of 
thearmy,andby  ill-treatment  did  its  utmost  to  render  their  suspicions 
well  founded.  The  officers  had  to  complain,  not  only  of  irregularity 
in  receiving  their  pay,  but  of  obtaining  no  promise  of  half-pay  at  the 
end  of  the  war;  this  last,  however,  through  the  remonstrances  of 
Washington,  was  at  length  secured.  That  great  man  was  farther 
harassed  by  a  combination  formed  against  himself  and  shared  by 
Gates,  whose  friends  contrasted  his  brilliant  success  against  Bur- 
goyne  with  the  tardy  and  in  many  cases  unsuccessful  movements  of 
the  commander-in-chief.  Their  representations  made  for  some  time 
a  considerable  impression  upon  Congress  and  even  the  public;  but 
as  the  commander  took  no  notice  of  this  movement,  and  pursued  the 
even  and  dignified  tenor  of  his  way,  the  cloud  dispelled  of  itself. 
Although  his  force  in  spring  was  reduced  very  low,  Howe  did  not 
venture  to  attack,  but,  according  to  the  representations  formerly  made, 
considered  himself  strong  enough  only  for  partial  and  detached  ex 
peditions,  several  of  which  were  unctertaken  with  success.  Not 
being,  however,  supplied  with  reinforcements  sufficient  for  any  im- 
portant enterprise,  he  felt  his  situation  painful,  and  solicited  his 
recall.  The  British  ministers,  who  probably  hoped  that  a  more  en- 
•erprising  commander  might  achieve  some  decisive  successes,  granted 
it,  and  named  Clinton  his  successor.  His  officers,  however,  mani- 
fested their  opinion  of  his  merits  by  a  brilliant  fete  on  the  occasion  ot 
his  departure. 


OFl'liRS  OP   CONCILIATION. 


879 


UINBR&L     OATBS, 


N  /une,  the  British  commis- 
sioners arrived  with  the  new 
offers  of  conciliation.  They 
consisted  of  Governor  John- 
stone, Lord  Carlisle,  and  Mr. 
Eden,  gentlemen  who  had  hitherto  advo- 
^  cated  against  ministers  the  cause  of  Ame- 
^1  rica.  The  terms  were  more  than  had 
been  originally  asked,  amounting  in  fact 
to  every  degree  of  independence  com- 
patible with  a  union  of  force  against 
foreign  powers,  all  alliance  with  whom  was  expected  to  be  renounced. 
Stnal'er  concessions  would  once  have  saved  the  colonies  for  Great 
Britain ;  but  Congress  and  the  leading  men  had  now  taken  a  position 
whence  they  felt  wholly  disinclined  to  recede.  Their  minds,  in  the 
course  of  the  war,  had  become  more  and  more  embittered  against 


880 


CAMPAIGN    OP   1778. 


the  movhei  country,  and  open  to  the  pride  of  independent  natintiai 
existence,  and  of  alliance  with  the  great  powers  of  Europe.  They 
could  not  but  doubt  whether  terms,  so  hardly  wrung  from  an  extreme 
necessity,  would,  in  changed  circumstances,  be  executed  in  their  full 
extent;  while  they  themselves  would  always  be  viewed  as  hostile, 
and  removed  as  much  as  possible  from  power.  They  do  not  seem 
to  have  ever  deliberated,  merely  appointing  a  conmiittee  to  prepare 
an  answer.  Its  tenor  was,  that  notwithstanding  all  their  wrongs, 
they  were  willing  to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace  and  commerce,  pro- 
vided Britain  shoula  begin  by  an  explicit  acknowledgment  of  their 
independence,  or  by  withdrawing  her  fleets  and  armies,  hulignaiiun 
was  expressed  at  the  manner  in  which  their  great  and  good  ally,  the 
King  of  France,  was  mentioned,  and  a  full  determination  intimated 
of  adhering  to  the  connection.  The  commissioners  wrote  an  ex- 
planatory paper,  endeavouring  to  prove  that  eveiy  object  of  real  im- 
portance was  included  in  their  offers  ;  but  as  no  new  concession  was 
made,  it  was  determined  to  return  no  answer.  Governor  Johnstone 
had  written  letters  to  several  members  of  Congress,  in  which,  besides 
public  motives,  private  advantages  were  held  out  in  case  of  their 
aiding  the  cause  of  reconciliation.  The  receivers  laid  them  before 
Congress,  who  imn)ediately  published  them,  with  indignant  com- 
ments, as  attempts  to  gain  the  object  by  bribery. 

The  commissioners,  thus  vehemently  repulsed  by  Congress,  de- 
termined to  appeal  to  the  particular  slates  and  to  the  nation  at  large. 
A  manifesto  and  proclamation  were  drawn  up,  fully  explaining  all 
the  advantages  now  offered,  including  the  removal  of  every  grievance 
hitherto  complained  of;  reminding  the  people  tiiat  to  these  overtures 
Congress  had  refused  even  to  listen,  and  asking  if  they  were  pre- 
pared to  carry  on  a  ruinous  war,  with  no  object  but  to  throw  them- 
selves into  the  arms  of  a  foreign  power,  so  long  their  inveterate 
enemy.  It  was  injudiciously  added,  that  in  such  case  warlike 
measures  would  be  carried  on  with  increased  severity,  so  that  if  the 
country  was  to  belong  to  France,  its  value  might  be  diminished. 
Congress  counteracted  the  effect  of  this  paper  by  publishing  it  thenV' 
selves  with  a  comment  of  their  own. 

Clinton's  first  operation  was  to  evacuate  Philadelphia.  Its  positiou 
was  deemed  disadvantageous,  being  so  far  inland,  at  the  head  of 
a  long  and  intricate  bay,  liable  to  be  commanded  by  those  large  fleet! 
which  France  was  expected  to  send.  On  the  18ih  June,  the  British 
commander  began  his  march,  rendered  veiy  difficult   by  a  great 


quantity 

tended  n 

bridges,  i 

these  he 

Consulted 

of  the  er 

avoid  a  j 

upon  his  ] 

t'ftermina 

'he  attack, 

tfiem.     U, 

this  advan 

'■ear,  sudd 

l-fgan  a  hi; 

^Vhen  Wa 

^•ee,  callin; 

partially  efi 

iind  Genen 

British,  the 

to  make  ani 

of  which  c" 

'^s  reache 


BATTLE   OF   MONMOUTH. 


881 


BATTLS    OF    UOMKOUTH. 


quantity  of  baggage  and  various  encumbrances,  whence  his  line  ex- 
tended nearly  twelve  miles.  The  Americans  had  destroyed  the 
bridges,  and  made  arrangements  for  intercepting  his  progrtss ;  bul 
these  he  evaded  by  a  judicious  change  of  route.  Washington  now 
consulted  his  general  officers  as  to  the  best  mode  of  taking  advantage 
of  the  enemy's  circumstances.  Lee  and  several  others  advised  U 
avoid  a  general  battle,  but  to  harass  him  by  detachments  thrown 
upon  his  flanks  and  rear.  The  general,  having  formed  an  opposite 
determination,  sent  forward  five  or  six  thousand  men  to  commence 
'he  attack,  while  he  remained  a  few  miles  behind,  ready  to  support 
them.  Unluckily  Lee,  by  his  seniority,  was  entitled  to  command 
this  advanced  guard;  while  Clinton,  who  had  his  best  troops  in  the 
rear,  suddenly  A-heeled  round,  and  attacked  the  Americans,  who 
began  a  hasty  retreat  with  the  alleged  concurrence  of  their  leader. 
When  Washington  met  them  thus  falling  back,  he  bitterly  reproached 
I.ee,  calling  upon  him  to  rally  and  lead  back  his  troops.  This  was 
partially  effected,  and  when  the  rest  of  the  force  was  brought  up, 
and  General  Greene  had  placed  himself  on  the  left  flank  of  the 
British,  they  became  exposed  to  a  severe  cross-fire,  and  were  unable 
to  make  any  farther  impression.  "^I'he  contest  was  closed  by  night, 
of  which  Clinton  took  advantage  to  continue  his  retreat,  and  in  two 
ilays  reached  Sandy  Hook,  where  he  embarked  without  molestation. 


882 


CAMPAIGN  OF   1778. 


COUHZ    D    XSTAISa. 


After  the  battle,  some  embittered  correspondence  passed  between 
Washington  and  Lee,  who  was  thereupon  brought  before  a  court- 
martial,  charged  with  having  made  a  disorderly  retreat,  and  shown 
disrespect  to  his  commander.  He  was  found  guilty,  and  suspendeo 
from  all  command  for  a  year,  and  in  fact  never  again  joined  the 
Brmy. 

No  sooner  had  France  operly  declared  in  favour  of  the  Statps, 
than  she  fitted  out  and  sent  to  their  aid  a  fleet  of  twelve  sail  of  the 
line  under  Count  D'Estaing ;  while  Britain  despatched  commodore 
Byron  with  one  of  equal  strength.  Both  were  delayed  by  contrary 
winds,  and  though  the  French  admiral  arrived  first,  he  did  not  reath 
the  Chesapeake  till  the  British  fleet  and  army  had  passed  on  the 
way  to  New  York.  Thither  he  followed,  and  reconnoitred  the 
entrance  of  the  harbour  ;  but  Lord  Howe,  though  with  only  half  his 
force,  made  such  judicious  dispositions,  that  D'Estaing  judged  it 
imprudent  to  attack.  He  was  next  invited  to  assist  in  operations 
against  Rhode  Island,  still  held  by  a  considerable  English  force. 
General  Sullivan,  on  the  land  side,  was  reinforced  by  New  England 
militia,  and  bj  a  detachment  from  the  main  army,  under  La  Fayette, 
making  in  all  ten  thousand  men.     Howe  hesitated  not  to  approach ; 

'  I  violent  storm  prevented  the  fleets  from  engaging,  and  allowed 


OPERATIONS   AGAINST  THE   PRIVATEERS. 


383 


oui)  a  few  conf.icts  between  single  ships,  in  which  the  British  had 
the  advantage.  D'Estaing  complained  that  his  squadron  was  thus 
90  severely  shattered  as  rendered  it  necessary  to  go  and  refit  at 
Boston,  which  he  did,  without  regard  to  the  warmest  remonstrances 
from  Greene  and  La  Fayette.  Sullivan  was  thus  left  in  a  critical 
situation  ;  a  force  came  hastily  from  New  York,  sufficient  to  over- 
whelm him,  and  he  was  considered  to  have  great  merit  in  effecting 
a  precipitate  retreat,  with  only  the  dispersion  of  a  part  of  his  army. 
Byron  s'X)n  after  arrived,  and  reinforced  Howe,  when  both  fleets 
were  placed  under  Admiral  Gambler ;  and  the  English  became 
completely  superior  at  sea.  The  American  press  raised  loud  mur- 
murs at  the  inefficient  support  afforded  by  their  powerful  ally,  from 
whom  so  much  had  been  expected.  This  was  an  additional  trouble 
to  Washington,  who  dreaded  umbrage  between  the  two  nations,  and 
made  studied  apologies  to  the  French  officers  for  the  rash  language 
of  his  countrymen. 

He  did  not  attempt  any  farther  offensive  movements  this  campaign  ; 
and  Clinton  took  occasion  to  attack  some  of  the  principal  privateering 
stations.  On  Acusknet  river,  in  Buzzard's  Bay,  General  Brey  de- 
stroyed seventy  sail  of  ships,  and  numerous  storehouses ;  and  from 
the  island  of  Martha's  Vineyard  a  large  supply  of  sheep  and  cattle 
was  drawn.  At  a  rendezvous,  however,  named  Egg  Point,  the 
success  was  imperfect,  a  great  part  of  the  shipping  having  es- 
caped. On  these  occasions,  plunder  and  outrage  were  practised  to 
an  unjustifiable  extent  against  known  privateers.  The  Americans, 
through  the  report  of  the  French  alliance,  had  obtained  the  evacua- 
tion of  Philadelphia  ;  but  in  every  other  respect  their  hopes  of  this 
campaign  had  been  greatly  disappointed.  Their  pride,  however. 
«as  gratified  by  the  arrival  at  Philadelphia  of  the  French  ambassa- 
dor, Gerard,  a  highly  respected  individual,  by  whose  agency  chiefly 
the  treaty  had  been  concluded. 

N  the  course  of  this  summer,  the  western  countiV 
had  been  the  scene  of  most  distressing  events ; 
the  tories  were  driven,  by  the  rigorous  laws 
enacted  against  them,  to  seek  an  asylum  be- 
yond the  limits  of  the  colonies.  There  they 
found  themselves  among  the  Indians,  a  race 
always  bitterly  hostile  to  the  white  borderers, 
and  easily  excited  to  the  most  daring  enter- 
prises. The  toriss  stimulated  these  allies  to  deeds  of  /nore  than  their 


"Tw»»!w"wnii  mjinr^ 


384 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1778. 


tlASaAORS     A.T     WTOMINQ 


wonted  barbarity.  Wyoming,  a  flourishing  settlement  on  the  Penn 
sylvania  frontier,  was  suddenly  assailed,  the  slender  militia  force 
which  defended  it  overpowered,  and  the  inhabitants  exposed  to  all 
the  horrors  of  Indian  vengeance  and  massarre.  From  the  lateness 
of  the  season,  only  a  few  partial  attempts  could  be  made  to  retaliate. 
Next  spring,  however,  General  Sullivan  was  despatched  with  four 
thousand  men,  and  joined  by  General  Clinton  with  another  division 
from  the  Mohawk  river.  They  entered  the  territory  of  the  Indians, 
who,  quite  unable  to  resist  so  large  a  force,  abandoned  their  homes 
and  fled  before  them.  The  villages  were  then  reduced  to  ashes, 
every  trace  of  cultivation  obliterated,  and  the  region  rendered  as 
much  as  possible  uninhabitable.  This  rigour  is  said  to  have  been 
authorized  by  Washington,  and  justified  on  the  ground  that  without 
interposing  a  desert  between  the  states  and  this  savage  race,  no 
security  could  be  enjoyed  on  the  frontier. 

During  the  summer  of  1778,  the  Indians,  who  had  become  very 
troublesome  on  the  borders  of  Virginia,  received  a  severe  check  from 
Colonel  George  Rogers  Clarke.  With  a  body  of  Virginia  militia 
this  officer  penetrated  to  the  British  settlements  on  the  Mississipp-, 
captured  the  town  of  Kaskaskias,  and  made  prisoner  Colonel  Hamil 


INDIAN  INCURSIONS. 


385 


ooLONXi,  osoRaa  a.  olarkb. 


Ion,  the  English  commander  of  that  quarter.  This  decisive  measure 
put  an  end  to  Indian  barbarities  in  that  region. 

Similar  incursions  took  place  at  the  south.  A  body  of  refugees 
from  Florida  entered  Georgia,  and  summoned  Colonel  Mcintosh, 
commaii  ;ant  of  the  fort  at  Sunbury,  to  surrender;  but  on  receiving 
his  answer  to  come  and  take  him,  they  hastily  retired.  Another 
party  from  the  same  place,  after  laying  waste  a  large  tract  jf  country, 
and  carrying  off  all  the  negroes,  horses,  cattle  and  plate,  belonging 
to  the  planters,  and  burning  the  town  of  Midway,  retired  into  Florida. 
General  Robert  Howe  determined  to  retaliate  these  attacks,  and 
marched  against  St.  Augustine  with  two  thousand  troops,  but  sick- 
ness obliged  him  to  retreat. 

The  British  commander-in-chief  now  concerted  a  plan  for  obtaining 
possession  of  Georgia,  by  invading  it  with  two  separate  bodies  of 
troops.  For  this  purpose.  Major-general  Prevost  was  to  march  from 
St.  Augustine,  with  his  whole  force,  and  invade  the  south,  whilst 
Lieutenant-colonel  Campbell,  with  two  thousand  five  hundred  men 
from  New  York,  invested  Savannah.  On  the  23d  of  December,  the 
latter  appeared  in  the  river,  and  eflfected  a  landing,  without  much 
opposition.     To  defend  the  state,  General  Robert  Howe  had  about 


3S6 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1778. 


CAPTAIN     BIODLX 


SIX  hundred  continental  soldiers,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  militia, 
and  with  this  force  he  had  taken  a  very  advantageous  position,  sur^ 
rounded,  except  in  front,  by  a  swamp,  river,  and  morass  ;  and  the 
nature  of  the  place  was  such,  that  had  he  been  attacked  in  front,  he 
could  have  easily  defended  himself.  A  negro,  however,  being  aware 
of  a  small  private  path,  through  the  morass,  which  led  to  the  rearot 
the  American  army,  conducted  a  detachment  of  light-infantry,  under 
Sir  James  Baird,  upon  the  rear,  while  an  attack  was  made  in  front. 
Thus  the  Americans  were  completely  entrapped.  Although  they 
fought  desperately,  upwards  of  one  hundred  were  killed,  and  four 
hundred  and  fifty-three  prisoners,  forty-eight  pieces  of  cannon, 
twenty-three  mortars,  the  fort,  the  shipping  in  the  river,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  provisions,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  conquerors.  The 
remainder  of  the  American  army  retreated  into  South  Carolina. 
Augusta  and  Sunbury  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British,  who  now 
had  the  command  of  all  Georgia. 

After  this  time,  all  the  attempts  of  the  British  at  conque»t  were 


NAVAL  ENOAGEMENTS. 


BATTLX  BXTWXKN  TnS  BANOBR  AND  DBAKX. 


directed  from  tbe  southern  towards  the  middle  states ;  and  Clinton 
determined  to  commence  the  campaign  of  1779,  by  an  attempt  to 
plant  the  royal  standard  in  the  fortresses  of  the  Carolinas. 

Meanwhile  the  American  navy,  which  was  soon  to  dispute  suc- 
cessfully with  the  mistress  of  the  sea,  had  already  begun  to  distin- 
guish itself.  Vast  numbers  of  British  merchantmen  and  West  India 
ships  were  captured  by  privateers.  One  of  the  most  successful  naval 
olficers  of  the  time  was  Captain  Nicholas  Biddle,  of  Philadelphia. 
After  many  brilliant  achievements,  he  sailed  from  Charleston,  March, 
1778,  in  the  Randolph,  of  thirty-six  guns  and  three  hundred  and 
fifteen  men.  Accompanying  him  were  the  General  Moultrie,  the 
Polly,  the  Fair  American,  and  the  Notre  Dame.  On  the  night  of 
March  7,  he  encountered  the  Yarmouth,  of  sixty-four  guns,  and 
engaged  her  without  knowing  the  disparity  of  force.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  action  he  was  wounded,  but  causing  a  chair  to  be 
brought,  he  remained  with  his  men  for  about  twenty  minutes,  when 
the  Randolph  blew  up,  carrying  with  her  the  gallant  Biddle,  and  all 
his  crew  save  four.  The  remaining  part  of  the  squadron  escaped, 
the  Yarmouth  being  too  much  crippled  to  give  chase. 

In  this  year,  the  celebrated  John  Paul  Jones  resolved  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  unprotected  state  in  which  the  British  were  in  the 
habit  of  leaving  their  own  coast.  Accordingly,  he  sailed  in  the 
Hanger  of  eighteen  guns,  around  the  coasts  of  Scotland  and  Ireland, 
and  finally,  after  taking  several  prizes,  he  was  attacked  by  the 
Drake,  a  twenty  gun  ship,  the  captain  of  which,  after  hearing  of  a 
descent  which  Jones  had  made  on  White  Haven,  sailed  out  of  the 
harbour  of  Carrickfergus  with  many  more  than  his  usual  complement 
of  men,  whilst  Jones  had  lost  nearly  half  of  the  men  which  he  had 
n  the  Ranger  when  he  first  set  sail.  The  remainder  had  been  se 
25 


388 


CAMPAIGN  OP  1778. 


away  in  prizes.  The  two  vessels  engaged  within  pistol-shot,  and 
alter  sixty-five  minutes  close  fighting,  the  captain  and  first-lieutenant 
of  the  Drake  were  both  dead,  and  the  vessel  was  compelled  to  strike 
her  colours.  Besides  these  two  brave  officers,  the  enemy  lost  up- 
wards of  forty  men  in  the  action.  Jones  sailed  for  Brest  in  his  prize, 
where  he  anchored  on  the  7th  of  May,  after  an  absence  of  twenty- 
eight  days,  during  which  time  he  had  taken  two  hundred  prisoners. 
Of  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  men  with  him  when  he  sailed, 
only  two  were  with  him  when  he  anchored  at  Brest,  the  remainder 
having  been  distributed  among  his  many  prizes.  Jones's  chief  ob- 
ject in  this  cruise  was  to  capture  as  many  prisoners  as  possible,  in 
order,  by  exchanging,  to  obtain  the  release  of  the  American  prisoner* 
in  England  and  America,  of  which  the  number  was  large.  In  this 
object  he  completely  succeeded. 


•OMMOIIOBB    PAUL    JOHBl'l    SBSOSNT    OH     WBITaBATVN 


MA  BOH    arx  U  B ■  N 


CHAPTER  XXXIl. 

CAMPAIGN   OP  1779. 

EVERAL  of  the 
late  operations  of 
the  American  ar- 
my owed  much 
of  their  efficiency 
to  the  admirable 
training  of  Baron 
Steuben,  a  Prus- 
sian officer  who 
had  served  un- 
der Frederick  the 

Great,  and  had  joined  the  American  standard  in  December,  1777. 

His  exact  discipline  contrilated  largely  to  the  ultimate  success  of 

the  war. 
The  attention  of  Congress  and  of  the  commander-in-chief  was  now 

called  to  plans  for  the  campaign  of  1779.     The  former,  looking  tc 

their  previous  successes,  and  the  powerful  co-operation  of  France, 
M  axa  a» 


500 


CAMPATON   OF   1779. 


cherished  the  most  brilliant  expectations,  and  had  formed  schemes 
truly  magnificent.  Concluling  ihnt  the  English  would  be  speedily 
expelled,  or  would  of  their  own  accord  depart  from  America,  the  chief 
object  was  to  be  the  invasion  of  Canada,  from  three  different  points, 
the  !•  rencb  being  invited  to  co-operate.  Washington,  on  learnmg 
this  vast  design,  tool:  the  utmost  pains  to  prove  its  futility,  and  it  was 
finally  abandoned. 

In  fact,  both  the  civil  and  military  stiength  of  the  union  was  now 
at  a  lower  ebb  than  at  any  time  since  the  struggle  commenced.  The 
members  of  Congress  had  originally  consisted  of  the  ablest  men  in 
America,  animated  by  the  most  ardent  zeal,  and  implicitly  obeyed  by 
all  the  votaries  of  their  cause.  After  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
however,  a  new  modification  of  the  government  was  considered  ne- 
cessary. A  constitution  was  drawn  up,  and,  after  many  delays  and 
difficulties,  brought  into  operation,  early  in  1779,  under  which  the 
state  legislatures  were  invested  with  all  the  most  important  powers, 
resigning  only  a  few  which  were  judged  indispensable  for  united 
action.  Congress  still  retained  the  direction  of  foreign  afl^airs,  of  the 
war,  and  consequently  of  the  naval  and  military  force ;  but  to  furnish 
men  and  supplies  for  these  services  they  had  no  resource,  except 
requisitions  addressed  to  the  state  legislatures.  The  latter  had  the 
complete  option  whether  they  should  or  should  not  comply,  and  had 
many  motives  which  strongly  inclined  them  to  the  latter  alternative ; 
indeed  compliance  could  only  be  afforded  by  measures  very  unpopu- 
lar, and  which  would  have  much  disobliged  their  constituents.  The 
demands  of  Congress  were  thus  only  partially  and  unequally  fuelled, 
and  the  levies  never  approached  the  amount  at  which  they  were 
nominally  fixed. 

The  financial  state  of  the  country,  too,  was  embarrassing  in  the 
extreme.  The  colonists,  at  the  beginning  of  the  war,  had  been  very 
little  accustomed  to  any  serious  taxation ;  and  having  taken  arms 
expressly  to  resist  it,  would  have  ill  brooked  paying  a  larger  amount 
for  their  expenses  than  Britain  had  ever  demanded.  It  was  not  till 
November,  1777,  that  Congress  ventured  to  make  a  requisition  of  five 
millions  of  dollars  annually,  to  which  the  states  but  faintly  responded. 
France  and  Spain  gave  some  assistance,  first  in  gift,  and  then  in  loan ; 
but  as  their  own  finances  grew  embarrassed,  these  contributions  be- 
came very  stinted.  The  commissioners  endeavoured  to  treat  for  loans 
with  European  capitalists,  especially  in  Holland,  and  with  this  view 
drev  a  flattering  picture  of  the  future  prosperity  of  the  new  republic, 


FINANCIAL   aFFAIHR. 


891 


8PB0 I UB  N  i 


or     OONTXNENTAIi     BILtS, 


and  her  ultimate  power  to  repay  even  the  largest  advances;  but  the 
Dutch  were  not  inclined  to  be  satisfied  with  such  security,  and  mo- 
ney could  be  got  only  in  small  amount,  and  on  exorbitant  terms.  One 
house  made  a  somewhat  liberal  offer,  but  on  condition  of  carrying  on 
the  whole  trade  of  the  Union,  and  holding  all  its  real  and  personal 
property  in  mortgage.  In  these  circumstances,  the  States  had  no 
resource  except  paper-money.  In  1T75,  they  issued  three  millions 
of  dollars;  and  this  moderate  amount  being  easily  absorbed  in  the  cir- 
culation, proved  an  available  resource.  They  were  thus  encourageo 
to  pour  forth  repeated  issues,  which  at  the  beginning  of  1779  had 
risen  to  above  a  hundred  millions,  and  in  the  course  of  the  year  to 
double  that  amount,  which  they  had  pledged  themselves  not  to  ex 
ceed.  The  necessary  consequence  was  a  depreciation  of  the  notes 
lo  about  a  fortieth  of  their  nominal  value,  and  hence  a  miserable 
derangement  in  all  mercantile  and  money  transactions.  The  evil 
was  aggravated,  too,  by  preposterous  remedies.  The  paper  at  its 
nominal  value  was  made  a  legal  tender  for  all  debts  ;  and  by  this 
iniquitous  measure,  which  Washington  deeply  regretted,  many  cre- 
ditors, both  public  and  private,  were  defrauded,  but  no  permanent 
relief  could  be  afforded.  As  the  articles  furnished  to  the  army,  like 
all  others,  rose  to  an  enormous  nominal  value,  they  were  so  ignorant 
M  to  fix  a  maximum,  above  which  they  should  not  be  received.     The 


892 


CAMPAIGN    OP  1779. 


consequence  was,  that  at  this  inadequate  rate  none  could  be  got;  anr* 
the  army  would  have  perished  had  not  this  absurd  regulation  been 
rescinded. 

IN  Europe,  however,  a  transaction  took  place  high/y 
auspicious  to  the  American  cause.  Spain,  after  long 
hesitation,  determined  to  join  the  confederacy ;  and, 
on  the  12th  April,  1779,  concluded  for  that  purpose 
a  secret  treaty  with  France.  She  had  for  some  time 
oiTered  and  even  pressed  herself  as  a  mediator, 
having  ultimately  proposed  a  congress  of  all  the  con- 
tending powers  at  Madrid,  and  during  the  negotia- 
tion, a  general  suspension  of  arms ;  but  as  it  was  made  a  condition 
that  in  the  mean  time  the  colonies  were  to  remain  actually  inde- 
pendent, Britain,  though  without  expressing  any  hostile  feeling,  de- 
clared such  terms  inadmissible.  The  other  party,  however,  was  not 
disposed  to  stop  here.  On  the  16th  June,  D'Almadovar,  the  Spanish 
ambassador,  took  his  departure,  after  delivering  a  note,  complaining 
not  only  of  the  rejection  of  his  sovereign's  friendly  overtures,  but  of 
sundry  violences  committed  on  his  subjects  in  the  course  of  the  war, 
and  for  which  he  was  determined  to  seek  redress.  This  was  followed 
by  a  long  manifesto,  in  which  grievances  were  enumerated  to  the 
number  of  eighty-six,  and  the  necessity  stated  of  reducing  the  Bri 
lish  maritime  power.  These  documents  were  soon  answered  by 
letters  of  marque,  followed  by  open  war. 

'A  HEIR  interior  strength,  as  already  observed,  by  no 
/|\  means  corresponded  with  the  splendour  of  their  foreign 
relations ;  and  Washington  had  clearly  demonstrated 
to  Congress  the  expediency  of  confining  themselves 
to  a  defensive  warfare.  Clinton,  on  the  other  hand, 
did  not  attempt  to  penetrate  far  into  the  interior  from  New  York  ; 
but  engaged  in  some  extensive  expeditions  for  the  destruction  of  stores 
and  shipping.  The  most  important  was  undertaken  in  May  by  a 
Bquadron  under  Sir  George  Collyer,  upon  whom  the  command  of  the 
naval  force  had  now  devolved,  and  having  on  board  eighteen  hundred 
men  commanded  by  General  Matthews.  The  object  was  the  naval 
yard  at  Gosport  on  the  Chesapeake,  with  the  military  stores  and 
shipping  at  Portsmouth  and  Norfolk,  the  two  chief  seats  of  commerce 
in  Virginia.  The  only  defence  was  a  fort  with  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men  on  Elizabeth  river  near  Portsmouth ;  and  this  garrison,  con* 
lidering  themselves  too  weak  to  resist,  fled  into  a  morass  called  the 


CAPTURE  OF   STONY   POINT. 


89^ 


CAP  TURK     OP     STONY      POINT     BY     OSNERAL     WAYNB. 


Disirial  Swamp.  The  British  took  up  their  head-quarters  there ;  and 
in  the  course  of  a  few  days  made  a  complete  sweep  of  every  thing 
tliat  was  to  be  found  on  this  range  of  coast,  destroying  or  taking  one 
hundred  and  twenty-seven  vessels,  and  other  property  valued  at  half 
a  million  sterling.  Clinton,  however,  very  judiciously  did  not  divide 
his  army  by  any  permanent  establishment. 

Immediately  on  their  return  to  New  York,  the  fleet  and  army  were 
employed  in  an  expedition  on  the  Hudson.  Kingsferry,  about  sixty 
miles  up,  and  near  the  entrance  of  the  highlands,  formed  the  most 
convenient  communication  across  the  river  for  Washington's  army, 
whose  wings  occupied  both  banks.  It  was  defended  by  two  opposite 
lorts,  Stony  Point  and  Verplank's  Point,  which  were  both  attacked. 
The  first,  being  unfinished,  was  at  once  evacuated  ;  and  the  garrison 
of  the  other,  after  a  vain  attempt  at  resistance,  was  obliged  to  surren- 
der. Clinton  caused  the  two  places  to  be  put  in  a  state  of  defence  • 
but  operations  were  not  pushed  farther  in  this  direction. 

The  next  enterprise  was  against  the  coast  of  Connecticut,  which 
had  been  a  very  extensive  and  successful  theatre  of  privateering 
operations;  and  on  the  3d  July,  two  thousand  six  hundred  men  sailed 
under  Sir  George  Collyer  and  General  Tryon,  governor  of  New  York. 
New  Haven  was  soon  captured,  the  militia  making  a  vain  attempt  V 


396 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1779. 


rrsist.  There  is  stated  to  have  been  an  intention  to  burn  the  town 
which  was  changed  into  the  mere  seizure  of  the  stores  and  vessels 
At  Faiifield  and  Norwalk,  a  greater  resistance  was  encountered  ;  and 
both  these  places  were  nearly  reduced  to  ashes.  A  proposed  attack 
on  New  London  was  interrupted  by  a  counter-project  of  Washing- 
ton, who  was  anxious  to  do  something  to  efface  the  impression  of  so 
many  losses.  It  being  understood  that  the  newly-captured  forts  on 
the  Hudson  were  little  apprehensive  of  any  attack,  General  Wayne 
was  sent  with  a  detachment,  and  reached  Stony  Point  undiscovered 
at  midnight  of  the  15th  July,  when,  after  a  desperate  but  short  strug- 
gle, he  carried  the  place.  The  garrison,  five  hundred  and  forty-three 
in  number,  were  made  prisoners,  and  treated  with  great  humanity. 
The  opposite  fort  was  also  attempted,  but  without  success  ;  and  the 
first,  being  then  thought  untenable,  was  demolished  and  abandoned ; 
but  Clinton  re-occupied  and  repaired  it. 

An  expedition  was  also  sent  in  June  from  Boston  against  a  station 
on  the  river  Penobscot,  formed  by  a  detachment  under  Colonel 
Maclean  from  Nova  Scotia.  Above  three  thousand  militia,  under 
General  Lovell,  effected  a  landing  on  the  peninsular  point  occupied 
by  the  English ;  but  the  works  appeared  to  him  too  strong  to  be  car- 
ried without  the  aid  of  regular  troops,  which  were  promised  by 
General  Gates.  Before  their  arrival,  however.  Sir  George  Collyer 
appeared  in  the  river  with  a  squadron  from  New  York,  when  Lovell 
re-embarked  his  troops,  and  formed  with  his  ships  a  crescent  across 
the  river,  making  a  show  of  resistance,  till,  seeing  his  adversary 
bearing  up  with  superior  force,  he  took  to  flight,  and  having  no  re- 
treat, his  fleet  of  six  frigates  and  nine  smaller  vessels  was  entirely 
destroyed.  The  men  escaped  on  shore,  but  had  to  penetrate  through 
a  long  extent  of  desert,  in  which  many  perished.  This  blow  was 
compensated  by  the  surprise  of  Powles  Hook,  a  fort  immediately 
opposite  to  New  York.  Being  far  within  the  British  lines,  the  com- 
mander yielded  to  a  culpable  security,  from  which,  about  three  in  the 
morning  of  the  18th  August,  he  was  roused  by  Major,  afterwards 
Brigadier-General,  Henry  Lee,  who  entered  the  place  without  re- 
sistance, and  riiade  one  hundred  and  fifty-nine  prisoners.  Circum 
stances  did  .lot  allow  the  captor  to  retain  it,  and  he  found  some  difli* 
culty  in  retreating. 

Congress,  meaniime,  had  planned  the  reduction  of  East  Florida, 
and  hence  had  recalled  General  Robert  Howe,  supplying  his  place 
by  Lincoln,  an  officer  of  much  higher  reputation,  who  had  been 


'--™.s  ,.  ™,  „„„,,,,3  ^^^  ^^^^^^ 


301 


°«N»HAt    fljNHT     l.aa. 


second  under  Gates  against  Bur^ovne      H    r      . 
-ost  unprepared  state ;  and,  beZe  bein       T'  ^'"^  '"'"^  '"  ^»- 
-o.on,  learned  the  total  defe  t  o     1  !  !?  '"^  '°  P"'  -^  ^o-e  in 
;^Geor„a,  which  are  noticed  in  th    fol     T'  "'  '^'  ^""^^"-^ 
hen  ann  only  at  covering  South  Ca/r'^''^-     L''"'^^'"  ^ould 
-ed  so  stronga  barrifr  r^uhe  BWt';  ^"'  ''^  "^^  «--nah 
«»-;s     Meantime,  about  seven  h,ndH     '";'"'  '"  "°^  «"-P' 
been  dn,en  to  take  shelter  a.on^  th    In !    '"''''  '''"'^'^^  -^°  ^ '^ 
k'ng's  forces.     Being  attacked    h  '"''  """'"P'^''  '«  ---Join  the 

b"dy  of  n^ilitia.ColonelX;  /h  ^^"^'^^^^  ''  ''°'""^'  Picken.s' witi  a 
'^-  h-dred  reache  th  ,r  ,1,7"'^^"'  ^''  ''^'''  ^"^  ^ 
--  'ried  and  put  to  death  "'""•     '^^^-'  «^  "^^  prisoner! 

Lincoln,  encouraged  bu  .h' 
^--d  General  Ashe  w  th  f!  rt""?'  T'  '"'"»  ''^'^^  -'"forced 
;«"nah,  and  take  post       ttr     ""'^"^  ™'^"  '«  "^^s  the  Sa 
f  ^^^b'^'  ^or  so,ne  n^ile/      VJd "'r  "'!"^  ^^^  ^>-«^.  «  streak  Z 

;''  'he  upper  territories.     Colonel  P  ?  '^  '^'"'"  ^"&"«'^  «nd 

^--'.  n.ak,ng  a  circuu  of  Myli Ira^d     """''  '^"''^'^^  '«  '^^ 

y^mues,  and  crossing  at  fords  fifteen 


I 


303 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1779. 


OBBBBAIi     PICZINS. 


miles  above,  came  unexpectedly  on  the  rear  of  this  body,  and  totally 
routed  them — the  regular  troops,  after  attempting  resistance,  being  ail 
either  killed  or  taken.  Notwithstanding  this  disaster,  Lincoln,  again 
reinforced,  determined  to  proceed  with  his  main  body  against  Augusta. 
Prevost,  instead  of  a  long  and  harassing  march  in  that  direction, 
sought  to  recall  h"m  by  a  movement  against  Charleston  ;  but  intend- 
ing only  a  feint,  he  proceeded  with  a  leisure  which  he  found  reason 
to  regret,  as  it  appears  had  all  practicable  speed  been  employed,  that 
capital  would  have  fallen  into  his  hands.  The  alarm,  however,  had 
been  given,  and  such  active  preparations  made,  that  he  did  not  ven- 
ture to  attack,  but  distributed  his  troops  in  the  neighbouring  island 
of  St.  John.  Lincoln,  who  had  hastened  down,  made  an  attempt  *jo 
beat  up  his  quarters,  without  success;  and  the  midsummer  heat 
causing  a  suspension  of  military  operations,  the  British  troops  retired 
unmolested  into  Georgia. 

This  state  of  a^airs  m  the  southern  colonies  called  imperiously  for 
the  attention  of  Congress,  and  Washington  found  it  necessary  to  de- 
kic  I  thither  some  part  even  of  his  reduced  army.     He  solicited  mora 


SIKGE  OP  SAVANNAH. 


399 


powerful  aid  from  D'Estaing,  who  commanded  in  the  West  Indies  at. 
aimy  sufficiently  powerful  to  crush  the  English  in  Georgia. 

[HE  French  admiral  received  this  application 
just  after  having  fought  a  hard  battle  against 
Commodore  Byron,  which  obliged  the  latter 
to  go  into  port  to  refit.  The  former  being 
thus  for  a  time  master  of  the  sea,  determined 
at  cnce  to  comply  with  the  request,  took  on 
board  six  thousand  land-troops,  and  steered 
direct  for  Savannah,  where  he  captured  a 
fifty-gun  ship  and  three  frigates.  Prevost  had 
his  force  broken  up  into  detachments  distributed  along  the  frontier: 
but  these  were  ordered  in  so  promptly,  that  before  the  French  had 
landed  and  formed  a  junction  with  Lincoln,  nearly  all  had  arrived. 
On  the  16th  September,  D'Estaing  appeared  before  the  place  and 
summoned  it  to  surrender.  Prevost,  under  pretext  of  negotiation 
obtained  a  suspension  for  twenty-four  hours,  during  which  Colonel 
Maitland  entered  with  the  last  and  largest  detachment,  eluding  Lin- 
coln ;  and  the  full  determination  to  resist  was  then  announced.  The 
allies,  on  reconnoitering  the  works,  deemed  it  imprudent  to  attempt 
them  by  storm,  and  were  obliged  to  wait  a  few  days  till  the  heavy 
ordnance  and  stores  could  be  brought  from  the  fleet.  They  broke 
ground  on  the  23d  September ;  but  the  defence  was  conducted  with 
great  vigour  and  skill,  under  the  direction  of  Major  Moncriefl";  so  that 
notwithstanding  some  progress  made  by  the  1st  October,  an  interval 
must  still  elapse  before  surrender  could  be  expected.  D'Estaing  then 
refused  to  adventure  his  fleet  longer  on  this  insecure  coast,  in  a  tem- 
pestuous season,  and  while  liable  to  attack  from  the  British  squadron 
refitted  and  reinforced  ;  yet  before  departing,  he  oflTered  to  concur  in 
an  attempt  to  carry  tbe  place  by  storm.  This  was  agreed  to;  and  a 
hollow  way  being  observed,  by  which  troops  could  advance  to  with.u 
fifty  yards  of  the  wall,  four  thousand  five  hundred  men,  the  flower 
of  the  combined  army,  undertook  to  penetrate  it,  while  the  rest 
amused  the  garrison  by  feigned  attacks.  This  party  pushed  on  with 
great  vigour;  they  had  even  crossed  the  ditch,  mounted  the  parapet, 
and  planted  their  standards  on  the  wall.  Being  here  exposed,  how 
ever,  to  a  tremendous  fire  from  works  well  constructed  and  com- 
pletely manned,  they  soon  gave  way;  Count  Pulaski  was  killed,  and 
a  brisk  attack  by  Major  Glaziers  drove  the  whole  back  into  the  hol- 
low.   They  then  renounced  the  ittack,  having  sustained  the  severe 


400 


OAMPAION   OF  1779. 


OBATB     OF     PUL&BKI 


loss  of  seven  hundred  French  and  two  hundred  and  thirty-four  Ame- 
ricans killed  and  wounded  ;  while  that  of  the  besieged  was  only  fifty- 
five.  The  French  admiral  no  longer  paused  in  embarking  his  troops 
and  sailing  for  the  West  Indies ;  thus  a  second  time  disappointing 
sanguine  expectations,  and  leaving  the  American  cause  in  a  worse 
state  than  before. 

During  the  summer,  a  squadron  was  fitted  out  by  the  American 
commissioners  of  Paris,  the  command  of  which  was  given  to  Commo- 
dore John  Paul  Jones.  He  sailed  from  Port  L'Orienc,  in  July,  in  the 
Bon  Homme  Richard  of  forty  guns,  accompanied  by  the  Alliance 
thirty-six,  the  Pallas,  thirty-two,  and  the  Vengeance,  twelve. 

After  capturing  several  vessels  on  the  coast  of  Scotland,  he  threat- 
ened to  lay  the  town  of  Leith  under  contribution;  but  a  storm  coming 
on,  he  set  sail,  and  directed  his  course  to  Flamborough  Head.  On 
the  night  of  the  23d  of  September,  while  cruising  off  the  Head,  he 
fell  in  with  the  Serapis,  of  forty-four  guns,  which  was  convoying  the 
Baltic  fleet,  in  company  with  the  frigate  Countess  of  Scarborough. 
The  people  of  the  surrounding  country  were  gathered  on  the  heights 
about  the  Head,  and  witnessed  the  novel  scene.  The  Serapis  had 
^very  advantage  iver  the  Richard  in  the  number  and  calibre  of  guns, 
ind  in  being  nio  'e  manageable  than  her  antagonist.     This  advan 


CAPTURE   OP  THE   SERAPig 


"-"-B.   o,   .a.   ;,H,„ 


'a?:e  was  wmewhat  JessenpH   i, 

f'y »"- Jones,  wuhntr;;:!'/.'^  '^"  "°"- 

P-''  «f  ^.  .ill  hal4„  ,  „,  ,^';;'  Pf  "T  *-  -g^ged  ft„„  kS 
"her's  .id«.    One  of , he  men  ""f  ''  "'  """'  «""»  '""cLing  each 

b«  exploded  a  c.  Jdge-ffltl'  '^ ,,       '^  ""'  °'  "■'*'  "™1'«..? 
lw»  ships  were  freouentiv  on  fil    A    *  """  '*  «ele»s.     The 

•""ck  hi,  flag,  when  Jones  iit  ^T  '^"'"™  "^  "^  Se^ap/s 
'o«rdofher.aa>heBo„H":n,eT,^h::d'  '""''""''  "''^  "«'  °» 

'k»  Pallas  engaged,  and,  after  .rh^^'T'"'  '™  ""'"•■""ed. 

C»mes3„fge.rbor„„,h.o        e  ler      O    ,.  "o"'"^'  ""'■'''"'■>  "^ 
a^ard,  after  every  exertion  o   "he  Ir,  "r  n'  ^"''  "■" ''°"  """""e 
,t%7»'  "e™-     Jones  aailed  f     „^   '  '';C"'"°d°«  Jones  ,o  save 
e  3d  of  Ocober  anchored  off  I":^':"^'"'  »"  P"-'.  ."d  on 
">»"  ""ise  pri«s  estaaled^o.!,  '     '™^  "''"  <l«™?  'h. 

,  '»  '780,  Con,„odo,e  jlnes  .IT"     '°  '""°  ""■"  *«•»«>. 
'"'e-'Mp  of  ,„en.y  gJ°Z,  VT'"*  °'  ""'  Ariel,  a  small 
'"""f  his  maaK  J.^""  '  °"''  ^"'o'^^  for  "he  United  State-   bu, 

;;^;  -/.  'i-s  ^4^t  :«"„:  "re^r  ™"'"  ■"  ''■°''™  •» 

-' '  -:r  ';:""^  "'"■  ■*«  ".^^'^f  c:;;:"'  .::?•!!,• 

commentora.™  of  the  victory  oC'retra^^ 


a  B  N  X  B  A  I,    MARION. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

CAMPAIGN   OF  1780. 

ENERAL  CLINTON  had 

determined  to  begin  opera- 
tions on  a  great  scale  in 
the  southern  states.  Re- 
cent information  showed 
them  to  be  more  defenceless,  and  the 
inhabitants  better  inclined  to  the  British 
dominion,  than  those  on  the  great  north- 
ern theatre  of  war ;  while  their  reduc- 
tion might  facilitate  that  of  the  others, 
or  at  all  events  preserve  for  Britain  an 
important  portion  of  her  American  ter- 
ritory. He  had  recently  obtained  a  reinforcement  from  England, 
and  had  withdrawn  the  force  hitherto  .stationed  with  little  advantage 
upon  Rhode  Island     In  the  26th  of  E'ecember,  1779.  leaving  Knyp- 


BIEOR   OF  SAVANXAfT. 


403 


hausen  with  troops  sufficient  to  defend  New  York  against  the  army 
of  Washington,  he  sailed  with  five  thousand  men  for  Savannah. 

HE   voyage  was  prolonged  till  the 
end  of  January ;  some  of  the  ves- 
sels were  wrecked,  and  nearly  all 
the  horses  perished.     He  exerted 
himself   actively    to    repair    these 
losses  ;  and  by  the  middle  of  Febru- 
ary he  re-em'arked  and  landed  at 
St.  John's  Island,  near  Charleston. 
Some  time  was  spent  in  recruiting 
and  reinforcing  his  troops  and  re- 
mounting his  cavalry;  while  Lincoln  was  actively  strengthening  the 
garnsiin,  and  restoring  the  works  which,  since  the  memorable  attack 
in  May,  had  fallen  into  almost  complete  decay.      He  raised   two 
thousand  regulars,  one  thousand  militia,  and  a  great  body  of  armed 
citizens ;  but  the  chief  hope  rested  on  preventing  the  British  from 
crossing  the  bar ;  but  the  fleet,  under  a  favourable  wind  and  tide, 
passed  with  scarcely  any  opposition.   Lincoln  then  seriously  delibe 
rated  on  evacuating  the  place  and  saving  his  army ;  but  he  dreaded 
popular  reproach,  and  was  buoyed  up  with  promises  of  re-inforce- 
ments  that  never  arrived.     On  the  Isl  of  April,  Clinton  crossed  the 
Ashley,  which,  with  Cooper  river,  encloses  the  peninsula  of  Charles- 
ton, and  broke  ground  before  the  city.     On  the  9th,  the  first  parallel 
was  completed  ;  yet  the  garrison  still  communicated  with  the  country 
by  their  cavalry  at  Monks'  Corner,  about  thirty  miles  up  Cooper 
river.    Colonel  Tarleton  surprised  and  defeated  this  body.     Th« 
British  soon  after  received  a  reinforcement  of  three  thousand  :  when 
Lincoln  seriously  proposed  an  attempt  to  extricate  his  army ;  but  the 
principal  inhabitants,  entertaining  a  well-founded  dread  of  ill-treat- 
ment from  the  captors,  prevailed  upon  him  only  to  oflfer  a  capitula 
tion  on  condition  of  the  garrison  being  still  allowed  to  serve.     This 
proposal  was  at  once  rejected ;  the  siege  was  steadily  pushed  ;  all 
the  outward  posts  successively  fell  ;  and  the  third  parallel  being 
cerapleted,   preparations   were  made   for  a  general  assault.     Lin 
coin,  then  seeing   his   situation  hopeless,  submitted  to  the   terms 
proffered  by  the  victor,  that  all  the  military  stores  should  be  given 
up,  the  regular  troops  made   prisoners  of  war,  while  the  militia, 
3n  giving   their  parole,   might  return   and  remain   unmolested  at 
■heir  horn  js.     The  prisoners  taken  were  stated  by  Clinton  at  fiv* 


40  i 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1780. 


TARLXTON    •    QUART8HS. 


thousand  six  hundred  and  eighteen,  with  one  thousand  seamen  and 
three  hundred  and  eleven  pieces  of  ordnance. 

Clinton  now  published  a  proclamation,  promising  to  the  people  a 
renewal  of  all  their  former  privileges,  with  the  addition  of  not  being 
taxed  unless  by  their  own  consent.  Soon  after,  he  issued  another, 
absolving  the  militia  from  their  paroles,  and  calling  upon  them  to  join 
with  other  citizens  in  aiding  the  British  cause.  This  step  was  an 
outrageous  breach  of  faith,  and  at  once  roused  the  whole  southern 
country  into  determined  resistance  of  their  faithless  oppressors. 

On  the  5th  of  June,  Clinton  set  sail  for  New  York,  leaving  Lord 
Cornwallis  with  four  thousand  men  to  secure,  and  if  he  could,  extend 
his  conquests.  Detachments  had  already  been  sent  up  the  principal 
rivers.  Savannah,  Saluda,  and  Santee.  On  the  last  only,  a  party  of 
four  hundred,  under  Colonel  Buford,  was  rapidly  retreating.  Though 
ten  days  in  advance,  they  were  overtaken  by  the  rapid  march  of 
Tarlcton,  and  at  Waxhaws  completely  routed  and  dispersed.  Tarle- 
ton  caused  a  massacre  of  nearly  the  whole  detachment,  and  thus 
gave  rise  to  the  term  Tarhton'a  quarters,  which  was  current  during 
the  remainder  of  the  war.  The  principal  force  of  the  enemy  was 
then  advanced  to  Camden  on  the  Wateree,  near  the  frontier  of  North 
Oarol'na ;  but  the  intense  heat,  with  the  difficulty  of  provisioning 


DR   KALJi  AND   OATF.S. 


405 


I»»err„l  ,„,    „„    J      '"«    ""»  adnsed  lo  remain  o„,e,  ,;„  , 

-'^  "".  be  rL.,„:r,:  i It"''  '•  f  "■  "■'"  ^""'-  ■ 
"«  oppressed  and  punished  ^il  ■  °"''  •"""""'""s.  which 
"■-'•'  auen,p„  ;„  r^.^^J''""^"  «"">  »  "go-r  .ending  ,„  ^,4  f^™ 

fe^"te  01  these  events  •  an^  „     -j    .     ^  ^ernment  on  receivincr 

'"^"■■.adearrangen!  „r,brr  '°  't'"""  ""'"'T'"--     W.I 

2«  "^  '''^  "''"ost  despatch,  the  wanr 


40« 


CAMPAIGN   OP   ITB'J. 


of  money,  military  stores,  nnd  provisions,  detained  him  so  long;,  tlial 
thoufii  the  expedition  set  out  in  March,  it  was  the  beginning  of 
August  before  he  could  approach  Camden,  with  about  four  thousand 
men,  mostly  militia.  He  advanced  in  the  determinijlion  to  push 
vigorously  ofTeiisive  operations,  hoping  to  induce  Lord  Rawdon  to 
fall  back  upon  Charleston.  That  officer,  however,  had  --ren  notice 
to  Cornwallis,  who  Iiaslened  to  the  spot,  and  thoufjh  his  force 
was  little  more  than  two  thousand,  he  resolved  without  hesitation 
to  attack.  He  luid  set  out  in  the  night  of  the  15th,  with  a  view 
to  surprise  the  Americans,  when,  by  a  singular  concurrence,  he  met 
Gates  in  full  iiiarch  with  the  same  design  against  himself.  The  ad- 
vanced guard  of  the  liiiter  was  driven  in,  when  both  parties  thought  it 
advisable  to  postpone  the  general  action  till  daylight.  In  the  Ameri* 
can  line,  Kalb,  with  most  of  the  regulars,  commanded  on  the  right, 
while  the  militia  of  Cnroiina  formed  the  centre,  and  that  ol  Virginia 
the  left.  The  conflict  began  with  the  last,  who  were  attacked  by  the 
British  infantry,  under  Colonel  Webster,  with  such  impetuosity, 
that  they  threw  down  their  arms  and  precipitately  fled.  The  whole 
of  the  left  and  centre  also  fled.  Gates  himself  retreated  till  he 
reached  Charlotte,  eighty  miles  distant. 

rEANTIME,  Kalb,  on  the  right,  opposed  to  Lord 
Rawdon,  long  and  firmly  maintained  his  ground, 
gaining  even  some  advantage;  and  it  was  not 
till  the  victorious  divisions  had  wheeled  round 
against  him,  that  his  corps  was  broken  and  dis- 
persed. He  hiuiself,  covered  with  wounds,  be- 
came a  captive,  and,  notwithstanding  every  care, 
expired  in  a  few  hours.  About  one  thousand  prisoners  were  taken, 
and  the  whole  army  was  scattered.  Gates  erred  in  fighting  a  pitched 
battle  with  an  army  consisting  chiefly  of  militia,  and  in  having  com 
posed  of  them  so  great  a  part  of  his  regular  line,  instead  of  merely 
employing  them  to  skirmish  on  his  front  and  flanks  ;  but,  in  fact, 
his  veteran  force  seems  to  have  scarcely  sufficed  for  a  duly  extended 
order  of  battle. 

Meantime,  the  patriots  in  South  Carolina  had  begun  to  rise  at  dif- 
ferent points.  The  militia,  complaining  that  the  terms  granted  had 
not  been  duly  observed,  deserted  the  British  standard  in  masses: 
one  Colonel  Lisle  carried  with  him  a  whole  battalion.  Thus  were 
assembled,  under  Colonel  (afterwards  General)  Sumpter,  an  active 
portisan,  upwards  of  six  hundred,  raised  by  a  detachment  from  the 


BIMPTER   SURPRISED. 


407 


"'""BAL    SDMPT,^ 


'"am  army  to  about  one  thousand      FT 

"Pon  the  stations  called  Rocky  Mount  „^  T  ""^""^''^   '"  «»«<='" 
'he  evening  before  the  battle     fc.  "^"^'"^^  R-k  ;  but.  on 

strong  redoubt  on  the  Water  e  "^  ""•*':"'  ^"'^'^''-ded  in  carrying  a 
0"  'earning  the  fatal  is:  e    ^  tt"r  "I^  "^ '""^^^^  P--- 
«-at.  and  reached  with  such  cei  n  I   7  W"^'""''^  ^^^-  ^'3  re. 
e  considered  hi,nself  safe,  and     J  L'e  'b'/"'^  ^^  ''^  Catawba,  that 
*>-    of  the  day.     Tarieton  was    em    n        '"'"  ''  "P*^^^  ^"""^  ''>« 
;-)>.  that  the  greater  part  of  h.^c    "  '"'T     """  "P''^'"'/-- 
f"&"e;  but  with  one  hundr  d  an;       '"        "''  ^'^""^^  ^'"^  ^''>'« 
f-;d  Sumpter's  party  comp     e,v  '  ""'^  '^  '=^'"«  "P"  and 

;;^  ''^e  n-  lying  apL  fZ  ^^  ^rZ?"^^'  ^^^^  -^ettes  'sleep 
'  «  attack  of  the  enemy,  they  s  ar.  I         ^'"''"^  ^'"""^  «'»-ber  b' 

;^- a  short  struggle,  ab'out  ha^r  we  !  TT'  "^'^'^"^«  '  ^^ 
TJ^ey  lost  one  hundred  and  fif  v  k  L^'T^'' '''  °'^-«  dispersed, 
^""dred  and  ten  prisoners  -1  1  ""'^  ^°""'^«'^'  besides  three 
^^^;;^^^^^aptives  recovered  ^'^  ''''''  ^«'«  '^ken.  and  the 

of  PrLr!l?;I;rr;n^7  tteTtoT't  ''  '^  ^°"^'"^^-^'«  ""-ber 
-" ;nto  one  of  extern^LLn  '"'''  ""'  '^^  --Pe-ted  the 

A«er  a  few  weeks'  d  ) 

vvn.m  Worth  Carolina.     Meantime 


403 


CAMPAIGN  OP   1780. 


ft  corps  of  about  sixteen  hundred  Tory  militia  having  been  assembled, 
under  Major  Ferguson,  he  was  directed  to  move  westward,  and  clear 
the  territory  along  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  He  was  led  farthei 
in  this  direction  by  the  movements  of  a  party  of  patriots  which 
threatened  Augusta,  where  he  approached  and  roused  into  action  a 
class  of  terrible  foes  to  the  British  cause.  The  borderers,  who  roved 
along  the  sides  of  the  Alleghany,  were  if  possible  ruder  and  bolder 
than  the  boys  of  the  Green  Mountains.  They  rode  on  light  fleet 
horses,  carrying  only  their  rifle,  a  blanket,  and  knapsack.  Food  was 
procured  by  the  gun,  or,  on  its  occasional  failure,  from  a  small  herd 
of  cattle  driven  behind  them.  At  night,  the  earth  was  their  bed,  the 
sky  their  canopy.  They  thus  moved  with  a  swiftness  which  no 
ordinary  troops  could  rival. 

ERGUSON,  fher  receiving  orders  from 
Lord  Cornwj*iiis  to  move  westward,  at- 
tempted to  relieve  Augusta,  then  threat- 
ened by  a  band  of  patriots  under  Colonel 
Clarke ;  and  thus  roused  against  him 
those  terrible  antagonists  of  the  Tories 
— the  border  settlers.  These  men  came 
down  suddenly  upon  Ferguson.  He  eom- 
menced  a  hasty  retreat  from  Charlotte 
ville  ;  but  several  bands  under  Colonels  Williams,  Campbell,  Shel- 
by, and  Tracy,  having  united  together,  began  a  rapid  pursuit, 
Halting  at  Gilbert  town,  they  selected  sixteen  hundred  of  their  best 
riflemen,  and  hurrying  on,  overtook  the  Tories  encamped  at  King's 
Mountain.  Arranging  themselves  in  three  divisions,  under  Colonels 
Cleaveland,  Shelby,  and  Campbell,  they  attacked  by  turns,  and  on 
being  repulsed,  retired  but  a  little  distance,  re-formed,  and  again 
advanced.  Ferguson  charged  again  and  again  with  the  bayonet. 
Repulse  only  inspired  his  assailants  to  greater  exertions,  and  after 
an  hour's  fighting,  he  fell,  mortally  wounded,  and  his  surviving 
troops,  numbering  eight  hundred,  surrendered.  One  hundred  and 
fifty  fell  dead  in  the  action,  and  as  many  more  were  wounded. 
Fifteen  hundred  stand  of  arms  were  also  captured  ;  the  American 
loss  was  small ;  but  among  the  dead  was  the  lamented  Colonel 
Williams. 

During  these  operations  in  the  south.  General  Washington  was  so 
cramped  in  resources  for  supplying  the  army,  and  surrounded  by 
difficulties  of  so  formidable  a  nature,  that  he  found  it  impossible  to 


STATE   OP  THE  AUMT. 


"— 'o..,.,,^„^^^^^_^^ 


attempt  offensive  oneratmno    r 

»  be  .n  <la„s„,  „„„■„„  ,,^  „;„,„"";■•':  «  fe-««e  of  el„,l„„y  ^, 
"ffcorse,  died  „,  "ere  ,e„de„d  us'el  '    'l''"-"  "'"'  ""•    N™fe' 

'°  "■"""  ">«  promises  of  Conll       ,,      "'''*  '""y  '■"J  ceased 
;y-p.on,s  ,h,e„,e„ed  .he  dSl"!        oT',    """"--     ^hile  ,h 
f  several  „f  „,,        .^         e,     "d       /  T^'""  '"'"  ^^ ^""ice 

"  connol  be  wondered  »,    ,k 
"""iny  began  ,o  display  i  J,'f    n'  ""'"'  '^""^  "PPaHing  hartshin, 

='  «.a,n,„g  b„„,  »"bor  ob,a,n,„g  subsis.ence  by  force 

"'""  r'^P'-     N„,„i,bJX:  ;."«-.  Ibey  were  ,rea,ed  >vM 


410 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1780. 


OCUST     DB    HOOUAMBBAtJ. 


having  arrived  from  Charleston,  sent  him  a  reinforcement,  with  which 
he  again  advanced  toward  Springfield.  He  was  opposed  by  General 
Greene,  and  after  a  severe  action,  he  burned  the  town  and  retired  to 
New  York.  The  loss  of  the  Americans  was  about  eighty  men ; 
that  of  the  enemy  considerably  more. 

*-/^^?^!!^«>«=— ^  0\  ^'^^  '"  'he  spring,  the  Marquis  ue 
La  Fayette  returned  from  Frant? 
with  the  cheering  intelligence  that 
his  government  would  shortly  send 
a  land  and  naval  force  to  assist  the  Americans. 
^  He  was  enthusiastically  received  both  by  Con- 
gress and  the  people.  In  July,  the  first  division 
of  the  promised  fleet  arrived  at  Long  Island  It 
consisted  of  seven  ships,  two  frigates,  a  cutter, 
an  armed  hospital  ship,  and  thirty-two  transports,  carrying  in  all  six 
thousand  men  and  five  hundred  and  ninety  guns.  The  land  force 
was  commanded  by  the  Count  de  Roch»mbeau ;  the  fleet  by  the 


TREACHERY  OP  GLNBRAL  ARNOLD. 


411 


Chevalier  de  Ternay.  Such,  however,  was  the  scarcity  of  military 
stores  among  the  Americans,  that  they  were  totally  unprepared  to 
act  with  their  new  allies  ;  and  before  supplies  could  be  obtained, 
news  came  that  the  remainder  of  the  French  fleet  was  detained 
in  the  harbour  of  Brest  by  a  blockade — ihus  blasting  all  the  brillian) 
hopes  of  ending  the  war  in  that  campaign. 

In  September  of  this  year,  a  plot  was  discovered  which,  happi'.y 
for  the  honour  of  America,  stands  out  as  a  solitary  episode  in  our 
history.  To  understand  its  causes,  we  must  glance  back  to  events 
preceding  the  year  1780.  It  will  be  remembered  that  it  was  prin- 
cipally owing  to  the  exertions  of  General  Arnold,  that  the  Americana 
gained  the  battle  of  Stillwater.  He  was  there  wounded  in  the  leg, 
and  being  unfit  for  active  service,  was  appointed  commander  at 
Philadelphia,  after  its  evacuation  by  the  British.  Here  an  extrava- 
gant course  of  living  soon  involved  him  in  debt,  from  which  he 
sought  to  free  himself  by  trade  and  privateering.  This  failing, 
he  resorted  to  peculation.  In  July,  1779,  he  exhibited  his  accounts, 
with  heavy  demands  against  the  public,  half  of  which  were  rejected 
by  commissioners  appointed  to  examine  them.  He  appealed  to  Con- 
gress ;  but  a  committee  from  that  body  confirmed  the  commissioners' 
report.  This  led  to  some  bitter  reflections  upon  Congress ;  and 
Arnold  was  at  length  tried  by  a  court-martial,  on  charges  preferred 
by  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to  be 
repriaianded  by  the  commander-in-chief.  This  sentence  was  exe- 
cuted by  Washington  with  becoming  delicacy. 

Arnold  now  applied  for  the  command  of  West  Point,  the  strongest 
military  station  in  possession  of  the  Americans,  and  so  situated  as  to 
defend  the  camps  of  the  Americiin  army  on  both  sides  of  the  North 
river,  as  well  as  command  the  liver  itself.  Washington,  anxious  to 
heal  the  general's  lacerated  feelings,  wished  to  bestow  upon  him  the 
command  of  the  whole  left  vving,  during  the  march  of  his  army  upon 
New  York  ;  but  on  the  assertion  of  Arnold  that  his  wound  would 
not  permit  his  engaging  in  active  service,  the  command«r-m-chief 
readily  granted  him  the  superintendence  of  West  Point. 

Being  thus  placed  in  possession  of  an  important  military  post, 
Arnold  began  the  jr-rosecution  of  a  scheme  he  had  long  meditated, 
which  was  no  less  than  to  surrender  himself  to  the  enemy,  together 
with  all  the  stores  and  troops  under  his  command.  After  a  secret 
negotiation  with  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  through  the  agency  of  Major 
Andre,  adjutant-general  of  the  British  army,  he  agreed  to  put  that 


112 


CAMPAIGX  OP   1780. 


tax    POINT. 


commander  m  possession  of  the  fortress,  by  marching  his  troops  into 
the  neighbouring  defiles,  while  the  enemy  would  enter  through  a 
designated  pass.  During  this  correspondence,  Arpild  assumed  the 
name  of  Gustavus,  and  Andre  that  of  John  Anderson  ;  while,  to 
facilitate  their  operations,  the  Vulture  sloop-of-war  moved  up  the 
river  and  stationed  itself  as  near  as  possible  to  West  Point,  without 
exciting  suspicion. 

At  this  time  General  Washington,  with  Knox,  La  Fayette,  and 
other  officers,  was  at  Hartford,  concerting  with  the  Count  Rocham 
beau  a  plan  of  operations  for  the  ensuing  campaign.  This  was  ar 
ranged  on  the  21st  of  September,  1780.  On  the  same  day,  Andri 
arrived  on  shore  from  the  Vulture  with  a  surtout  over  his  regimentals, 
and  in  a  boat  provided  by  Arnold.  The  latter  met  him  at  the  house 
of  a  Mr.  Smith.  Day  appeared  before  their  conference  was  finished, 
and  for  fear  of  discovery,  Andre  was  secreted  within  the  American 
posts.  On  the  following  night,  for  some  cause  not  well  understood, 
the  boatmen  refused  to  return  him  to  the  Vulture,  and  Arnold  fur- 
nished him  with  a  pass  to  "  permit  John  Anderson  to  go  to  the  lines 
at  White  Plains,  or  lower  if  bethought  proper,  he  being  on  public 
business."  After  safely  passing  the  guards  and  outposts,  he  was 
suddenly  seized   by  thrte  militia  men.     Instead  of  producing  his 


AM 


■  'r\t\ 


•■    li" 


'■-II- Di^;:??,."'        ri 

rw^y^^'Til^     VI.',  V 


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ft5^ 


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p 


CAPTURE   OP  MAJOf.  ANDRE. 


413 


CAPiURB     OF    ANDRI. 


pass,  he  asked  where  they  belonged  ;  and  being  answered  "to  be- 
low," [New  York,]  he  immediately  replied,  "  So  do  I,"  adding  that 
he  was  a  British  officer  on  urgent  business.  On  searching  his  per 
son,  they  found  in  his  boot  papers  in  Arnold's  handwriting,  contain- 
ing  full  descriptions  of  the  garrison  and  defences  of  West  Point,  and 
a  copy  of  a  report  laid  by  Washington  before  a  council  of  war  on  the 
fith  of  the  month.  Aware  of  his  fatal  mistake,  Andre  offered  his 
captors  a  purse  of  gold,  with  his  valuable  watch  and  a  large  sum  of 
money,  should  they  permit  him  to  pass  ;  but  nobly  disdaining  these, 
they  conveyed  him  to  Colonel  Jameson,  commander  of  the  militia  in 
that  quarter.  This  officer  imprudently  permitted  Andre  to  write  a 
letter  to  Arnold,  informing  him  that  Anderson  was  captured.  The 
traitor  was  thus  enabled  to  escape.  Jameson  forwarded  a  letter  to 
General  Washington,  then  on  his  road  to  West  Point ;  but  it  did  not 
reach  him  until  it  was  too  late  to  arrest  the  fugitive.       '•    ' 

Mortified  as  vas  the  whole  army  at  the  disclosure  of  this  nefarious 
plot,  it  was  a  subject  of  rejoicing  that  Providence  had  so  manifestly 
interposed  to  counteract  it.  Washington  appointed  a  board  of  four- 
teen general  officers  to  examine  the  case  of  Andre.  On  his  own 
confession  of  the  circumstances,  they  unanimously  pronounced  him 
a  spy,  and  that  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  nations  he  should  suffer 
aeaih.  Washington  was  obliged  to  acquiesce  in  this  verdict.  Every 
effort  was  made  to  save  him  by  the  British  commander,  and  even  by 

2m2 


4K 


CAMPAIGN    OP   1780. 


MAJOR    ANDKB. 


Arnold  himself.  Andre  made  but  one  request :  it  was  that  he  might 
die  as  a  soldier.  This  also  Washington  submitted  to  his  officers. 
but  in  their  opinion  it  could  not  be  granted  ;  and  on  the  2d  of  Octo- 
ber the  youthful,  but  too  pliable  Andre  expired  on  a  gallows.  The 
sympathy  for  him  throughout  the  American  camp  was  unexampled 
under  any  similar  circumstances  ;  and  his  fate  deeply  affected  the 
royal  army.  While  the  place  of  his  execution  was  often  moistened 
by  the  tears  of  his  foes,  the  infamous  Arnold  was  allowed  to  move  a 
despised,  insulted  being,  among  those  whom  he  had  attempted  to 
benefit,  and  finally  to  descend  into  the  grave,  unlamenled  and  uncared 
for.     The  whole  plan  against  West  Point  proved  a  total  failure. 

In  October,  Clinton  sent  General  Leslie  to  Chesapeake  bay,  with 
three  thousand  picked  troops,  to  form  a  junction  with  Lord  Corn- 
wallis.  Some  time  after,  he  received  orders  from  his  lordship  to  join 
him  at  Charleston,  which  he  did,  thus  swelling  the  forces  at  tha. 
place  to  more  than  eleven  thousand  troops. 

In  November,  Major  Talmadge  with  eighty  men  crossed  Long 
Island  Sound,  and  attacking  Fort  George,  a  British  station  on  Long 
Island,  captured  it,  together  with  a  Ueutenan'-colonel,  one  captain, 
and  fifty-five  privates.  His  loss  was  one  man  wounded  ;  that  of  the 
enemy  eight  killed  or  wounded. 


REVOLT   IN    TUB  ARMY. 


413 


The  hardships  of  the  troops,  during  the  winter  of  1780-'81,  were 
equally  formidable  with  those  of  the  former  year  ;  and  the  integrity 
of  the  army  was  again  compromised  by  several  instiinces  of  revolt. 
On  the  night  of  January  I,  thirteen  hundred  of  the  Pennsylvania 
line  stationed  at  Morristown  seized  their  arms  and  marched  towards 
Philadelphia,  to  demand  redress  from  Congress.  In  attempting  to 
quell  this  movement,  one  officer  was  killed  and  several  wounded. 
General  Wayne  rode  among  them  with  a  pistol  in  each  hand  ;  but 
he  was  told  that  if  he  fired  he  would  be  "  8  dead  man."  Electing 
temporary  oificers,  they  marched  to  Princeton  in  good  order,  with 
their  arms  and  six  field-pieces.  Here  they  were  met  by  a  deputation 
from  Congress,  who  finally  efl>;cted  a  compromise.  Hearing  of  the 
defection,  Clinton  had  hurried  over  emissaries  to  induce  them  to 
join  the  British  :  these  were  seized,  delivered  to  General  Wayne, 
and  subsequently  executed.  A  similar  revolt  by  a  part  of  the  Jersey 
line  was  suppressed  by  the  prompt  execution  of  a  few  of  the  ring- 
leaders. 

As  these  revolts  served  to  disclose  to  the  nation  the  suffering 
condition  of  her  soldiers,  the  amount  of  three  months'  pay  was  raised 
by  subscription  and  forwarded  to  them.  This  sum  was  joyfully  re- 
ceived as  an  evidence  of  the  share  they  still  had  in  the  sympathiei 
and  affections  of  their  countrymen. 


XOaolUBKO's    UONUUBHT    A.T    WXST    P01«& 


(    ; 


OBNXBAI.     OBSBNS. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

CAMPAIGN  OP    1781. 


.■f^fy'- 


IFw^^  HE  campaign  of  1781  was 
Ml  one  of  the  most  active  of 


the  Revolutionary  war,  and 
decided  the  contest  in  fa- 
vour of  the  Americans. 
Although  commencing  with  little  pros- 
pect of  such  success,  yet  by  a  series  of 
unforeseen  events,  it  enabled  the  Ameri- 
can commander  to  capture  a  large  armj', 
led  by  an  able  general,  and  so  to  weaken 
the  forces  of  the  enemy  as  to  render  all  their  subsequent  efforts  en* 
tirely  nugatory. 

416 


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of  w\ 


SKIRMISH  AT   NINKTY-SIX. 


417 


COLONEL     HOWARD. 


Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Camden,  Gates  had  appointed 
Morgan  to  the  command  of  the  light  troops  in  the  South.  Greene 
retained  him  in  this  command,  increasing  his  numbers  to  three  hun- 
dred infantry  under  Colonel  Howard,  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
Virginia  riflemen,  and  seventy  of  Colonel  Washington's  light  dra- 
goons. With  this  force  Morgan  posted  himself  west  of  the  Wateree. 
At  the  same  time  Marion  was  watching  the  Tories,  near  Charleston, 
(Georgetown,  and  other  posts.  On  the  27th  of  December,  1780, 
Morgan  detached  Colonel  Washington  with  his  dragoons  and  about 
two  hundred  militia  to  the  neighbourhood  of  Ninety-Six,  where,  sur- 
prising a  body  of  Tories,  he  killed  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  their 
number,  and  captured  forty,  with  a  large  number  of  horses.  Soon 
after  Morgan  was  joined  by  two  hundred  and  sixty  militia,  under 
Ciilonel  Pickens  and  Major  McDowell. 

Immediately  after  having  been  joined  by  General  Leslie,  Lord 
Cornwallis  determined  to  drive  Morgan  from  his  post  on  the  Wateree, 
and  dispirit  the  inhabitants  who  were  rising  to  join  him.  Tarleton 
WHS  selected  for  this  service,  having  nearly  eleven  hundred  efficient 
royal  troops  and  two  field-pieces.  After  a  rapid  pursuit,  during  part 
of  which  Morgan  rolreated  before  him,  the  British  officer  came  up 

«8 


418 


CAMPAIGN   OF  1781. 


BATTLB    or     TBI    OOWFIWa. 


With  the  Americans  stationed  in  battle  array  at  the  Cowpens,  about 
three  miles  from  the  division  h'ne  between  N(jrth  and  South  Carolina. 
The  militia  were  in  front,  and  so  arranged  that  if  forced  to  retire, 
they  could  re-form  in  rear  of  Colonel  Washington's  mounted  men, 
and  charge  their  pursuers  with  the  bayonet.  A  little  before  day- 
break of  January  17,  Tarleton  appeared  in  sight,  and  without  affiml- 
ing  his  exhausted  troops  time  to  rest,  ordered  the  attack.  They 
rushed  on  \>  h  loud  shouts,  pouring  in  a  heavy  fire  of  musketry, 
The  militia  fell  back  ;  the  British  pursued  on  to  the  second  line, 
which  also  fell  back.  But  at  this  critical  moment.  Colonel  Howard, 
observing  the  enemy's  confusion,  charged  their  whole  column  with 
his  regulars.  Nearly  at  the  same  moment  Colonel  Pickens  succeeded 
in  rallying  the  militia,  with  whom  he  warmly  seconded  Howard's 
movement.  Simultaneously  with  these  operations,  Washington  dashed 
among  them  with  his  cavalry.  The  whole  command  of  the  enemy 
were  utterly  routed;  on  being  promised  quarter  by  Colonel  Hovvaid, 
several  hundred  threw  down  their  arms  without  offering  resistance. 
A  detachment  left  to  guard  the  baggage  was  the  only  part  of  the 
infantry  that  escaped.  Washington  pursued  Tarleton  twenty  miles 
and  was  once  so  near  that  he  gave  him  a  slight  wound  in  the  hand 


■■ 


p-,    i 


t    <, 


•i\ 


IM^'i 


il 


MORGAN  S   RETREAT. 


41 P 


The  British  lost  ten  commissioned  officers  and  one  hundred  privates 
killed  ;  twenty-nine  officers  and  two  hundred  privates  wounded,  and 
five  hundred  prisoners.  The  Americans  had  twelve  men  killed,  and 
sixty  wounded.  Upwards  of  eight  hundred  stand  of  arms,  one  hun- 
dred dragoon  horses,  thirty-five  haggage  wagons,  and  two  standards, 
were  among  the  trophies  of  victory.  The  Cowpens  was  to  Corn- 
wallis  what  Bennington  was  to  Burgoyne. 

The  news  of  this  event  astounded  Cornwallis;  hut  with  that  ener 
gctic  promptitude  for  which  he  was  so  remarkable,  he  resolved  to 
pursue  Morgan  so  rapidly  as  to  prevent  his  contemplated  junction 
with  Greene;  and  thus  attacking  him  with  a  vastly  superior  force, 
while  encn inhered  with  his  prisoners,  he  hoped  to  cut  him  off  com- 
pletely, and  neutralize  the  evil  consequences  of  Tarleton's  defeat 
Destroying  nearly  nil  his  baggage,  and  retaining  only  a  sufficient 
number  of  wagons  to  carry  his  wounded,  he  set  out  [January  19. 
1781]  on  his  famous  pursuit.  But  his  vigilant  antagonist,  after  send- 
ing the  prisoners  to  Charlotteville,  hurried  on  to  the  Catawba,  whicli 
he  succeeded  in  crossing  [January  28]  two  hours  before  Cornwallis 
reached  the  opposite  side.  A  heavy  rain  succeeded,  which  so 
swelled  the  waters  of  the  river,  that  the  British  troops  were  detained 
two  days,  during  which  the  prisoners  had  been  advanced  so  far  as  to 
be  out  of  reach.  Morgan  called  out  the  neighbouring  militia,  and 
prepared  to  defend  the  passage  of  the  river  ;  but  on  the  31st,  General 
Greene  suddenly  appeared  in  camp,  having  ridden  one  hundred  and 
fifty  miles  to  join  Morgan,  and  hasten  the  detachment  to  Hick's 
Creek,  where  he  had  left  the  main  army  under  General  Williams. 
After  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  resist  the  passage  of  the  river,  Greene 
marched  toward  the  Yadkin,  pursued  so  closely  by  Cornwallis,  that 
the  rear  of  one  army  was  sometimes  in  sight  of  the  other's  van.  The 
American  general,  however,  succeeded  in  crossing  safely,  and  joined 
the  main  army  at  Guilford  Court-House,  while  another  sudden  rise 
of  water  prevented  Cornwallis  from  following.  But,  instead  of  giving 
up  the  pursuit,  he  determined  to  keep  in  the  upper  country,  inter- 
cept the  retreat  of  the  Americans  over  the  Dan  river  into  Virginia, 
and  thus  force  them  to  a  battle  under  great  disadvantages.  Greene's 
policy  was  to  get  into  Virginia.  In  order  to  accomplish  this,  by 
checking  Cornwallis,  he  sent  seven  hundred  of  his  best  troops,  under 
Colonel  Williams,  who  so  harassed  the  pursuers  as  to  compel  them 
ti>  march  as  compactly  as  possible  during  the  whole  route.  On  one 
occasion,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee  made  a  furious  charge  upc  their 


420 


CAxMPAiaN  OF  1781. 


nOLONSL     WILHAMS. 


advance  cavalry,  killing  several,  and  securing  a  number  of  prisoners. 
Under  cover  of  this  party  Greene  hurried  on  to  the  Dan,  marching 
sometimes  forty  miles  a  day,  although  his  troops  were  barefoot. 
Providence  again  favoured  his  indefatigable  exertions,  and  he  crossed 
the  river  into  Virginia  in  perfect  security,  having  as  spectators  of  his 
success  the  disconsolate  Cornwallis,  and  his  exhausted,  dispirited  fol- 
lowers. Greene  secured  all  his  boats  on  the  opposite  shore,  so  that 
further  pursuit  was  impossible.  During  this  retreat  of  more  than 
two  hundred  miles,  both  armies  suffered  extremely  from  the  incle- 
ment season,  bad  roads,  heavy  rains,  want  of  tents,  and  scarcity  of 
provisions. 

Cornwallis  now  marched  to  Hillsborough,vvhere  be  erected  the 
royal  standard,  and  invited  the  inhabitants  "to  return  to  their  alle- 
giance," and  take  up  arms  in  the  king's  cause.  Although  this  expe- 
riment had  not  the  success  he  wished,  yet  several  parties  of  Tories 
united  under  Colonel  Pyle,  and  moved  for  Hillsborough.  Tarleton 
was  sent  to  escort  them.  On  the  25th  of  February,  they  were  met 
by  a  body  of  partisans  under  Lee  and  Pickens,  and  almost  anni- 
hilated.   A  small  number,  in  escaping,  encountered  Tarleton,  who. 


BATTLE   OF   GUILFORD   COURT-nOUSE. 


421 


naving  hoard  the  firing,  was  hurrying  on  to  ascertain  the  cause 
Hoping  to  retrieve  a  part  of  the  repniiitidri  lost  at  the  Cowpens,  thai 
officer,  with  a  Iniulable  zeal,  fell  upon  the.se  Tories  without  ceremony, 
and,  under  the  unfortunate  idea  of  their  lieing  rebels,  granted  them 
the  mercy  usually  bestowed  by  him  upon  an  enemy.  This  lesson 
made  the  Tories  more  circumspect  in  trusting  themselves  to  the 
clemency  of  British  protection 

REENE  had   recrossed  the 
Dan  on  the  21st  and  22d, 
and  afier  receiving  a  rein- 
forcement   of  six    hundred 
men    under    Stephens,    ho 
mancjBuvred  for  three  weeks  near  Corn- 
wallis's  camp,  cutting  oflfall  his  foraging 
parties,  and   finally  obliging  him   to  fai! 
back   to   the   Haw  river.     Greene   now 
received    further    reinforcements,    boiL 
regular  and  militia,  swelling  his  armj 
to  four  thousand  two  hundred  men,  of  whom  nearly  twenty-five  hun 
dred   were  militia.     With   these  he  took  up  a  position  at  Guilford 
Court-House,  where  he  drew  up  the  army  in  three  lines,  and  ofl^ered 
battle.     The  British  advanced  in  three  colunms.     By  the  rashness  of 
a  militia  officer,  the  North  Carolina  militia,  composing  the  first  line 
were  thrown  into  confusion,  and   retreated.     The  Virginia  militi? 
fought  with  great  bravery  until  ordered  to  retreat;  after  which  the 
regulars  maintained  tho  contest  for  an  hour  and  a  half.     To  save  his 
rear,  Greene  then  ordered  a  retreat,  which  was  well  conducted.    H; 
lost  three  hundred  continentals,  and  one  hundred  Virginia  militia ; 
Cornwallis  had  more  than  six  hundred  killed,  wounded,  or  missing. 
Among  the  former  were  Colonels  Stewart  and  Webster ;  while  Briga- 
dier-Generals O'Hara  and    Howard,  with   Colonel  Tarleton,  were 
wounded.     Victory  remained  with  the  British  ;  but  its  advantages 
were  altogether  with  their  opponents.     So  crippled  was  Cornwallis, 
that  on  the  31st  he  retreated  towards  Wilmington,  leaving  behind  his 
hospital  and  wounded  prisoners.   Greene  pursued  as  far  as  Ramsey's 
Creek,  on  the  Deep  river.     By  a  strange  and  unexpected  movement, 
Ins  lordship,  continuing  his  retreat,  crossed  into  Virginia,  and  took 
post  at  Petersburg. 

Greene  now  formed  the  daring  project  of  penetrating  into  Soutn 
Carohna,  for  the  purpose  of  driving  the  British  from  the  strong  chain 
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422 


CAMPAIGN   OF    1781. 


OOIiOmL     WASBIWOTON 


of  posts  w  nch  they  there  occupied.  As  a  preparatory  movement 
Lee  was  srnt  forward  to  join  Marion,  which  he  did  at  the  Santee. 
Their  comoined  forces  attacked  Fort  Watson,  the  most  important  post 
belonging  to  the  British  in  South  Carolina.  It  was  taken  by  con- 
structing near  it  an  immense  tower,  from  the  top  of  which  the  Ame- 
rican riflemen  pick'ed  off  the  garrison  at  such  a  rate  that  on  the  23d 
they  surrendered. 

On  the  5th  of  April,  Greene  marched  for  Camden,  which  he 
reached  on  the  24th,  and  took  up  a  position  on  Hobkirk's  Hill.  His 
force  was  eleven  hundred  and  eighty  men,  of  whom  two  hundred 
and  fifty  were  militia.  That  of  the  British  garrison,  under  Lord 
Rawdon,  was  about  nine  hundred.  The  American  general  ofltred 
battle,  which  was  accepted  [April  15].  Greene's  dispositions  wen' 
made  in  his  usual  masterly  manner ;  and  in  the  commencement  of 
the  action  all  the  chances  of  victory  were  with  him.  But,  suddenly, 
and  without  any  apparent  cause,  the  militia  began  a  disorderly  re- 
treat ;  and,  after  a  gallant  struggle,  Greene  ordered  the  remainder  of 
the  army  to  retire.  In  the  early  part  of  the  battle  Colonel  Washing 
ton  had  secured  nearly  two  hundred  prisoners,  fifty  of  whom  he 
Drought  off  safely.  Greene  secured  all  his  baggage,  nearly  all  his 
wounded,  besides  six  British  officers.     The  loss  of  the  British  was 


UAriLE  OP  EUTAW  SPRINGS. 


123 


rwo  hundred  and  fifty,  that  of  the  Americans  abnut  the  same.  Tha 
victory  proved  of  no  advantage  to  the  enemy.  Some  few  days  after 
Rawdon  attempted  to  surprise  General  Greene  by  night  in  his  camp, 
out  failed  ;  and  on  the  lOth  of  May  he  evacuated  Camden,  and 
retired  south  of  the  Santee. 

HIS  triumph  on  the  part  of  the  Americans  was 
followed  by  others  equally  important.  Or. 
the  11th,  Orangeburgh,  with  its  garrison 
of  seventy  l»yal  militia  and  twelve  regu- 
lars, surrendered  to  Sumpter.  Next  day 
Fort  Molte,  defended  by  one  hundred 
and  sixty-five  men,  surrendered  to  Marion 
and  Lee.  The  posts  of  Nelson's  Ferry, 
Fort  Granby,  Silver  Bluffs,  Fort  Cornwal- 
lis,  and  Georgetown,  speedily  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  American 
partisan  officers. 

On  the  24th  of  May,  General  Greene  laid  siege  to  Ninety-Six,  then 
garrisoned  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Cruger  with  five  hundred  men. 
The  American  officer  pushed  his  advances  with  such  vigour  that  in 
a  few  days  his  fourth  work  was  within  thirty  yards  of  the  ditch  round 
the  fort,  a  rifle  battery  ten  yards  high  was  erected,  the  abattis  turned, 
and  a  mine  sunk  within  six  feet  of  the  ditch.  But,  in  the  midst  of 
these  flattering  prospects,  he  received  inrcrr.".ation  that  Lord  Rawdon 
was  marching  against  h>rri,  strongly  reinforced  by  troops  from  Ireland. 
He  therefore  attemptod  to  carry  the  works  by  storm  [June  18] ;  bui 
fulling,  he  withdrew  his  army  across  the  Saluda,  pursued  by  Raw- 
don as  far  as  the  Enoree.  The  American  loss  was  about  one  hun 
dred  and  fifty  men.  It  was  in  this  siege  that  the  Polish  generai 
Kosciusko  particularly  distinguished  himself,  and  won  the  approba- 
tion and  esteem  of  the  American  officers. 

While  Rawdon  was  congratulating  himself  upon  his  success  m 
having  d  n  Greene  out  of  South  Carolina,  Lee  suddenly  defeated 
one  of  his  foraging  parties  within  a  mile  of  the  British  camp.  He 
soon  found  that  the  general  himself  was  approaching  to  give  him 
battle.  He  immediately  retreated  to  Orangeburgh,  and  withdrew  to 
his  aid.  Colonel  Cruger,  with  the  garrison  of  Ninety-Six.  This 
obliged  the  American  general  to  retire  to  the  hills  of  Santee,  leaving 
Marion,  Sumpter,  and  Lee,  to  cut  off  the  British  communication. 
This  caused  the  enemy  to  abandon  all  their  posts  north  of  the  Santee 
and  Conraree,  and  to  concentrate  their  lines  near  the  junction  of  the 

68 


424 


OAMPAION  OP  1781. 


BATTLB     OF     BTTTAW     8  F  R  I  M  O  S. 


latter  river  with  the  Wateree.  By  still  further  manoeuvring,  Greene 
drew  them  to  the  Futaw  Springs,  where,  on  the  8ih  of  September 
he  advanced  and  gave  them  battle. 

Greene's  troops  marched  to  the  attack  in  two  lines;  the  first  com- 
posed of  militia,  the  second  of  regulars.  Two  advance  British  par* 
ties  were  speedily  driven  in,  and  the  battle  became  general.  After 
an  obstinate  resistance,  the  American  militia  gave  way ;  but  the 
regulars  warmly  renewed  the  battle,  charging  with  fixed  bayonets 
amid  heavy  showers  of  cannon-shot  and  musketry.  While  Colonel 
Williams  led  the  assault  in  front,  Lee  turned  the  enemy's  flank  and 
rear.  Their  whole  force  was  thrown  into  confusion,  five  hundred 
were  made  prisoners,  and  the  remainder  began  a  hurried  retreat. 
A  portion  succeeded  in  entering  a  large  three  story  brick  house,  from 
which  they  could  not  be  dislodged  ;  in  the  efl^jrt  to  batter  it  down,  the 
Americans  lost  four  field-pieces  and  a  considerable  number  of  men. 
Next  day  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart,  the  British  commander,  re- 
treated towards  Charleston,  leaving  behind  him  seventy  wounded  men 
and  one  thousand  stand  of  arms.  His  loss,  including  prisoners,  was 
upwards  of  eleven  hundred  ;»that  of  the  Americans  was  five  hun- 
dred, of  whom  sixty  were  officers.  The  lamented  Colonel  Campbeli 
H'as  mortally  wounded,  and  died  on  the  field,  after  being  told  that  the 


EXECUTION  OF  COLONEL   HAYNE. 


425 


LOBD     RAWOON. 


British  were  flying.  Amid  the  heaC  of  the  battle  the  officers  on  each 
side  fought  hand  to  hand  with  their  swords.  This  battle  completely 
oroke  the  power  of  the  British  in  South  Carolina,  and  confined  t^eir 
Eubsoquent  operations  to  insignificant  excursions  along  the  sea-cnast. 
During  this  summer,  Lord  Rawdon  perpetrated  a  deed  which  has 
covered  his  name  with  infamy.  It  was  the  execution  of  Colonel 
Isaac  Hayne.  This  officer,  long  distinguished  iri  his  native  state  for 
honesty,  intelligence,  and  patriotism,  had  been  taken  prisoner  at  the 
siege  of  Charleston,  but  dismissed  on  his  parol.  In  1781  he  was 
called  upon,  on  pain  of  imprisonment,  to  sign  a  declaration  of  alle- 
giance to  the  British  king,  containing  an  obligation  to  take  up  arms 
in  the  royal  cause.  This  he  complied  with,  on  condition  of  not  being 
forced  to  adopt  the  latter  portion.  But  when  the  English,  in  viola- 
tion of  their  express  promise,  called  on  him  to  repair  to  their  stand- 
ard, he  deemed  the  obligation  cancelled,  and  joined  his  countrymen, 
by  whom  he  was  given  the  command  of  a  regiment.  He  afterwards 
fell  into  the  hands  of  Lord  Rawdon,  who,  after  a  mock  trial  by  cturt- 
martial,  sentenced  him  to  be  hung.  Numbers  of  the  British  and 
oyalists.  with  Go',  jnior  Bull  at  their  head,  petitioned  for  a  remission 

M  2ii2 


426 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1781. 


ARaOLO  •    DasOBMT    on    vmoiMiA. 


of  the  sentence ;  and  even  the  motherless  children  of  the  victim  fell 
on  their  knees  before  his  lordship,  petitioning  him  to  spare  their 
father's  life.  The  colonel's  son,  a  youth  of  thirteen,  spent  the  last 
days  of  his  parent's  life  with  him  in  the  prison,  begging  that  he  too 
might  be  executed ;  but  all  this  was  not  sufficient  to  move  the  Bri- 
tish leader's  stony  heart.  On  the  10th  rf  August,  1781,  Colonel 
Hayne  perished  on  the  scaffold. 

Meanwhile  the  two  main  armies  in  the  north  were  preparing  for 
some  decisive  blow,  which  might  either  terminate  the  struggle,  or 
give  the  victorious  party  a  complete  ascendency  in  that  quarter. 
Fortunately  for  Congress,  the  financial  affairs  of  the  nation  had  oeen 
placed  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Robert  Morris,  who  soon 
placed  them  in  a  better  condition  than  they  hud  been  in  during  the 
war.  About  the  same  time  the  continental  currency  ceased  to  circu- 
late, and  loans  of  gold  und  silver  were  negotiated  with  France  and 
the  Netherlands.  The  army,  this  year,  was  in  consequence  better 
provided  with  clotLing  and  ammunition  than  it  had  been  during 
several  campaigns. 

Soon  after  ihe  departure  of  General  Leslie,  in  1780,  Arnold  was 
sent  against  Virginia  with  sixteen  hundred  men  and  a  considerable 
Dumber  of  armed  vesselp  He  ascep'^od  the  Chesapeake,  commit- 
ting such  devastations  in  his  route,  that  General  Washington  was 


cJ 


EXPLOITS   OP   ARNOLD,    LA   FAYETTE,    AND   TARLBTON.     42" 


OSNBRl^L     LA     rATKTTB 


Dhliged  to  send  Lafayette  with  twelve  hundred  men  to  check  him. 
The  French  fleet  undertook  to  lend  its  co-operation  by  blockading 
the  bay ;  but  did  little  more  than  sail  from  Newport,  show  itself  on 
the  Virginia  coast,  and  then  sail  back  to  Newport.  In  order  to  cap- 
ture Arnold  at  all  hazards,  a  council  of  French  and  American  officers, 
at  which  Washington  and  Rochambeau  were  present,  resolved  to 
send  against  him  the  whole  French  fleet,  with  eleven  hundred  men. 
But  such  was  the  slowness  of  the  Admiral  Detouche's  movements, 
;hat  Arnold  escaped  without  seeing  his  enemy  ;  and  after  an  indeci- 
jive  action  with  Admiral  Arbuthnot's  squadron  ofl^  Cape  Henry,  the 
French  fleet  returned  to  Rhode  Island. 

Late  in  March,  Arnold  was  joined  by  two  thousand  men  under 
General  Phillips.  After  ravaging  the  districts  lying  along  the  bay, 
he  marched  to  Petersburg,  destroying  in  his  progress  immense  quan- 
tities of  tobacco,  flour,  shipping,  public  and  private  stores,  and  pro- 
perty. Soon  after  General  Phillips  died,  and  his  troops  joined  Lord 
Cornwallis,  who  had  arrived  in  Petersburg,  May  20.  On  receiving 
news  of  his  arrival.  General  La  Fayelt?  made  a  forced  march  to 
Richmond,  where  he  secured  a  considerable  amount  of  military 
stores.  This  success  was  counterbalanced  by  an  expedition  of  Colonel 
Tarleton  against  Charlotteville,  in  which  he  captured  seven  members 
of  the  Assembly,  and  destroyed  a  number  of  stores. 


4-28 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1781. 


■  ■NBRAL    WA.THJC    8    OBLBBRATID    OHARUS     ON    TUK    BRITlaB    A.RUT. 


At  tnis  time  the  French  general's  supplies  had  been  removed  from 
Richmond  to  Albemarle  Old  Court-House.  Hither  the  British  pro- 
ceeded, and  by  a  rapid  march  were  enabled  to  get  between  the  mar- 
(juis  and  his  supplies.  Cornwallis  was  now  certain  that  he  would 
either  seize  the  supplies  or  force  the  Americans  to  a  battle  under 
great  disadvantages.  At  night,  however,  La  Fayette  opened  an  old 
disused  road,  and  marching  round  the  British  forces,  completely 
foiled  his  antagonist.  Cornwallis  then  fell  back  to  Richmond  ;  and 
subsequently,  on  hearing  that  Baron  Steuben  had  joined  La  Fayette, 
to  Williamsburg.  Here  a  skirmish  took  place  with  the  British  rear, 
in  which  the  Americans  had  the  advantage. 

Cornwallis  now  received  orders  from  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  to  send 
part  of  his  troops  to  New  York,  which  was  threatened  by  a  combined 
attack  from  the  French  and  Americans.  Accordingly,  on  the  4th  of 
July  he  sent  his  baggage  and  some  wheel  carriages  across  James's 
river,  and  concentrated  his  army  on  the  bank.  Being  pursued  by 
La  Fayette,  he  placed  his  main  body  as  compactly  as  possible  on  a 
tongue  of  land  covered  with  woods,  at  the  same  time  spreading  out 
the  troops  across  the  river  so  as  to  induce  the  French  general  to 
beliere  that  his  main  body  was  over,  and  only  the  rear  remained 


GENERAL   VITATNB  3   CUAROE. 


i29 


OOONT    DB     aR&33E. 

La  Fayette  was  completely  deceived,  and  on  the  7th  comn.enced  an 
attack,  by  spirited  advances,  upon  what  he  supposed  but  a  small  part 
of  his  antagonist's  force.  The  obstinacy  of  the  resistan  e  quickly 
undeceived  him,  and  on  hurrying  forward  to  rcconnoitrt^  he  found 
that  General  Wayne  with  his  eight  hundred  Pennsylvanii  ns, on  per- 
ceiving the  error,  had  boldly  charged  the  enemy's  whole  line.  By 
this  movement  Cornwallis  was  in  his  turn  deceived,  not  imagining 
that  so  daring  an  efTurt  would  be  made  by  a  comparati  e  handful, 
unless  large  numbers  were  behind  to  second  them.  Hj  therefore 
quietly  suffered  La  Fayette  to  withdraw  his  forces,  and  during  the 
night  crossed  to  Jamestown,  from  whence  he  proceed  d  to  Ports- 
mouth. In  this  skirmish  the  Americans  lost  one  hoidred  men, 
eighteen  officers,  and  two  cannon  ;  the  enemy  acknowle>(ge  a  loss  of 
leventy-five.  Soon  after,  his  lordship  received  counter-orders  from 
Sir  Henry  Clinton,  to  retain  the  troops  formerly  demanded,  and  oc- 
cupy some  good  defensive  position  on  the  Chesapeake.  He  accord- 
ingly took  possession  of  Yorktown  and  Gloucester  Point,  which  be 
proceeded  to  fortify. 


4^0 


CAMPAfoy  OP  1781. 


On  the  30lh  of  August,  much  to  the  mortification  of  Cornwaliis,  the 
Oount  de  Grasse  suddenly  appeared  in  the  Chesapeake  with  twenty- 
eight  sail  of  the  line.  York  river  was  immediately  blockaded,  while 
thirty-two  hundred  troops  landed  and  joined  the  army  of  La  Fayette. 
While  this  was  going  on,  Admiral  Greaves  appeared  off  the  Capes 
of  Virginia,  and  was  met  by  the  Count  de  Grasse.  The  two  fleets 
manoeuvred  until  the  7lh  of  September,  when  the  French  leader,  De 
Barras,  8«'fely  passed  the  British  ships  and  sailed  up  the  Chesapeake 
with  eight  ships  of  the  line.  He  was  immediately  joined  by  De 
Grasse,  after  which  Admiral  Greaves  sailed  for  New  York. 

An  attiick  upon  Lord  Cornwaliis  had  not  been  the  original  policy 
of  either  Washington  or  Rochambeau.  The  causes  which  produced 
BO  material  a  change  of  plan  are  now  to  be  narrated. 

Early  n  the  spring,  Washington  had  arranged  a  plan  with  the 
French  C(  mmanders  for  a  combined  land  and  naval  attack  upon  the 
British  ht  ad-quarters  at  New  York.  Its  immediate  execution  was 
delayed  b  >  the  great  difficulty  in  raising  continental  troops  ;  and  in 
the  mean « hile  Clinton  was  reinforced  by  several  regiments  from 
England.  While  the  commander-in-chief  was  chagrined  by  these 
mortifying  disappointments,  news  was  received  of  Greene's  success 
in  driving  Cornwaliis  into  Virginia ;  and  as  the  destination  of  De 
Grasse  was  known  to  be  the  Chesapeake,  Washington  determined  to 
abandon  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  and  by  a  rapid  march,  to  fall  upon  York* 


DURNINQ   OP   NEW   LONDOW. 


431 


own  before  its  garrison  could  retreat  to  the  south.  After  an.usini;; 
Clinton  for  a  considerable  length  of  time,  he  suddenly  broke  up  his 
camp,  and  had  crossod  the  Delaware  below  Trenton,  before  Sir 
Henry  was  aware  of  his  lestination.  General  Heath  was  lefl  in 
command  of  the  northern  army. 

When  too  late,  Clinton  discovered  his  mistake ;  but  in  order  if 
possible  to  bring  Washington  back,  he  sent  Arnold,  who  had  lately 
arrived  from  Virginia,  against  the  town  of  New  London.  That 
officer  first  attiickcd  Forts  Griswold  and  Trumbull,  which  defended 
the  approach  to  the  town.  The  latter  fort,  with  the  town,  were  im- 
mediately evacuated  ;  but  Fort  Griswold,  with  its  garrison  of  one 
hundred  and  sixty  men  under  Colonel  Ledyard,  made  a  gallant 
defence.  The  works  were  taken  by  storm,  -the  commandant  killed 
with  his  own  sword  while  surrendering  it,  and  the  whole  garrison,  ex- 
cept  about  forty,  massacred.  The  enemy  lost  their  commander.  Colonel 
Eyre,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  killed  and  wounded.  ArnolJ 
sacked  and  burned  New  London,  and  then  returned  to  head-quarters. 

This  outrageous  proceeding  had  no  effect  in  diverting  Washington 
from  his  plan  against  Cornwailis.  In  company  with  the  French 
leaders,  he  reached  Williamsburg  on  the  Hih.of  September,  and 
there  settled  the  final  plan  of  operations.  Toward  the  latter  end  of 
that  month,  all  the  allied  forces  had  arrived,  and  every  thing  was  in 
readiness  <""    the  commencement  of  the  siege. 

The  main  British  army  was  encamped  about  Yorktown,  on  the 
jouth  side  of  York  river,  within  a  range  of  outer  redoubts  and  field 
works.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  was  Gloucester  Point, 
defended  by  Lieutenant-colonel  Tnrleton,  with  six  or  seven  hundred 
men,  and  communicating  with  the  chief  position  by  means  of  bat- 
teries and  ships  of  war.  This  latter  post  was  watched  by  the  French 
general,  De  Chnisy  ;  while  the  main  army  moved  to  invest  York- 
town  on  the  30th  of  September.  On  the  night  of  October  6,  the 
besiegers  completed  their  first  parallel,  within  six  hundred  yards  of 
the  English  lines.  Their  fire  was  opened  on  the  0th  and  10th, 
which  was  followed  by  the  second  parallel,  within  three  hundred 
yards  of  the  enemy.  Here  two  redoubts,  which  considerably  im- 
peded their  operations,  were  stormed — one  by  the  Baron  Viominel, 
"\ith  a  party  of  Frenchmen  ;  the  other  by  Americans  under  La 
Fayette.  Both  deiichments  advanced  in  the  face  of  a  heavy  fire, 
without  firing  a  gun.  The  Americans  lost  nine  killed,  thirty-two 
wounded  ;  iue  Fri  nch  about  one  hundred. 


432 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1781. 


liA   r^TXTTB  T^riiaa  tbi   bxoodbt  at  tobstowh 


This  occurred  on  the  14th.  Two  days  after,  Lieutenant-colonel 
Abercrombie  made  a  sortie  from  the  garrison  with  indifferent  success; 
while  during  the  same  afternoon,  the  two  captured  redoubts  were  in- 
cluded in  the  second  parallel,  and  one  hundred  pieces  of  heavy  ord- 
nance were  brought  to  bear  upon  the  enemy's  lines.  As  the  works 
of  Cornwallis  were  now  almost  in  ruins,  he  resolved  on  making  his 
escape  to  New  York  by  land,  and  had  actually  landed  a  portion  of 
his  army  on  Gloucester  Point,  when  a  heavy  storm  dispersed  his 
boats,  and  the  design  was  necessarily  abandoned.  Next  day,  several 
new  batteries  being  opened,  the  works  were  no  longer  tenable ;  and 
his  lordship  requested  of  Washington  a  cessation  of  hostilities  for 
twenty-four  hours.  The  American  commander  granted  him  two 
hours,  presenting  at  the  same  time  a  rough  draft  of  propositions,  on 
which  he  was  willing  to  base  articles  of  capitulation.  Commission- 
ers were  appointed  to  digest  these  into  form  ;  and  on  the  19th  Wash 
ington  despatched  the  corrected  copy  to  his  lordship,  expressing  the 
expectation  that  they  would  be  signed  by  ten,  and  the  garrison  be 
ready  to  march  out  by  2  p.  M.  of  the  same  day.  It  being  impossible 
to  obtain  better  terms,  Cornwallis  was  reduced  to  the  mortifying  ne- 
cessity. The  capitulation  was  signed  at  Moore's  house,  and  at  the  ap- 
pointed hour  the  garrison  marched  out,  with  their  colours  cased,  and 
surrendered  to  General  Lincoln  on  the  same  terms  which,  under 
similar  circumstances,  had  been  granted  to  that  officer  by  Cornwallis 
at  Charleston.  Yorktown  and  Gloucester,  with  their  garrisons  and 
HtoreA,  wsre  given  up  to  the  United  States  ;  the  shipping  and  seamen 


PLRIiENDER   OP   CORNWALLIS. 


4Si 


UOORB'b    BOOal.     TOBKTOWN. 

lo  the  Couiil  de  Grasse.  Exclusive  of  seamen,  the  garrison  numben^d 
over  seven  thousand.  During  the  siege  they  had,  in  killed  and 
wnunded,  five  hundred  and  fifty-two.  The  allied  forces  lost  about 
three  hundred. 

On  the  24th,  Sir  Henry  Clinton  arrived  off  the  Capes  of  Virginia 
with  twenty-five  ships  of  the  line,  and  eight  frigates,  bearing  sevrn 
thousand  men  ;  but  finding  that  Cornwallis  had  already  surrendered, 
he  returned  to  New  York. 

The  capture  of  Cornwallis,  with  the  army  which  had  so  long 
spread  terror  through  the  southern  provinces,  filled  the  whole  country 
with  gratitude  and  exultation.  Congress  voted  its  thanks  to  each  of 
the  commanders,  and  to  the  officers  and  troops  engaged,  and  resolved 
to  erect  a  marble  column  at  Yorktown,  adorned  with  emblems  of  the 
alliance  between  France  and  the  United  States,  with  a  suitable  in- 
scription in  commemoration  of  the  victory.  Washington  was  anxious 
to  improve  his  success,  by  a  combined  attack  upon  the  enemy  at 
Charlestoia ;  but  the  French  admiral  refused  to  remain  longer  on  the 
coast,  alleging  as  reason,  his  engagements  with  the  Spaniards  in  the 
West  Indies.  Accordingly,  after  covering  the  transportation  of 
Washington's  troops  to  the  head  of  Elk  river,  he  sailed  towards 
Cuha,  and  the  American  army  returned  by  detachments  to  the  north. 

Meanwhile,  some  important  actions  had  taken  place  between  the 
tew  ships  possessed  by  Congress  and  single  vessels  belonging  to 
IJreat  Britain.     In  June,  1780,  the  Trumbull,  of  twenty-eight  guns, 
M  to 


«* 


CAMPAIGN   OF  1781. 


BATTLB-OROUND    OV    TORKTOWN, 


Captain  Nicholson,  encountered  an  Enrrlish  vessel  of  superior  size, 
and  fought  with  her  two  hours  and  a  half.  The  mainmast  of  the 
enemy  fell,  while  all  except  the  foremast  of  the  Trumbull  went  by 
the  board.  Nicholson  lost  thirty  in  killed  and' wounded;  the  British 
captain,  CouUhard,  ninety-two  ;  yet  he  claimed  the  victory. 

In  October,  the  sloop  Saratoga, 
of  sixteen  guns,  Captain  Young, 
captured  a  ship  and  two  brigs, 
but  was  subsequently  deprived 
of  them  by  the  British  vessel 
Intrepid,  of  seventy-four  guns. 
On  the  2d  of  April,  1781,  Cap- 
tain Barry,  in  the  Alliance,  cap- 
tured two  Guernsey  privateers; 
and  soon  after,  two  English  men- 
of-war.  One  of  them  was  sub- 
sequently recaptured.  In  June, 
oi^PTAiH  8ARBT.  the  Brltlsh  took  the  Confedera- 

cy, of  thirty-two  guns,  under  Captain  Harding  ;  and  in  August.  th« 
Trumbull. 


■SBTSW 


USNRT      LAnUBNS. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


CLOSE   OF  THE   REVOLUTIONARY   WAR. 


OTHING  could  exceed  the  astonishment  and 
indignation  with  whicTi  the  news  of  Cornvvallis's 
surrender  was  received  in  England.  Parlia- 
ment assembled  on  the  27th  of  November,  when 
the  king  recounted,  with  evident  mortification, 
his  losses  in  Virginia,  but  at  the  same  time 
urged  the  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war.  In 
the  debate  on  this  address,  the  opposition,  led 
by  Fox,  Burke,  and  Pitt,  were  vehement  in  their  denunciation  of 
ministers  and  condemnation  of  all  further  proceedings  against  Ame- 
rica. The  usual  vote  of  thanks  was,  however,  carried  by  a  large 
majority.  Lord  North  then  declared  the  purpose  of  the  ministry  to 
carry  on  a  "  war  of  posts,"  instead  of  operating  by  incursions  into 
the  interior.  The  opposition,  however,  strenuously  opposed  all  such 
measures,  boldly  charging  minister^  with  the  prosecution  of  scheme? 
whosB  palpable  tendency  was  the  dissolution  of  the  monarchy.     A* 


436 


436 


CIX)8B  OP  THE   KEVOLUTIONAKY    WAR. 


OOLONBL     LAtlHEN! 


each  successive  triiil  his  lordship  found  himself  losinnr  ground  ;  un 
til  at  last,  on  the  Vdte  of  an  address  to  the  king,  presented  by  Gen<'- 
ral  Conway,  praying  for  the  discontinuance  of  the  war,  he  was  left 
in  a  minority  of  nineteen.  Lord  North  then  resigned,  and  a  new 
cabinet  was  formed,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Marquis  of  Rocking- 
ham. That  nobleman's  death  put  an  end  to  this  administration ;  and 
on  the  11th  of  July,  1782,  the  king  prorogued  parliament. 

Popular  opinion  in  both  countries  was  now  strongly  in  favour  of 
peace,  and  at  length  the  British  monarch  consented  to  the  opening 
of  negotiations.  Mr.  Fitzherbert  and  Mr.  Oswald  were  appointed 
commissioners  for  England  ;  and  on  the  30th  of  November,  they  met 
Messrs.  Franklin,  Adams,  Jay,  and  Laurens,  and  agreed  upo- 
arrangements  preliminary  to  a  treaty  between  all  the  bellifp.enl 
powers.  On  the  20th  of  January,  1783,  France,  Spain,  Great  Bri- 
tain, and  Ameiica,  concluded  the  treaty  of  peace  which  secured  the 
independence  of  the  United  States.  Previous  to  this,  [October  8, 
1782,]  Mr.  John  Adams  had  signed  a  treaty  of  amity  and  commerce 
with  the  United  Provinces  of  Holland. 

The  campaign  of  1782  was  marked  by  but  few  military  events 
Wayne,  with  the  Pennsylvania  troops,  had  been  sent  into  Georgia, 
Hhcre,  about  midnight  of  May  21,  he  attacked  Cjlonel  Brown,  coiii* 


THE  LAST   BLOODSHED. 


43T 


OOUUODOBX     BARNBT. 


nKiiidant  of  Savannah,  who  had  left  that  town  in  force,  hoping  to 
surprise  Wayne.  The  British  were  totally  defeated,  with  the  loss 
of  forty  killed  or  wounded,  and  twenty  prisoners.  The  victors  had 
five  killed,  and  two  wounded.  On  the  night  of  June  24,  Wayne 
sustained  a  furious  attack  from  a  party  of  Creek  Indians,  whom  he 
defeated,  with  the  loss  of  one  of  their  bravest  chiefs.  The  royalists* 
came  out  from  Savannah  to  join  the  Indians;  but  they  were  driven 
back  by  Wayne,  who  captured  a  British  standard  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  loaded  pack-horses.  His  own  loss  was  thirteen 
killed  and  wounded.  Savannah  was  evacuated  by  the  enemy  in 
July,  and  the  war  in  that  quarter  ended. 

On  the  27th  of  August  the  lamented  Colonel  Laurens  was  mor- 
tally wounded  during  a  skirmish  of  General  Gist,  with  a  large  party 
of  British,  in  South  Carolina.  On  James's  Island,  Captain  Wilmot, 
with  a  small  party,  attacked  some  British  troops,  but  was  killed, 
and  his  men  were  defeated.  This  was  the  last  blood  shed  in 
^he  Revolution.  Charleston  was  evacuated  by  General  Leslie  on 
the  14th  of  December,  and  Wayne  took  possession  of  it  with  five 
thousand  troopj. 

In  this  year,  the  Hyder  Ally,  a  Pennsylvania  vessel  of  six  guns, 
28  >«> 


4m 


CLOSE   OF  THE   REVOLUTIONARY  WAR. 


WASHINOTON    8      HB*D-C3nARTItHS      AT      URWUnBOH. 


iinrler  Captain  Joshua  Barney,  was  nttnrked  by  two  British  vessels 
and  a  brig,  while  engaged  in  convnyiri!^  a  fleet  of  merchantmen  to 
the  Capes.  By  means  of  a  skilful  stmiiicfem,  she  got  into  position 
to  rake  the  brig,  and  in  twenty-six  minutes  discharged  twenty  broad- 
sides. The  enemy  then  surrendered.  It  proved  to  be  the  General 
Monk,  of  eighteen  gnns.  Barney's  loss  was  four  killed,  eleven 
wounded;  that  of  his  enemy  twenty  killed,  thirty-three  wounded. 
Barney  soon  after  captured  a  refugee  schooner,  which  had  given  tha 
Americans  considerable  trouble.  On  the  other  hand,  the  frigate 
South  Carilina  was  taken  by  three  large  English  vessels,  appointed 
to  watch  her;  and  in  the  West  Indies,  the  French  fleet,  under  the 
Count  de  Grasse,  was  totally  defeated  and  captured  by  the  British 
under  Admiral  Rodney. 

In  December,  1782,  the  American  officers  at  Newburgh  petitioned 
Congress  that  instead  of  granting  them  half-pay  for  life,  which  had 
been  promised  but  never  paid,  that  body  should  vote  them  full  pay 
for  five  years,  and  pay  the  arrearages  then  due.  The  unwarrantable 
delay  of  Congress  in  acceding  to  this  reasonable  request,  so  provoked 


MUTINY   OF  THE  TROOPS. 


439 


tfif  officers,  that  but  for  the  influence  of  Washington,  they  would  at 
once  have  marched  in  arms  to  Philadelphia.  At  the  earnest  repre- 
sentation of  their  case  to  Congress  by  the  commander-in-chief,  the 
request  of  the  officers  was  granted. 

On  the  19th  of  April,  just  eight  years  after  the  battle  of  Lexing- 
ton, peace  was  proclaimed  to  the  army.  A  critical  duty  now  de- 
volved upon  Washington  and  the  national  legislature.  This  was  the 
disbandment  of  the  army,  the  members  of  which,  after  carrying  the 
country  triumphantly  through  the  gloomy  struggle  for  freedom,  were 
now  to  be  turned  penniless  to  their  ruined  homes  by  the  very  power 
which  had  employed  them.  By  relying  on  that  patriotism  which 
had  ever  shown  itself  capable  of  any  sacrifice,  and  aided  by  the 
influence  of  Washington's  popularity.  Congress  made  the  expe- 
riment. The  old  troops  submitted  patiently  ;  but  eight  of  the  new 
levies  marched  from  Lancaster,  surrounded  the  state-house,  and  there 
kept  the  members  of  the  national  legislature  imprisoned  for  three 
hours.  Washington  hurried  a  strong  detachment  after  them;  but 
the  riot  was  quelled  before  he  arrived. 

New  York  was  evacuated  by  the  British  in  November,  and  en- 
tered on  the  25th  by  General  Washington,  Goverr^r  Clinton,  and  a 
large  number  of  citizens  and  military.  On  the  4th  of  December 
the  commander  took  leave  of  his  officers  at  Francis's  tavern  ;  after 
which  he  proceeded  to  Annapolis,  where  Congress  was  then  sitting, 
and  resigned,  Dec.  23.  He  then  retired  to  Mount  Vernon.  Mean- 
while the  independence  of  the  United  States  had  been  acknowledged 
by  Sweden,  Denmark,  Spain,  and  Russia.  The  final  treaty  of  peace 
was  signed  at  Paris,  September  3,  by  David  Hartley,  on  the  part  of 
George  IIL,  and  John  Adams,  Benjamin  Franklin,  and  John  Jay,  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States. 


60 


ADMIBAI.     RODFVT 


W&SHINaTON. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

ORGANIZATION   OP   THE   FEDERAL   GOVERNMENT— WASHINGTON'S 

ADMINISTRATION. 

URING  the  war  of  independence,  common 
danger  had  produced  feelings  of  sympathy 
and  mutual  obligation  among  the  states  con- 
stituting the  American  Union  ;  and  to  this 
cause  was  owing,  in  an  eminent  degree,  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  authority  of  Con- 
gress to  legislate  for  the  nation.  The  return 
of  peace  broke  this  bond  of  union ;  and  soon 
the  germs  of  distrust,  want  of  credit,  and  civil  commotions,  began 
to  produce  their  legitimate  fruits.  As  early  as  July,  1782,  New 
York  declared  the  general  government  incapable  of  furnishing  itself 
with  a  revenue.  In  February  of  the  following  year,  Congress  made 
an  effort  to  establish  permanent  and  adequate  funds  throughout  the 
United  States ;  but  in  1786,  the  measure  was  defeated  by  the  oppo- 
sition of  New  York. 

Meanwhile  an  insurrection  against  the  state  government  had  taken 
place  in  Massachusetts.  On  the  22d  of  August,  1786,  a  convention 
met  at  Hatfield  to  protest  against  several  acts  of  the  legislature. 
Very  soon  after  a  large  body  of  insurgents  took  possession  of  the 
court-houses  in  Northampton  and  other  counties.  Daniel  Shays  was 
*Jieir  leader ;  and  alt>ough  the  general  court  immediately  passed  laws 

4M 


8HAYB     KEBELLIOV. 


441 


for  relieving  the  public  burdens,  he  proceeded  with  his  followers  tc 
Springfield,  and  on  the  26th  of  December  took  possession  of  the 
court-house.  He  then  became  so  troublesome  that  four  thousand 
troops,  under  General  Lincoln,  were  ordered  against  him.  Previous 
to  their  march.  Shays  with  eleven  hundred  men  had  attacked  a  body 
of  twelve  hundred  troops  under  General  Sheppard,  but  was  driven 
away  by  a  round  of  musketry.  On  the  4th  of  February,  General 
Lincoln  suddenly  surprised  them  at  Petersham,  whence  they  were 
driven  in  great  confusion,  with  the  loss  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pri- 
soners.    This  terminated  the  rebellion. 

The  first  efl^rts  toward  the  formation  of  a  permanent  government 
were  rather  accidental  than  otherwise.  Virginia  recommended  a 
convention  of  delegates  to  take  into  consideration  the  ineffective  regu- 
lations concerning  commerce,  and  this  call  was  responded  to  by  five 
other  states.  In  September,  1786,  the  proposed  meeting  took  place 
at  Annapolis ;  but,  feeling  the  limited  extent  of  their  powers,  th 
delegates  made  but  a  few  minor  arrangements,  and  then  adjourne  . 
after  recommending  to  Congress  the  calling  of  a  National  Convention, 
with  authority  to  adopt  measures  for  the  formation  of  a  permanent 
government.  Accordingiy,Congress  passed  a  resolution  recommend- 
ing a  convention  of  delegates  from  all  the  states  to  be  held  at  Phila- 
delphia, for  the  purpose  of  revising  the  articles  of  confederation,  and 
reporting  to  Congress  and  the  several  legislatures  such  alterations 
and  provisions  therein  as  should,  when  agreed  to  in  Congress,  and 
confirmed  by  the  states,  render  the  Federal  constitution  adequate  to 
the  emergencies  of  government  and  the  preservation  of  the  Union. 

N  May,  1787,  this  body  of  able  statesmen  assem- 
bled at  the  place  appointed,  all  the  states  ex- 
cept Rhode  Island  being  represented.  Washing- 
ton was  chosen  president.  After  long  deliberations 
they  reported  to  Congress  a  draft  of  the  present 
constitution,  recommending  its  being  submitted  for 
ratification  to  a  convention  of  delegates  in  each 
state,  chosen  by  and  from  the  people  of  each.  This  was  complied 
with,  and  for  several  months  the  newly-reported  instrument  under- 
went a  critical  examination.  During  this  period  its  provisions  were 
ably  explained  and  defended  in  a  series  of  essays  entitled  the  Fede- 
ralist, written  by  Madison,  Jay,  and  Hamilton.  It  was  this  circum- 
stance thai  gave  the  title  of  Federalists  to  the  political  party  who 
avoured  the  new  constitution,  while  at  the  same  time  their  opponents 

66 


442 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  WASHINGTON. 


MOUNT    VBRNOM. 


were  styled  Anti-Federalists.  The  consent  of  nine  states  was  reqiii 
site  to  enable  the  new  code  to  become  the  basis  of  national  legisla- 
tion ;  and  as  nearly  a  year  intervened  before  this  could  be  obtained, 
Congress  employed  that  interval  in  adopting  measures  for  organizing 
the  new  government.  The  first  electors  for  the  office  of  president 
were  to  be  chosen  on  the  first  Wednesday  in  February,  1789,  and 
vote  for  the  person  of  their  choice  on  the  first  Wednesday  of  March 
following. 

The  hopes  of  Congress  and  the  nation  were  now  centred  upon 
Washington.  In  him  the  friends  of  the  still  tottering  Constitutior 
beheld  the  only  resource  which  could  give  weight  to  the  novel  opera 
tion  of  so  strange  an  experiment  as  that  which  they  were  about  to 
perform.  Even  its  opponents  were  in  general  willing  to  maUeatrlai 
of  it,  could  he  be  placed  at  its  head.  But  it  was  with  no  small  dif- 
ficulty that  his  habitual  distrust  of  himself,  united  to  an  ardent  love 
of  retirement,  could  be  again  overcome.  Besides  his  reluctance 
again  to  embark  on  the  stormy  ocean  of  politics,  he  was  extensively 
engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  for  which  he  had  ever  entertained 
a  passionate  fondness.  But  the  people  were  encouraged  by  the 
reflection  that  he  had  never  refused  the  call  of  public  duty.  They 
therefore  renewed  their  earnest  appeals  that  he  would  give  stability 
ti  the  youthful  nation  by  the  weight  of  his  influence,  and  at  length 
he  consented.  On  the  day  of  election  he  received  the  unanimous 
rote  of  the  electors,  "  and  probably  without  a  dissenting  voice    o 


WASHINGTON   ELECTED    PRESlDnXT. 


448 


WABHINOTOS     T^JilNl) 


iitf  uATu   OF  u  r  no  Jt,    IN   raoiiT  or  th«  oto 


FEDERAL    UA.LL,     MEW    TOBX. 

the  whole  nation,  was  chosen  the  first  President  of  the  United 
States." 

Washington  received  notice  of  his  election,  April  14,  1789,  and 
sacrificinii;  his  long  cherished  hopes  and  feelings  to  the  public  wish, 
he  left  Mount  Vernon  on  the  Uith,  for  New  York,  where  Congress 
was  then  in  session.  His  journey  was  everywhere  hailed  by  the 
spontaneous  overfluwing  of  love  and  veneration  for  his  person,  from 
an  almoi-t  idolizing  people.  As  he  drew  near  different  towns,  the 
entire  population  hastened  to  meet  him,  and  the  chief  C'tizens  wel- 
comed him  to  their  homes.  In  the  great  cities,  the  bells  rang,  can- 
nons were  fired,  and  civic  and  military  anthorilies  paraded.  At 
Elizabelhtown  Point,  he  was  met  by  a  de|)Utation  from  Congress  and 
the  heads  of  departments,  and  his  journey  thence  to  New  York  was 
one  triumphal  procession.  At  the  latter  city,  he  was  escorted  by  an 
immense  concourse  of  people,  among  whom  were  the  governor,  and 
other  officers  of  state,  the  clergy,  foreign  ministers,  and  others.  In 
the  evening,  the  city  was  brilliantly  illuminated. 

On  the  30th  of  April,  Chancellor  Livingston  administered  to  him  the 
oath  of  office,  in  presence  of  both  houses  of  Congress  and  thousands 
of  citizens;  and  then  the  discharge  of  thirteen  guns  from  the  bat- 
tery, and  the  cheers  of  assembled  masses,  aimounced  that  the  new 
government  was  completely  organized.  The  President  then  re- 
tired to  the  Senate  chamber,  and  delivered  an  impressive  address 
to  each  branch  of  the  National  Legislature,  in  which,  after  expressing 
distrust  in  his  ability  to  execute  the  duties  just  conferred  upon  him. 
be  declared  bis  conviction  that  the  same  Great  Being  who  had  con 


444 


ADMINIPTRATION   OF  WASniNGTOlT. 


ALBX&NDBH     haUILlUS. 


ducted  ihem  through  the  long  •Iniggle  for  independence,  would  still 
continue  to  preside  over  their  deliberations,  and  establish  on  a  firm  basis 
a  form  of  government  which  other  nations  would  be  delighted  to 
copy,  Washington  then  retired  to  St.  PauTs  church,  where  the 
services  of  the  day  were  closed  by  appropriate  religious  ceremonies. 
At  night   the  city  was  again  illuminated,  and  fireworks  displayed. 

Among  the  first  acts  of  Congress, 
was  a  law  imposing  duties  on  im- 
ported merchandise,  and  taxes  on 
the  tonnage  of  vessels.  Its  next 
important  step  was  the  constitut* 
ing  of  an  executive  cabinet,  com 
posed  of  the  secretaries  of  war,  of 
state,  and  of  the  treasury.  Wash- 
ington appointed  Alexander  Ham- 
ilton Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
General  Knox,  Secretary  of  War 
and  Thomas  JeflTerson,  Secretary 
of  State.  John  Jay  became  chief 
justice,  assisted  by  five  associate  judges. 

On  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  Washington  made  a  tour  through 
the  New  England  states,  where  he  was  gratified  not  only  by  the 
riatiering  testimonies  of  esteem  and  affection  hfajied  upon  him  by  all 
classes  of  people,  but  also  by  the  signs  of  returning  prosperity  and 
affluence.  The  efltcts  of  war  were  disappearing,  agriculture  was 
actively  and  profitably  pursued,  manufactures  were  increasing,  towns 
springing  up  in  every  direction,  and  commerce  becoming  daily  more 
extended.  The  heart  of  the  great  man  was  cheered  by  these  tokens 
of  order,  peace,  and  contentment,  which  were  so  many  unmistakable 
types  of  the  country's  future  prosperity. 

T  the  re-opening  of  the  first  Congress 
[January,  1790,]  the  President  re- 
commended, among  other  important 
subjects,  a  provision  for  the  common 
defence,  and  for  the  regulation  of  the 
militia,  a  uniformity  in  weights,  mea- 
sures, and  the  currency ;  the  advance 
ment  of  agriculture,  manufactures, 
and  commerce  ;  the  establishment  of 
post-offices  and  post-roads,  and  the 


ORQANIZATION  OF  THE   GOVERNMENT. 


415 


eiicoiirngcmcnt  of  science  and  literature.  A  great  part  of  the  session 
>va8  occupied  by  a  consideration  of  a  plin  proposed  by  Serretary 
Hamilton,  for  discharging,  out  of  the  nati  naV  treasury,  the  debt  of 
twenty-five  million  dollars,  due  by  the  individual  states,  for  expenses 
incurred  during  the  war.  The  measure  nas  finally  adopted.  Con- 
gress also  decided  to  remove  the  seat  of  government,  for  ten  years, 
to  Philadelphia,  and  then  to  establish  it  permanently  at  some  place 
on  the  Potomac.  Next  year,  the  site  of  the  present  capital  was 
chosen  by  Washington,  after  whom  it  was  named.  The  territory  in 
which  it  stands  is  called  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Meanwhile,  the  relations  with  foreign  powers  were  in  a  rather  un- 
promising condition.  The  Algerines  not  only  seized  our  vessels,  but 
kept  the  ofTicers  and  crews  in  bondage  for  several  years.  England 
had  ns  yet  sent  no  minister,  and  even  neglected  to  evacuate  her 
military  posts  on  the  frontier.  Spain  refused  to  grant  the  navigation 
of  tile  Mississippi  to  the  western  states,  with  the  hope  probably  of 
detaching  them  from  the  confederacy  and  uniting  them  to  herself. 
Both  England  and  Spain  were  aiso  active  in  fomenting  disturbances 
between  the  Indians  nnd  the  settlers  of  Ohio  and  Georgia. 

N  Febiuary,  1792,  two  new  states,  Vermont  ani^ 
Kenlurky,  were  admitted  into  the  federal  com- 
pact. l>nrmg  the  same  session.  Congress  passed 
a  bill  for  the  incorporation  of  a  National  Bank 
which,  aiihdugh  strenuously  opposed  by  Jefferson 
and  his  democratic  adherents,  was,  after  mature 
deliberati(m,  signed  by  the  President,  and  beceme 
a  law.  The  bank  was  chartered  for  twenty  years, 
with  a  capital  ot  ten  niillions.  It  was  established  at  Philadelphia, 
with  branches  throughout  the  United  States.  To  pay  the  interest  on 
the  national  debt,  Iluinilton  proposed  duties  on  wine,  tea,  and  other 
luxuries,  with  an  excise  on  spirits  distilled  within  the  country. 
These  were  passed.  The  governnieiii  being  fully  organized,  public 
credit  and  commercial  prosperity  rapidly  revived.  Depreciated 
public  paper  soon  rose  to  par ;  and  the  value  of  property  was  greatly 
enhamed. 

In  the  autumn  of  1790,  General  Harmer  was  sent  with  fifteen 
hundred  men,  of  whom  three  hundred  were  regulars,  to  destroy 
the  Indian  settlements  on  the  Sciota  and  Wabash.  He  detached 
Colonel  Harden  with  six  hundred  men,  to  ascertain  their  position, 
hut  at  his  approach,  the  Indians  fired  their  principal  village  and 

at 


446 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  WASHINOTON. 


fled  to  the  woods.  Being  agnin  detached  with  one  hundred  and  ei^'nt) 
inihtia,  he  was  attacked  by  the  savages,  his  inihtia  dispersed,  ana 
nil  the  regulars,  except  seven,  killed.  Harmer  then  burticd  nil  iho 
Indian  towns  on  the  Sciota,  and  again  detached  Harden,  with  three 
hu.idred  militia  and  sixty  regulars,  to  retrieve  the  loss  of  reputation 
in  the  forinfr  expeditions.  Being  again  attacked  at  the  confluence 
of  the  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Joseph's  rivers,  the  militia  were  driven 
back  after  a  resolute  struggle,  and  fifty  of  the  regulars  killed.  The 
whiile  party  then  retreated  to  Fori  Washington. 

,N  1791,  Citneral  St.  Clair,  Governor 
of  the  North-west  Territory,  marched 
with  three  thousand  men  against  the 
Indian  villages  on  the  Miami.  Before 
sunrise,  on  the  morning  of  November 
4,  he  was  surprised  by  a  large  body 
of  Indians  at  his  camp,  about  fifteen 
miles  south  of  the  villages.  The 
militia,  being  in  advance,  were  first 
attacked,  and  rushing  in  the  usuiul 
disorder  among  the  regulars  under 
General  Butler,  composing  the  first 
line,  threw  them  also  mto  confusion.  The  officers  succeeded  m  re- 
storing partial  order  ;  but  so  furious  was  the  onset  of  the  Indians, 
that  most  of  the  artillerymen  were  down,  and  the  greater  number  of 
officers,  including  General  Butler,  either  killed  or  mortally  wounded. 
The  commanding  general  was  seriously  indisposed,  but  he  gave  his 
orders  with  perfect  coolness,  and  used  every  exertion  to  retrieve  the 
fortunes  of  the  day.  Lieutenant-colonel  Darke  was  ordered  to  charge 
with  the  bayonet,  which  he  did  in  gallant  style,  driving  the  enemy 
about  four  hundred  yards  ;  but  the  want  of  a  sufficient  number  of 
riflemen  to  press  this  advantage,  deprived  the  Americans  of  any 
advantage  from  it.  The  Indians  finally  broke  the  right  wing,  seized 
the  artillery,  and  penetrated  the  camp.  Darke  again  charged,  driving 
them  from  camp  and  recovering  the  artillery ;  but  this  success  was 
but  momentary,  and  the  Americans  soon  commem-i'd  a  disorderly  re- 
treat, in  which  they  were  pursued  four  miles.  '1  uey  halted  at  Fort 
Jefferson,  thirty  miles  from  the  scene  of  action. 

In  this  engagement  the  Americans  lost  thirty-eight  officers,  and 
Kve  hundred  and  ninety-three  men  killed  ;  twenty-one  officers,  and 
two  hundred  and  forty-two  men  wounded.     The  enemy's  loss  was 


WAYNE   DEFEATS  THE   INDIANS. 


447 


oUNKK&L     WAYNC     DKFBATIMU    TUI     INUIikNa     AT    THI     UIAUL 

probably  but  small.  On  hearing  of  this  disaster,  Congress,  at  the  re- 
conimendatioM  of  the  President,  increa  id  the  national  military  force 
to  five  thousand  men. 

General  St.  Cluir  resigned  the  governorship  of  thu  North-westorn 
Terrilcry,  and  was  succeeded  by  General  Wayne.  In  August,  1794, 
that  officer  marched  with  three  thousand  men  to  attack  the  Indians 
of  the  Miami.  Reaching  the  Rapids  on  the  18th,  he  made  to  them 
an  offer  of  peace ;  but  being  posted  in  large  numbers  behind  a  thick 
wood  near  a  British  fort,  they  treated  the  proposition  with  contempt. 
On  the  20th,  Wayne  advanced  upon  them  in  two  columns  ;  and 
perceiving  that  they  had  extended  their  line  over  a  distance  of  two 
miles  in  order  to  outflank  him,  he  ordered  his  first  column  not  to  fire 
until  they  had  advanced  into  the  woods  and  roused  the  foe,  and  then 
10  press  them  so  closely  with  the  bayonet  as  to  give  no  time  for 
re-loading.  The  second  line  was  to  support  the  first.  Colonel  Camp- 
bell's cavalry  to  charge  the  Indian  left  flank,  and  General  S»ott, 
with  his  mounted  volunteers,  their  right.  In  less  than  an  hour  after 
the  commencement  of  the  action,  the  savages  were  completely 
routed,  and  driven  a  distance  of  two  miles,  up  to  the  very  guns  of 
the  British  fort.  The  general  then  destroyed  the  settlements  .on  the 
Miami,  and  so  weakened  the  Indian  resources  that  they  were  glad 


448 


ADMINISTRATION   OP  WASHINGTON. 


to  listen  to  terms.     A  treaty  advantageous  to  both  parties  was  con- 
cluded in  the  following  year. 

In  the  year  1791,  the  first  census  of  the  United  States  was  taken, 
by  which  the  total  population,  exclusive  of  Indians,  was  found  to  be 
nearly  four  millions.  Of  these,  rather  more  than  six  hundred  and 
ninety-five  thousand  were  negro  slaves.  During  the  same  year, 
Washington  made  a  tour  through  the  southern  states,  and  was  every 
where  received  as  he  had  been  at  the  north. 

The  second  Congress  assembled  at  Philadelphia  in  October,  1791. 
The  principal  acts  of  their  first  session  was  the  establishment  of  a 
uniform  militia  system,  the  increase  of  the  army,  and  the  apportion- 
ment of  the  ratio  of  representation  at  one  delegate  for  every  thirty- 
three  thousand  inhabitants. 

T  the  expiration  of  his  first  Presidential  term  in 
1792,  Washington  expressed  his  ardent  desire 
to  retire  from  the  cares  of  public  life  ;  but  this 
his  friends  would  not  listen  to,  and  yielding  his 
wishes  to  the  good  of  the  country,  he  was 
again  unanimously  chosen  President,  with  John 
Adams  for  Vice-President. 

At  this  time  the  memorable  French  Revolu- 
tion had  attained  to  such  a  pitch  of  fanaticism  as  to  threaten  the 
peace  of  Europe,  and  render  a  neutral  policy  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States  extremely  difficult.  Washington's  cabinet  were  di- 
yided  between  the  o;jinions  of  Hamilton  and  Knox,  to  break  entirely 
with  the  French  Assembly,  and  that  of  Jeff-rson  and  Randolph,  to 
receive  their  envoy,  and  fully  acknowledge  the  obligations  of  the 
treaty  concluded  with  Louis  XVI.  Without  giving  a  full  sanction  to 
either  of  these  views,  Washington  assented  to  receiving  the  minister, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  all  mention  of  the  treaty  should  be  suppressed. 
The  great  bulk  of  the  American  people  were  in  favour  of  lending 
assistance  to  France  against  foreign  powers,  especially  England  ;  and 
a  participation  in  the  European  struggle  was  prevented  only  by  the 
firm  neutral  policy  of  Washington,  and  the  rash  conduct  of  the  French 
envoy.  This  individual  was  M.  Genet ;  and,  instead  of  proceeding 
directly  to  the  seat  of  government,  he  landed  at  Charleston,  and  began 
to  fit  out  privateers  to  cruise  against  British  merchantmen.  In  his 
journey  to  Philadelphia  he  was  everywhere  welcomed  with  enthj- 
siasm,  a  circumstance  that  inspired  him  with  most  culpable  vanity 
and  assurance.     When  remonstrated  with  concerning  the  fitting  out 


Ing 


CITIZEN   GENET. 


419 


OXNBRAL    KNOX 


of  privateers,  he  haughtily  answered  that  his  authority  was  in  the 
late  treaty,  any  infraction  of  which  would  be  a  violation  of  the  "  rigliis 
of  man."  Not  satisfied  with  this,  he  fitted  out  another  privateer 
from  the  port  of  Philadelphia,  and  even  undertook  to  direct  the  civil 
government,  by  pronouncing,  in  opposition  to  the  decisions  of  the 
President,  the  branches  of  government  in  which  the  constitution 
vested  certain  powers.  To  cap  this  climax  of  folly  and  insolence,  he 
declared  to  Secretaries  Knox  and  Hamilton  his  determination  to  appeal, 
in  ihe  case  of  the  privateer  at  Philadelphia,  from  the  decision  of  the 
President  to  that  of  the  people. 

Hitherto  Citizen  Genet  had  been  sustained  by  popular  esteem, 
principally  on  account  of  tho  former  friendship  between  the  two 
countries ;  but  this  threat  opened  the  eyes  of  the  people  to  his  vil- 
lany,  and  they  warmly  and  unanimously  declared  against  him.  In 
1794,  he  was  recalled  at  the  request  of  the  President. 

^HE  excise  law,  imposing  a  tax  on  domestic  distilled 
liquors,  met  with  great  opposition  in  several  parts  of 
the  country,  especially  in  Pennsylvania,  where  whis- 
key was  the  most  important  item  of  trade.  Public 
meetings  in  different  counties  west  of  the  Alleghanies 
ienounced  the   act  as  unconstitutional,  and  declared   any  person 

67  2p2 


460  ADMINISTRATION   OF   WASHINQTON. 

who  should  undertake  to  enforce  it  inimical  to  the  interests  of  the 
country. 

This  appeal  was  but  too  readily  answered.  General  Neville  had 
been  made  inspector  oi  the  western  country,  but  his  efforts  to  enforce 
the  law  were  ineffectual.  In  the  summer  of  1792  the  insurgents 
organized,  and  commenced  so  systematic  an  opposition  lO  the  mea- 
sure, that  Washington  was  obliged  to  issue  a  pioclamation  calling  on 
the  disaffected  to  stop  their  proceedings.  Even  this  did  not  produce 
the  desired  effect.  General  Neville  was  fired  upon  while  walking 
from  his  residence,  his  house  attacked  and  partly  destroyed,  and 
himself  driven  beyond  the  mountains. 

The  exercise  of  armed  force  having  now  become  absolutely  nece<!- 
sary,  Washington  made  a  requisition  upon  the  governors  of  New 
Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia,  for  fifteen  thousand 
militia.  The  call  was  immediately  responded  to;  and  Governor  Lee, 
of  Virginia,  being  appointed  to  the  command,  marched  into  the  dis- 
affected territory.  Yet,  still  anxious  to  quell  the  rebellion  without 
bloodshed,  the  President,  on  the  25th  of  September,  issued  a  second 
proclamation,  stating  the  impossibility  of  success  on  the  part  of  the 
insurgents,  offering  protection  to  all  who  would  confide  in  the  govern- 
nnent,  exhorting  the  riotous  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  warning  all 
persons  of  the  consequences  of  any  attempt  to  aid  them.  This  pro- 
clamation, with  the  knowledge  of  Lee's  approach,  had  such  an  effect, 
that  on  the  arrival  of  the  army  in  the  infected  neighbourhood,  no 
insurgents  were  to  be  found.  A  detachment  under  Major-General 
Morgan  was  stationed  there  diring  the  winter. 

,T  the  opening  of  the  Third  Congress  in  Decem- 
ber, 1793,  the  President  called  the  serious  atten- 
tion of  Congress  to  measures  of  national  defence, 
and  the  necessity  of  preparing  for  war,  even 
while  using  every  effort  to  prevent  it.  In  a 
special  message  he  directed  the  attention  of 
members  to  the  spoliations  committed  on  our 
Commerce  by  France  and  England,  as  well  as  the  restrainf^  of  the 
latter  power  on  the  commerce  in  corn  and  other  provisions.  Con- 
gress warmly  responded  to  his  wishes  in  these  respects,  taking  care, 
at  the  same  time,  to  give  as  little  offence  as  possible  to  either  of  the 
beihgercnt  powers. 

About  this  time  Mr.  Jefferson  resigned  his  office  of  Secretary  of 
State,  and  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Randolph.    Already  Great  Bn* 


JAY  S  TREATY  WITH  ENGLAND. 


451 


JOHN     .1  A  T. 


kem- 
Iten- 
|nce, 
pven 
[n  a 
of 
our 
the 
Jon- 
tare, 
the 


tain  and  the  United  Slates  were  on  the  eve  of  another  war.  Eng- 
land still  refused  to  surrender  some  of  the  forts  in  the  western  coun- 
try ;  her  cruisers  stopped  and  searched  American  vessels;  her 
idniiralty  issued  an  order  that  vessels  carrying  flour,  corn,  or  meal, 
ind  bound  to  any  port  in  France,  or  occupied  by  French  armies, 
should  be  stopped  and  taken  to  England  ;  and  her  officers  con- 
dnued  to  exercise  upon  American  crews  the  odious  act  of  impress-, 
'nent. 

Washington  clearly  foresaw  the  bad  consequences  of  a  second 
struggle  witti  the  old  enemy  ;  and,  anxious  to  prevent  it,  he  de 
spatched  Mr.  Jay  as  envoy  extraordinary  to  the  British  court.  That 
gentleman  succeeded  in  effecting  a  treaty,  by  which  England  agreed 
to  surrender  the  western  forts,  and  to  allow  American  trade  to  the 
West  Indies ;  but  as  the  other  provisions  were  not  entirely  satisfac- 
tory, Washington  for  some  time  refused  to  sign  it.  He  finally,  how- 
ever, ratified  the  treaty,  with  consent  of  two-thirds  of  the  Senate.  It 
met  with  great  opposition  throughout  the  country,  and  was  stigma- 
tized by  the  opposition  party  as  an  act  of  ingratitude  against  France. 
Meanwhile  Hamilton  and  Knox  had  resigned  their  seats  in  the  cabi- 
net ;  and  thus  the  President  was  left  almost  alone  to  combat  the  tor 
rent  of  opposition  to  the  treaty.     He  remained,  however,  firm  ;  und 


152 


ADMINISTRATION  OF    fl^ASHINQTON. 


in  a  little  time,  the  beneficial  effects  of  the  measure  became  fully 
apparent. 

Before  the  next  session  of  Congress,  treaties  had  been  concluded 
with  Algiers,  with  the  Indians  beyond  the  Ohio,  and  with  Spain,— 
the  latter  power  "yielding  the  important  points  of  boundary  claimed 
by  the  United  States,  the  right  of  navigating  the  Mississippi,  and  a 
depot  at  New  Orleans.  The  only  p.iwer  still  retaining  a  hostile  atti 
tude  was  France.  A  new  envoy  had  been  sent  from  that  country 
who,  by  inflammatory  addresses,  contrived  to  inspire  the  people  with 
enthusiasm  in  his  favour.  He  had  even  received  instructions  from 
the  French  Directory,  that  in  case  President  Washingtnn  could  not 
be  drawn  into  a  rupture  with  England,  he  was  then  to  address  Con- 
gress, and  appeal,  as  Genet  had  done,  to  the  people.  At  the  same 
time  the  Directory  passed  regulations  by  which  Americnn  vessels 
were  seized,  and  their  cargoes  confiscated.  In  1796,  Mr.  Monroe, 
American  minister  at  Paris,  was  recalled,  and  Chailes  C.  Pinckney 
appointed  in  his  place. 

jEFORE  any  adjustment  of  this  difficulty 
could  be  efltcted,  Washington's  seconi 
term  of  office  expired,  and  no  consideration 
could  induce  him  to  permit  another  re-elec- 
tion. One  of  his  principal  reasons  was, 
that  eight  years  was  a  sufficient  length  of 
time  for  one  individual  to  fill  the  highest 
office  of  a  free  elective  government.  In 
September,  1796,  he  announced  to  his 
countrymen  in  a  valedictory  address  his  intention  of  retiring  from 
public  life.  In  this  celebrated  paper  he  dwells  chiefly  on  the  im- 
portance of  preserving  the  unity  of  the  republic,  on  the  baneful  efltcts 
of  party  spirit,  the  necessity  of  peace  with  foreign  powers,  the  happy 
workings  of  the  new  government,  and  especially  on  the  inseparable 
connection  between  national  prosperity  and  moral  rectitude.  For 
soundness  of  political  views,  fervent  patriotism,  paternal  afl^ection  for 
the  people,  and  humble  dependence  on  that  Supreme  Governor  who 
controls  all  nations,  this  valedictory  of  Washington  is  perhaps  with- 
out a  rival  in  history.  It  excited  throughout  the  country  the  deepest 
feelings  of  veneration  for  its  author.  Several  of  the  state  legislatures 
inserted  it  in  their  journals,  and  passed  resolutions  expressive  of  their 
exalted  sense  of  the  services  and  character  of  Washington,  and  theii 
emotions  at  his  retiring  from  office. 


RETIREMENT   OF   WASHINGTON. 


453 


Washington  mot  Congress  for  the  last  time  on  the  7th  of  Decem- 
btr,  1796.  In  his  speech  on  that  occasion  he  adverted  to  the  late 
treaties,  the  necessity  of  strengthening  the  naval  force,  of  encouraging 
agriculture  and  manufactures,  and  of  establishing  a  national  univer- 
sity and  a  military  academy.  Tlie  relations  with  the  French  repub- 
lic were  made  the  subject  of  a  special  message.  In  the  following 
October  took  place  the  election  for  his  successor,  which,  after  a  close 
and  spirited  canvass,  gave  the  first  office  in  the  republic  to  Mr.  John 
Adams,  and  the  second  to  Mr.  Thomas  Jefferson.  The  former  was  the 
candidate  of  the  Federal  party,  the  latter  of  the  Republican.  They 
were  inaugurated  in  the  presence  of  Washington,  on  the  4th  of 
Marcn,  1797,  and  immediately  entered  upon  their  respective  duties 
The  venerable  ex-President  then  'etired  to  his  seat  at  Mount  Vernon 


29 


uousr  vaKNON 


/ 


/ 


JOHN      ADAUa 


CHAPTER  XXXVIl. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JOHN  ADAMB. 


HE  services  of  Mr.  Adams,  as  an  earnest  advocate  in 
the  Continental  Congress  for  ttie  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence, his  defence  of  the  Constitution,  and  his 
acknowledged  ability  and  patriotism,  fully  entitled 
him  to  the  confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  im- 
portant office  to  which  he  was  now  elevated. 

In  the  preceding  year  General  Pinckney  had  been  appuinled 
Minister  plenipotentiary  to  the  French  republic.  The  Directory  re- 
fused to  receive  him  until  after  the  redress  of  their  alleged  grievances 
by  the  American  government ;  and  this  high-handed  measure  was 
speedily  followed  by  a  notice  to  General  Pinckney  to  quit  the  terri- 
tories of  the  repubUc,  and  orders  to  the  French  cruisers  to  capture 
American  vessels  wherever  found. 

On  receiving  intelligence  of  these  hostile  proceedings.  President 
Adams  called  a  meeting  of  Congress  [June  15,  1797].  On  meeting 
them,  the  President,  in  his  opening  speech,  stated  the  unprovoked 
aggressions  of  the  French  government,  and  their  insidious  attempts 
to  disunite  the  American  people  ;  and  urged  upon  Congress  the  ne- 
cessity of  providing  for  the  national  defence,  declaring  at  the  same 
lime  his  intention  to  attempt  an  accommodation  of  i^<^  dispute  bv 
negotiation. 


AGOllESSIONS    OF   THE    IRENCH. 


4.16 


OOUUODORB     MUBRAT. 


Mr.  Adams  now  appointed  Messrs.  Pinckney,  Gerry,  and  M;ir- 
jhall,  envoys  to  the  French  republic,  with  instructions  to  pursue 
peace  and  reconciliation  by  all  means  compatible  with  national  ho- 
nour. While  the  result  of  this  mission  was  anxiously  awaited  by  the 
American  people,  the  French  aggressions  on  our  commerce  being 
still  continued,  an  act  of  Congress  was  passed,  [July  7,  1797,]  ue 
daring  the  existing  treaties  with  France  no  longer  obligatory  on  the 
United  States,  because  openly  and  repeatedly  violated  by  the  acts  of 
the  French  government. 

ESPATCHES  received  from  the  Ameri- 
can envoys  in  France,  in  the  spring  of 
1798,  announced  that  while  the  Directory 
had  delayed  to  accredit  the  commission- 
ers, they  had  approached  them  informally  with  pro 
positions  demanding  nioney  as  a  condition  of  their 
recognition.     The  Diiectory  and    the  ministers 
were  willing,  besides,  to  receive  a  private  bribe 
'nrough  M.  Talleyrand      These  attempts  to  tamper  with  the  envoys 


456 


ADMINISTRATION  OF   JOHN   ADAMS. 


OAPTUBB      or     L    INaUKJBNTB 


being  treated  with  merited  contempt,  they  had  been  ordered  to  quit 
the  territories  of  the  republic.  Intelligence  of  those  proceedings, 
characterized  as  they  were  by  a  mixture  of  meanness  and  insolence, 
excited  indignation  throughout  the  country,  and  the  rallying  cry  of 
ihe  nation  was,  Ulillionsfor  defence,  not  one  cent  for  tribute. 

Congress  immediately  proceeded  to  raise  an  army,  with  Washing- 
ton for  lieutenant-general  and  commander-in-chief;  to  pass  alien  and 
seditirn  laws  as  a  defence  against  French  influence  at  home  ;  and  to 
issue  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal  for  the  defence  of  American  com- 
merce. The  alien  and  sedition  law  was  powerfully  opposed  ;  but 
ihe  war,  like  most  wars,  was  popular.  Its  feats,  however  were 
destined  to  be  confined  to  the  ocean. 

in  September,  1798,  Commodore  Murray  sailed  for  the  West  In- 
dies, the  principal  theatre  of  the  French  depredations,  with  a 
squadron  composed  of  the  Norfolk,  Montezuma,  and  Retaliation.  In 
November  this  squadron  encountered  the  French  '"'•Jgates  Volontaire 
and  L'Insurgente  ;  and  three  other  ships  appearing  in  an  opposite 
direction  at  the  same  time.  Captain  Bainbridge,  in  the  Retaliation, 
was  detached  to  examine  the  French  frigates,  who  were  supposed  to 
be  British.  He  was  captured  ;  but,  by  misrepresenting  the  fores  of 
the  other  two  small  vessels  of  the  squadron,  he  prevented  the  Frencli 
from  pursuing  them,  and  thus  enabled  Murray  to  escape. 


COMMODORE   TRUXTLTI. 


iiyt 


Commodore  Triixtun  wns  more  fortunate  than  Commodore  Muirny. 
In  the  frigate  Constellation  [February  9,  1799]  he  encountered  the 
F'rench  frigate  L'lnsurgente ;  and,  after  a  spirited  action,  captured 
her.  Her  force  was  forty  guns,  and  four  hundred  and  nine  men,  of 
whom  seventy  were  killed.  The  Constellation  carried  thirty-eight 
guns,  and  three  hundred  •'nd  nine  men,  of  whom  three  were  wounded, 
and  none  killed. 

Several  other  captures  of  French  cruisers  were  made  by  Truxtun, 
Biirry,  Tingey,  and   Decatur  ;   but  the  most  remarkable  action  of 

the  war  was  that  between  the 
Constellation,  still  under  Trux- 
tun's  command,  and  the  French 
ship  Vengeance,  carrying  nu  less 
than  fifty-two  guns.  This  cele- 
brated engagement  took  place  on 
the  2d  of  February,  1800,  and 
lasted  from  eight  o'clock,  P.  M., 
till  half-past  one.  The  French 
ship  was  reduced  to  a  sinking 
condition, and  struck  her  colours; 
but  the  mainmast  of  the  Constel- 
lation being  nearly  cut  off,  Trux- 
tun was  unable  to  secure  his  prize.  He  lost  fourteen  killed,  and 
twenty-five  wounded.  The  Vengeance  had  fifty  killed,  and  one 
hundred  and  ten  wounded.  This  is  the  victory  for  which  Commo- 
dore Truxtun  received  the  gold  medal  from  Congress. 

The  other  naval  actions  of  this  war  were  quite  numerous,  but 
comparatively  unimportant,  although  they  afforded  Hull,  Porter, and 
others,  opportunities  for  giving  promise  of  their  future  distinction  in 
the  annals  of  the  navy. 

These  active  measures  soon  brought  the  insolent  French  Directory 
to  their  senses.     They  made  overtures  for  negotiating  a  peace,  anc 
Messrs.  Ellsworth,  Henry,  and  Van  iMurray,  were  sent  to  France  a 
envoys.     When  they  arrived  at  Paris,  the  Directory  had  been  de- 
posed, and  Napoleon  soon  concluded  an  adjustment  of  all  disputes. 

Ere  the  war  terminated,  Washington  was  removed  from  the  scene 
of  his  earthly  glories.  He  died,  after  a  very  short  illness,  occasioned 
by  cold,  and  a  consequent  inflammation  of  the  throat,  at  Mount 
V^ernon,  on  the  14th  of  December,  1799.  Neither  Congress  nor  the 
nation  were  wanting  in  that  universal  tribute  of  mourning  and  \ene- 

68  2Q 


OOULIODOBB     T'iUXTDN. 


(58 


ADMIXISTUATION   OF  JOUN  ADAMS. 


TOMB    or    WASBINOTOV. 


ration  due  to  the  illustrious  founder  of  their  common  freedom.  Per- 
haps the  most  sensible  mark  of  this  veneration  was  their  giving  his 
name  to  the  federal  city,  the  site  of  which  he  had  himself  selected. 
In  November,  1800,  Congress  opened  its  sittings  at  Washington  for 
the  first  time.  Their  sessions  had  been  held  first  at  New  York,  and 
afterwards  at  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  Adams  was  nut  elected  to  office  a  second  time.  When  the 
electoral  votes  were  counted,  he  was  in  the  minority,  and  Thoi  las 
Jefltrson  and  Aaron  Burr,  who  had  been  proposed  by  the  opposition 
as  candidates  for  President  and  Vice-president,  were  found  to  have 
an  equal  number  of  votes.  As  the  Constitution  then  stood,  this  stale 
of  tilings  referred  the  election  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  and 
Buir  was  enabled,  with  some  prospect  of  success,  to  intrigue  for  de- 
feating the  popular  will.  But  the  election  was  finally  decided  iu 
favour  of  Jefferson,  and  en  the  4th  of  March,  1801,  he  was  iiiaJgu- 
rated 


tjn 


^^^pp«^^ 


T 


ganiz 

In 

tion  c 

augm 

dollar 

millioi 

factorj 

new  C( 

In  t 

which 

^lene. 


THOMAS     JKFrSRSON. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 


ADMINISTRATION   OP  THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


S  the  political  tenets  of  Mr.  Jefferson  were  directly 
opposite  to  those  of  his  predecessor,  a  change  was 
made  among  the  cabinet  officers.     Mr.   Madison 
was  appointed  Secretary  of  State  ;  immediately  be- 
fore his  retirement,  Adams  had  appointed  twelve 
new  judges,  in  pursuance  of  a  recent  act  of  Congress.     By 
tne  recommendation  of  Mr.  Jefl^erson,  that  body  now  passed 
an  act  abolishing  this  judiciary,  and  re-organizing  the  whole 
judiciary  department.     Another  act  placed  the  laws  of  its  or- 
ganization on  an  enlarged  basis. 

In  1801,  the  second  census  of  the  United  States  showed  a  popula- 
tion of  more  than  five  million  three  hundred  thousand  souls,  an 
augmentation  of  exports  from  nineteen  to  ninety-four  millions  of 
dollars,  and  an  increase  of  the  revenue  from  five  to  thirteen 
millions,  in  ten  years.  These  gave  to  the  people  the  most  satis- 
factory proof  of  the  resources  of  the  country  as  developed  under  the 
new  constituM'on. 

In  the  same  year,  Spain  ceded  Louisiana  to  France,  a  measuru 
which  soon  began  to  produce  uneasiness  to  the  American  govern' 
"mit.     Owing  to  the  hostile  disposition  of  the  Directory,  it  nraa 


460 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


0APT41N     UCHBIWSTHXR     L  X  W  I  S. 


beared  that  the  western  people  would  either  be  engaged  ""  constant 
outbreaks  with  the  French  settlers,  concerning  the  all-important 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  or  be  induced  to  secede  from  the 
Union  and  join  with  Louisiana.  The  irritation  of  the  western  people 
was  further  increased  by  an  act  of  the  Spanish  authorities  in  New 
Orleans,  interdicting  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  from  the  us« 
of  the  port  of  that  city  as  a  place  of  deposit  for  their  merchandise. 
In  order  to  obviate,  if  possible,  the  evil  consequences  of  these  ag- 
gressions, the  President  despatched  Mr.  Monroe  to  Paris,  to  make, 
in  conjunction  with  Mr.  Livingston,  a  treaty  for  the  purchase  of 
New  Orleans  or  Louisiana. 

Meanwhile,  Ohio  had  been  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  separate 
state,  and  began  its  astonishing  career  of  prosperity  and  population. 
In  January,  1803,  Congress,  at  the  recomn.endation  of  the  Presi- 
dent, authorized  the  fitting  out  of  an  expedition  for  exploring  the 
country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.    Captain  Merriwether  lewis 


"T!»5i=-AJ 


LOUISIANA   PURCHASED. 


461 


was  selected  to  command  the  party,  who  chose  as  associate  in  com* 
tnand,  Captain  Clarke.  After  much  delay,  the  expedition  left  thft 
banks  of  the  iMississippi,  May  14,  1804.  A  measure  of  ihe  Presi- 
dent, selling  a  part  of  the  bank  stock  owned  by  government,  met 
with  deterniined  opposition  from  the  federal  party,  as  it  was  sup- 
posed tu  be  a  preliminary  to  the  vetoing  of  the  bank  charter  in  1809. 
An  atiem|)t  to  restore  the  District  of  Columbia  to  tl.>3  states  of  Vir- 
ginia and  Maryland  was  defeated  by  the  opposition  of  the  inhabitants. 
An  attempt  was  soon  afterwards  made  to  induce  the  President  to 
take  forcible  possession  of  New  Orleans,  and  place  there  a  sufficient 
militia  force  to  defend  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  ;  but  this 
was  scHiU  iifterwards  abandoned. 

HIS  state  of  dissension  and  anxiety  was  ended 
I  v^  by  the  reception  of  most  unexpected  news  from 
France.  War  had  suddenly  occurred  between 
that  power  and  England,  and  so  empty  was 
the  French  treasury,  that  Napoleon  gladly 
caught  at  the  overtures  of  the  American  govern- 
ment, and,  instead  of  selling  merely  New  Or- 
leans, agreed  to  yield  the  whole  of  Louisiana  for  the  sum  of  eleven 
and  a  quarter  millions  of  dollars,  in  six  per  cent,  stock.  A  treaty  to 
this  effect  had  been  executed  by  the  American  envoys,  and  thus 
a  territory  computed  at  one  million  square  miles,  was  obtained  by  the 
new  republic.  In  the  same  year,  the  Kaskaskia  Indians  surrendered 
to  government  their  valuable  territory,  lying  along  the  Mississippi. 
Ohio,  and  Illinois  rivers. 

These  events  had  scarcely  transpired,  when  a  difficulty  nrose  from 
another  quarter.  In  the  year  1800,  the  Bashaw  of  Tripoli  showed 
a  disposition  to  seize  our  richly  laden  vessels  in  the  Mediterranean, 
and  he  now  complained  of  having  been  treated  with  less  regard  than 
the  other  Barbary  states.  On  the  5*h  of  May,  he  addressed  a  letter 
to  the  President,  demanding  large  subsidies  from  the  American 
government,  and  at  the  same  time  threatened  Mr.  Cathcart,  our 
minister  at  Tripoli,  that  if  a  satisfactory  answer  did  not  arrive  in  six 
months,  he  would  declare  war.  Twelve  months  qfter,  [May  12, 
1801,3  ^^  announced  that  he  had  declared  war,  and  would  take 
down  the  American  flag-staff"  in  two  days.  This  was  done,  and  Mr. 
Cathcart  sailed  for  the  United  States.  Tunis  and  Algiers  deter- 
mined to  assist  the  bashaw,  hoping  thereby  to  obtain  some  of  th? 
rich  prizes  which  they  most  sanguinely  dreamed  of  capturing. 

iiQS 


4U2 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


COMUODO  BB    DAL] 


Before  news  of  the  declaration 
of  war  was  received  in  America, 
government  had  fitted  out  a  fleet 
in  anticipation  of  such  an  event, 
and  to  protect  our  commerce.  It 
was  composed  of  the  frigates 
President,  Philadelphia,  Essex, 
ind  the  schooner  Enterprise,  the 
whole  under  Commodore  Dale. 
On  the  1st  of  July,  the  commo 
dore  arrived  off'  the  coast  of  Gib- 
raltar, where  he  met  the  high 
admiral  of  Tripoli,  with  two  ves 
Eels.  This  functionary  denied  that  his  government  was  at  war  with 
the  United  States  ;  and  unable  to  receive  more  authentic  information, 
Dale  sailed  to  Tripoli.  Ascertaining  the  situation  of  affairs,  he  imme- 
diately commenced  a  blockade  of  the  port. 

On  the  1st  of  August,  Lieutenant  Sterret,  on  his  way  to  Malta  in 
the  Enterprise,  encountered  the  Tripolitan  ship-of-war  Tripoli,  of 
twelve  guns,  under  Rais  Mahomet  Sous.  After  an  incessant  cannon- 
ading of  three  hours'  length,  within  pistol-shot  range,  the  enemy 
struck.  His  loss  was  twenty  killed  and  thirty  wounded  ;  Sterret  did 
not  lose  a  man.  On  the  21st  of  August,  Pale  captured  a  Greek 
ship  bound  for  Tripoli,  laden  with  merchandise,  and  having  on 
board  one  Tripolitan  oflicer,  twenty-four  soldiers,  fourteen  merchants, 
and  five  women.  An  exchange  of  pr'soners  was  effected  with  the 
bashaw,  after  which  the  commodore  abandoned  the  blockade  and 
sailed  for  Tripoli. 

N  February,  1802,  Congress  authorized  the 
President  to  take  immediate  measures  for  the 
protection  of  commerce  in  the  Mediterranean, 
and  for  the  fitting  out  of  ships  to  subdue, 
seize,  and  make  prize  of  all  vessels,  goods, 
and  eflfects  belonging  to  the  Bashaw  of  Tri- 
poli or  his  subjects,  and  to  send  the  same 
into  port.  He  accordingly  ordered  to  the 
relief  of  Commodore  Dale,  the  Enterprise,  of  twelve  guns.  Captain 
Sterret ;  the  Constellation,  thirty-six.  Captain  Murray ;  the  Chesa 
peaks,  forty-four.  Captain  Morris  ;  the  Adams,  thirty-two,  Captair 
Campbell ;   the  New  York,  thirty-two.  Captain  Barron  ;    and  the 


WAR  WITH   TRIPOIJ. 


4<>8 


alNXBAXi    SATOI 


John  Adams,  thirty-two,  Captain  Rodgers.  These  vessels  were 
to  sail  as  soon  as  they  could  be  equipped,  the  whole  under  the 
command  of  Captain  Morris.  That  officer  reached  Gibraltar  in 
May,  and  during  the  two  following  months  was  engaged  in  block- 
ading the  enemy  at  that  port,  and  watching  the  Emperor  of  Morocco, 
who  had  also  declared  war.  But  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  him 
in  August,  and  Morris  sailed  for  Tripoli.  Beiiig  prevented  from 
approaching  the  coast  by  a  violent  storm  of  wind,  he  bore  away  to 
Tunis,  the  bey  of  which  country  had  lately  assumed  a  hostile 
attitude.  Several  audiences  with  this  personage  had  resulted  in 
nothing  but  mutual  ill-feeling ;  and  General  Eaton,  the  Americaa 
minister,  was  even  preparing  to  leave  the  country. 

A  project  of  rather  a  romantic  character  had  for  some  tune  been 
carried  on  by  Eaton,  in  order  to  facilitate  operations  against  the 
Rashaw  of  Tripoli.  This  ruler  was  the  younger  of  two  Drothers, 
5)ut  had  unlawfully  seized  the  throne  and  driven  his  relative  into 


4G4 


ADMINISTRATION   OP  THOMAS   JEFFERSON. 


exile.  Ilumet,  the  defrauded  prince,  seems  to  have  been  popular 
among  the  Tripolitans  ;  and  Eaton  conceived  the  project  of  espousiiit; 
his  cause,  and  thus  avenge  the  reigning  bashaw's  insults  to  the 
United  States  by  driving  him  from  the  throne.  Hainet  eagerly 
closed  with  this  scheme  ;  and  the  bashaw  becoming  alarmed,  made 
overtures  of  reconciliation  with  his  brother,  offering  him  the  govern* 
merit  of  Derne.  He  would  have  consented  to  this,  but  for  the  repre- 
sentations of  Mr.  Eaton,  who  induced  him  soon  afterwards  to  sail  for 
Malta.  Here  he  remained  for  a  time,  while  Eaton  returned  to  the 
United  States,  in  order  to  induce  his  government  to  lend  tho  neces- 
sary aid  for  placing  the  rightful  sovereign  on  the  throne  of  Tripoli. 
Shortly  after,  his  place  as  consul  was  supplied  by  Mr.  Cathcart 
while  Eaton  received  the  appointment  of  naval  agent  fur  tho  Barbaiy 
States,  with  the  view  of  aiding  the  operations  of  the  Mediierninean 
squadron  against  Tripoli,  by  forwarding  the  rights  of  the  exiled 
Hamet  bashaw.  In  June,  he  again  embarked  for  Africa,  in  the 
frigate  John  Adams,  which,  with  the  President,  Ci  ngress,  Essex, 
and  Constellation,  constituted  a  reinforcement  to  the  fui-n.er  squadron. 

AKLY  in  June,  1803,  CoimiiDdore  Morris 
made  proposals  of  peace  to  the  ruler  of 
Tripoli.  He  modestly  asked  two  hundred 
thousand  Spanish  milled  dollars,  and  the 
expenses  of  the  war,  before  he  would  em- 
brace the  commodore's  overtures.  Morris 
then  offered  him  a  present  of  five  thousand 
dollars,  but  the  verbal  answer  of  the  haughty 
prince  was,  "that  the  business  was  at  an 
end,  and  that  he  must  depart  imniediately."  Soon  after,  Morris  was 
recalled  by  government,  and  his  conduct  during  the  expedition  bub- 
mitted  to  the  examination  of  a  court-martial,  by  which  he  was  cen- 
sured for  inactive  and  dilatory  conduct. 

During  the  blockade  of  Tripoli  by  the  John  Adams,  under  Captain 
Rodgers,  she 'captured  the  Meshonda,  of  twenty  guns,  belonging  to 
the  Emperor  of  Morocco,  who  had  purchased  her  of  the  bashaw. 
Being  sent  to  Tunis  with  a  cargo,  she  violated  the  blockade,  and  was 
taken. 

On  the  27th  of  June,  Captain  Rodgers  observed  a  large  vessel 
anchored  within  the  Bay  of  Tripoli,  while  a  number  of  gun-boats 
filled  with  armed  men,  approached  to  her  relief.  About  nine  o'clock 
A  M.,  of  the  28th,  a  fire  was  opened  upon  her  from  the  Joha  Adams, 


Ij 

td 

PI 

g| 

hf 

71 


CAPTURE   OF   COMMODORE   BAINBRIDOB. 


465 


Ahich  being  returned,  the  action  continued  on  both  sides  for  about 
{orty-five  minutes.  The  firing  then  ceased  until  a  quarter  before 
ten,  when  it  was  renewed  with  such  fury  that  the  enemy's  ship 
blew  up,  bearing  with  her  many  of  the  crew.  This  vessel  mounted 
twenty-two  guns,  and  was  the  finest  one  in  the  TripoHtan  service. 

Meanwhile,  a  reinforcement  to  the  Mediterranean  service  had 
been  despatched  from  the  United  Slates,  under  Commodore  Preble, 
who  was  to  command  the  whole  force  in  that  quarter. 

On  the  night  of  August  20,  Captain  Bainbridge,  ii:  the  Philadel- 
phia, fell  in  with  a  ship  and  a  brig,  both  Moorish  vessels.  The 
former  proved  to  be  the  Meshboha,  of  twenty-two  guns  and  one 
hundred  men.  On  intimating  that  the  brig  was  an  American,  Cap- 
tain Rodgers  gave  orders  to  search  the  main  vessel,  when  the  captain 
and  part  of  the  crew  of  the  American  brig  Celia  were  found  to  be 
confined  below  deck.  Upon  this  discovery,  the  officers  of  the  Mesh- 
boha were  ordered  on  board  the  Philaddphia,  and  their  cruiser  taken 
into  custody.  Next  day  the  Celia,  which  hud  escaped,  was  recap- 
tured. The  John  Adams  then  sailed  for  Morocco,  where,  about  the 
middle  of  October,  Bainbridge  concluded  a  treaty  with  the  emperor, 
restoring  to  him  the  Meshonda  and  Meshboha. 

Soon  after  this  event.  Captain 
Bainbridge,  while  pursuing  a  Tri- 
piilitun  vessel,  ran  aground  on  the 
rocks  near  the  city,  and  was  un- 
able to  get  his  vessel  off.  lie 
was  almost  immediately  attacked 
by  the  enemy's  gun-boats,  anu 
after  a  contest  of  five  hours, 
obliged  to  strike  his  colours.  The 
captain  and  crew  were  taken  on 
shore,  but  all  efforts  to  remove 
the  Philadelphia  were  unavail- 
ing. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  1804,  Stephen  Decatur,  in  the  Siren  anu 
Intrepid,  was  sent  by  Commodore  Preble,  commandant  of  the  Medi- 
terranean squadron,  to  burn  the  grounded  vessel.  This  he  accom- 
plished in  the  Intrepid,  on  the  night  of  the  16th,  although  all  the 
guns  of  the  frigate  were  mounted  and  charged,  and  she  lay  within 
half  gunshot  of  the  bashaw's  castle  and  principal  battery.  Two 
Tripnliiiin  cruisers  were  lying  within  two  cables'  length,  on  the  star 


nnilMODORR     BAINBRindB. 


46f  ADMINISTRATION   OF   THOVAS    TEFPERSON. 

board  quarter,  while  all  the  batteries 
r~^;r;,  ^^  on  shore  were  opened  on  the  assau- 
^  ^—  ants.  But  one  American  was  wound- 
ed. It  was  one  of  the  most  daring  and 
gallant  achievements  of  the  war,  and 
Decatur  received  from  Congress  a 
sword  and  captain's  commission,  and 
each  of  his  officers  and  crew  two 
months'  pay. 

On  the  21st  of  July,  Commodore 
Preble,  with  six  vessels  and  eight 
gun-boats,  carrying  one  thousand  and 
sixty  men,  appeared  before  the  harbour  of  Tripoli,  which  was  de- 
fended by  nineteen  gun-boats,  two  galleys,  two  schooners  of  eight 
guns  each,  a  brig  of  ten  guns,  land  batteries  mounting  one  hundred 
and  fifteen  heavy  cannon,  and  by  twenty-five  thousand  Arabs  and 
Turks.  On  the  3d  of  August,  the  first  bombardment  of  Tripoli 
commenced,  accompanied  by  a  general  attack  upon  the  gun-boats  in 
the  harbour.  A  tremendous  fire  was  kept  up  fur  some  hours  upon 
the  town,  and  answered  by  the  enemy's  whole  train  of  artillery. 
Meanwhile,  with  the  most  daring  bravery,  Decatur  attacked  the 
gun-boats  in  the  harbour,  and  succeeded  in  capturing  or  destroying 
several,  allhdugh  so  close  was  the  contest  that  the  gallant  captaii.'s 
life  was  several  times  in  imminent  danger,  and  on  one  occasion  'e 
had  but  nine  men  against  thirty-six.  The  Americans  lost  Lieutena  t 
J.  Decatur  killed,  and  thirteen  men  wounded.  The  loss  of  tb- 
enemy  was  much  greater. 

On  the  7ih  of  August,  the  squadron  approached  the  harbour,  in 
order  to  ailence  a  seven  gun  battery.  This  was  effected,  although 
one  of  the  captured  gun-boats  was  blown  up,  carrying  with  her 
Lieutenant  Caldwell,  Midshipman  Dorsey,  and  ten  others.  In  this 
second  attack,  forty-eight  shells  and  five  hundrtd  twenty-four  pound- 
shot  were  thrown  into  the  town.  On  the  night  of  the  24th,  another 
attack  was  made  upon  the  city,  which  lasted  until  daylight.  It  was 
renewed  at  half-past  one  of  the  28th,  when  a  warm  action  took 
place  between  thirteen  of  the  enemy's  gun-boats,  supported  by  their 
batteries  and  the  gun-boats  and  smaller  vessels  of  the  squadron. 
One  of  the  enemy's  vessels  was  sunk,  and  two  more  were  disabled. 
The  cannonade  was  renewed  on  the  3d  of  September,  with  much 
injury  to  the  btishaw's  castle. 


BNTERPRISK   OP  QKXERAL   EATON. 


167 


BOUBARDMBNT   OF    TRIPOLI. 


About  tbij  time,  the  Intrepid  was  sent  into  the  harbour  of  Trip  ill 
to  destroy  the  flotilla,  and  throw  a  quantity  of  shells  into  the  town. 
Captai'i  Somers,  and  Lieutenants  Israel  and  Wadsworth,  volunteered 
fo)  this  dangerous  service.  One  hundred  barrels  of  powder,  and  a 
aundred  and  fifty  shells,  were  put  in  her  hold,  with  a  contrivance 
by  which  it  could  be  fired,  and  yet  allow  the  crew  time  to  escape. 
When  near  the  place  of  destination,  she  suddenly  blew  up,  carrying 
with  her,  as  is  supposed,  the  three  officers.  The  consternation  pro- 
duced among  the  enemy  by  this  event  is  indescribable.  No  clue  to 
unravel  the  fate  of  the  heroic  adventurers  was  ever  obtained. 

On  the  10th  of  September,  Commodore  Barron  arrived  with  the 
President  and  Constellation,  and  assumed  command.  Preble  returned 
to  the  United  States. 

Meanwhile,  General  Eaton,  having  returned  to  the  Mediterranean, 
had  been  prosecuting  his  scheme  in  favour  of  Hamet  bashaw,  and 
at  the  time  of  the  last  bombardment  of  Tripoli,  actually  threatened  to 
drive  the  reigning  bashaw  from  the  throne,  after  raising  a  smal.' 
army  in  Egypt,  consisting  of  Mamelukes,  Arabs,  and  a  number  of 
adventurers.  On  the  3d  of  March,  they  left  Alexandria  for  Derne 
travelling  through  the  Libyan  desert,  and  encountering  hardships  en 
every  kind.     On  tne  %th  of  April,  they  appeared  before  the  lattei 


4G8 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


OAPTDRB    OV    nxRNS. 


City,  where  Eaton  offered  the  governor  '-".ins  of  amity,  hut  received 
the  haughty  answer,  "  My  head  or  yours  !" 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th,  the  battle  commenced  by  the  Tri- 
poiitans  firing-  upon  the  Argus,  Hornet,  and  Nautilus,  which  had 
stood  in  to  second  the  attack.  The  enemy's  naval  batteries  were 
soon  silenced,  but  on  land  they  gained  so  much  advantage,  that  in 
order  to  prevent  discouragement,  Eaton  charged  their  works  with 
fifty  men.  Although  the  enemy  numbered  seven  to  one,  they  fled, 
leaving  their  battery  in  the  hands  of  the  Americans.  During  the 
charge,  Eutnn  was  wounded  in  the  wrist. 

This  success  was  followed  by  the  capture  of  the  bey's  palace, 
which  placed  the  city  in  possession  of  the  Americans.  The  bey 
escaped,  and  while  fleeing  toward  Tripoli,  was  met  by  about  one 
thousand  of  the  bashaw's  troops,  who  had  been  despatched  to  his 
relief.  This  force  pressed  towards  Derne,  and  after  defeating  about 
one  hundred  of  Hamet's  cavalry,  entered  the  city,  and  forced  their 
way  to  the  bey's  palace.  Here  they  were  repulsed  by  the  Ameri 
can  batteries^   and  drivsc  ir/.o  the  fields.     Soon  after,  they  wert 


TUEATT  WITH  THE  DARBARY  POWERS. 


4«;n 


MOBtlV. 


totally  defeated  by  Hamet's  troops,  in  a  battle  fought  in  the  Barbary 
fashion,  without  the  intervention  of  either  Americans  or  Europeans. 
But  this  fair  prospect  of  driving  the  reiffning  bashaw  from  the 
throne,  was  dissolved  by  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  with  that  prince 
by  Commodore  Rodgers,  who  had  superseded  Barron.  By  this 
instrument  the  Americans  secured  to  themselves  all  that  had  been 
demanded  at  the  opening  of  war,  together  with  a  complete  amnesty 
♦nd  suitable  provision  during  life  for  Hamet  and    his  followers. 

Commodore  Bainbridge  and  his  crew 
were  restored  to  liberty  after  a  morti- 
fying captivity  of  more  than  nineteen 
months. 

We  now  turn  to  the  closing  events 
of  Mr.  Jeflerson's  first  presidential 
term.  During  the  year  1804,  go- 
vernment acquired  from  the  Dela- 
ware Indians  a  valuable  an>l  exten- 
sive territory  situated  between  the 
Wabash  and  Ohio,  and  commanding 
the  navigation  of  the  latter  river  for 
three  hundred  miles.     In  the  same 


AARON      B0RR. 


♦  ear  the  President  organized  the  district  of  Mobile  for  the  collection 

D 


30 


2R 


470 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   THOMAS   JEFFERSON. 


of  duties  on  imposts  and  tonnage,  having  Fort  Stoddert  for  tlio  jiort 
of  entry  and  delivery. 

In  July,  1804,  occurred  the  memorable  duel  between  General  Ila 
milton  and  the  Vice-President,  Aaron  Burr.  Certain  offensive  pub- 
lications having  appeared  in  one  of  the  journals  of  the  day,  Coione 
Burr  suspected  Hamilton  of  being  the  author,  and  in  a  letter  required 
his  acknowledgment  or  denial  of  the  fact.  Hamilton  refusing  to  give 
either,  received  a  challenge,  accepted  it,  met  Burr,  and  fell  at  the 
first  fire.  No  similar  event  ever  caused  so  much  sensation  through 
ou*.  the  United  States  as  the  news  of  this  fatal  duel.  By  his  great 
talents,  powerful  eloquence,  and  gentlemanly  conduct,  Hamilton  had 
become  the  idol  of  the  federal  party,  and  the  admiration  of  all  his 
countrymen.  Extraordinary  honours  were  paid  to  his  memory,  while 
for  the  future  Burr  was  regarded  with  detestation. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  1805,  Mr.  Jefl'i'rson  entered  upon  his  second 
term  of  office.      Burr  was  succeeded    in  the  Vice-Presidency  by 

George  Clinton,  of  New  York.  At 
this  time  the  aggressions  of  (treat 
Britain  upon  the  seamen  and  com- 
merce of  the  United  States  called 
for  serious  interference  on  the  part 
of  government.  The  strict  neu- 
trality maintained  by  Congress  had 
secured  to  our  merchants  a  lucra- 
tive and  growing  trade  in  the  West 
Indies,  which  soon  excited  the  i  nvy 
of  England.  Many  large  vessels 
trading  to  the  French  colonies  were 
oBOBoa  oLiNTOH.  captured  and  condemned  by  the 

British.  In  May,  1806,  some  of  the  principal  French  ports  wen 
declared  in  a  state  of  blockade ;  while  in  November,  of  the  same  year, 
Napoleon  issued  his  famous  Berlin  decree,  declaring  all  the  British 
islands  under  blockade.  Neutral  vessels  were  thus  prohibited  from 
trading  with  either  country. 

At  the  same  time  England  continued  to  search  American  ves- 
sels, and  impress  their  seamen  into  her  own  service.  A  most 
aggravated  instance  of  this  occurred  in  June,  1807.  On  the  6th  of 
March  previous,  the  British  consul  at  Norfolk  had  demanded  of 
Captain  Decatur  three  of  the  Chesapeake's  crew,  deserters,  as  he 
alleged,  from  the  British  ship  Melampus.    On  inquiry  they  were 


AFFAIR   OF  THE   CUESAPEAKB. 


i71 


AFFAIR     or     THB     OHSSAPaAXJ. 


found  to  be  native  torn  Americans.  On  the  22cl  of  April  the  Chesa- 
peake sailed  for  the  Mediterranean,  under  Commodore  Barron  ;  but, 
after  passing  through  the  British  squadron,  she  was  stopped  by  the 
English  ship  Berkeley,  and  an  officer  sent  on  board  demanding  the 
three  men.  On  his  returning  to  the  Leopard  with  a  refusal  of  the 
demand,  that  vessel  opened  a  heavy  fire,  which  continued  thirty 
minutes,  when  the  Chesapeake  struck  her  colours.  She  was  then 
boarded,  her  crew  mustered,  and  four  men  carried  to  the  British 
vessel.  The  Chesapeake  lost  three  men  killed,  and  eighteen  wounded ; 
and  was  so  much  injured  in  her  hull  and  rigging  as  to  be  obliged  to 
'eturn  to  Hampton  Roads. 

News  of  this  outrage  was  received  throughout  the  country  with  a 
burst  of  indignation.  The  inhabitants  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth 
passed  unanimous  resolutions  discontinuing  all  communication  be 
tween  the  shore  and  the  British  ships.  At  the  same  time  two  hun- 
dred hogsheads  of  water,  for  the  use  of  the  squadron,  were  destroyed 
hy  the  people ;  and  to  the  consequent  threat  of  the  English  captain 
to  stop  all  vessels  trading  to  Norfolk,  he  was  answered  that  peace  or 
war  was  at  his  pleasure.  On  the  3d  Df  July,  the  President  issued  a 
proclamation  forbidding  communication  with  British  armed  vessels, 

S9 


4T2 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   THOMAS  JEFFERSON. 


aXKBaill.     17ILSINS01 


unless  in  distress  or  conveying  despatches.  They  were  interdicted 
from  the  waters  of  the  United  States,  two  thousand  militia  were 
ordered  to  the  defence  of  Norfolk,  and  one  hundred  thousand  to  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  for  service.  Congress  was  summoned  to 
meet  on  the  26th  of  October.  The  American  minister  in  London 
having  demanded  satisfaction  for  the  insult,  Berkeley's  act  was  dis- 
avowed ;  yet  he  was  shortly  afterwards  elevated  to  a  more  important 
station. 

A  singular  and  still  unexplained  event  had  taken  place  previous  to 
this  time,  which  for  a  while  caused  much  serisation  throughout  the 
United  States.  This  was  the  supposed  treason  of  Aaron  Burr. 
After  his  retirement  from  the  political  arena  of  the  Union,  he  is  said 
to  have  attempted  the  secession  of  the  Western  States,  so  as  to  form 
them  into  an  independent  nation;  but  failing,  he  endeavoured  to  per- 
suade the  settlers  to  invade  Mexico.  This  received  some  encourage- 
ment. He  was,  however,  narrowly  watched  by  government ;  and 
Genera.  Wi.kinson,  commandant  at  New  Orleans,  having  transmitted 


THE   EMBAR07  ACT. 


^ro 


(o 


to  the  President  an  account  of  the  whole  enterprise,  Jefferson,  on  the 
27th  of  November,  issued  a  proclamation  forbidding  all  citizens  to 
lend  it  their  encouragement,  and  ordering  the  stoppage  of  the  boats 
intended  for  the  enterprise.  Burr  was  arrested  in  the  February  fol- 
lowing, and  carried  to  Richmond  for  trial  in  the  federal  circuit 
court.  On  the  23d  of  June  a  true  bill  was  found  against  him,  and 
he  was  committed  to  prison,  but  permitted  to  remain  at  his  hotel 
under  a  guard.  His  irial  took  place,  August  3,  1805 ;  and  on  the 
31i)t  he  was  acquitted,  on  the  ground  that  his  offence  did  not  come 
under  jurisdiction  of  the  court.  The  growing  difficulties  with  foreign 
powers  enabled  him  to  escape  further  prosecution,  and  he  soon  after 
sailed  for  England. 

In  December,  1807,  an  embargo  was  imposed  by  government  upon 
American  vessels,  forbidding  them  to  leave  their  ports,  for  fear  of 
capture.  This  law  continued  during  the  remainder  of  Jefferson's 
administration,  but  was  very  injurious  to  the  eastern  states,  and  ren- 
dered the  administration  unpopular  in  that  portion  of  the  country. 

In  1808,  Jefferson  announced  his  intention  of  retiring  from  the 
presidential  chair.  The  ensuing  election  gave  the  office  of  chief 
magistrate  to  James  Madison,  the  candidate  of  the  republican  party. 
Mr.  Clinton  was  re-elected  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  They  were 
in.  jgurated  March  4,  1809;  after  which  the  ex-President  retired  to 
his  seat  at  Monticello,  where  the  evening  of  his  life  was  passed  amid 
tlie  qu'3t  of  literary  pursuits. 


J  A.UXa     U  AOISOH 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF   JAMES   MADISON. 


JHE  opposition  to  the  embargo  act  of  the  late  ad 
ministration  was  so  decided,  that  one  of  the  first 
acts  of  Congress  after  the  inauguration  of  Mr. 
Madison  was  to  repeal  it,  but  at  the  same  time 
prohibiting  all  intercourse  with  either  France  or 
England.  Taking  advantage  of  this  measure, 
Mr.  Erskine,  the  British  ambassador,  proposed  an 
adjustment  of  the  difRculties  between  the  two  nniions  on  the  basis  of 
full  satisfaction  for  the  Chesapeake  insult,  with  the  restoration  of  he" 
men,  the  withdrawal  of  the  orders  in  council  so  far  as  they  related  ti 
the  United  States  ;  the  appointment  of  an  envoy  extraordinary,  witlv 
power  to  conclude  a  treaty  respecting  all  the  points  at  issue.  This 
was  raufied  by  the  President,  who  immediately  issued  a  proclama- 
tion permitting  the  resumption  of  trade  with  Great  Britain.  Bui 
this  pacific  appearance  was  dispelled  by  news  from  England  dis 
avowing  the  act  of  her  minister,  and  ordering  his  recall.  The  Pre 
aident's  proclamation  was  consequently  revoked. 

Mr.  Eri.'kine  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  Jackson.  That  gentleman, 
on  being  asked  by  the  Secretary  of  State  why  the  British  govern 
ment  had  disavowed  the  proceedings  of  his  predecessor,  answerea 
that  the  latter  had  exceeded  his  instructions,  and  insinunted  that  the 

474 


AFFAIR   OF   THE   LITTLE   BELT. 


475 


re, 
an 

of 
if 

ti 

UK 

'his 

la- 

>ui 
Idis 

'rt 


American  government  had  been  aware  of  that  fact  at  the  time.  This 
nsulting  language  was  noticed  in  energetic  terms  by  the  Secretary, 
but  Jackson  replied  only  by  repeating  the  charge.  This  personage 
Tminister  Jackson]  even  went  so  fer  as  to  make  this  declaration  for 
the  third  time.  He  was  then  informed  that  for  the  purpose  of  facili- 
tating pacific  overtures,  no  communication  would  in  future  be  received 
irom  him.  His  government  then  recalled  him,  and  at  the  expiration 
of  a  year  and  a  half  appointed  Mr.  Foster  to  succeed  him. 

Before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Foster,  another  exciting  event  had  occur- 
red lo  threaten  the  prospects  of  amity  and  commerce  with  England. 
On  the  16th  of  May,  1811,  Commodore  Rodgers,  in  the  frigate  Pre- 
fiidnnt,  came  in  sight  of  a  vessel  off  the  capes  of  Virginia.  On  com- 
mg  up  with  her  in  the  evening,  the  commodore  was  unable  to  ascer- 
tain her  nation ;  and,  on  hailing  her  twice,  he  received  for  answer  a 
shot  in  his  mainmast.  The  fire  was  returned,  and  in  thirty  minutes 
the  ■  *ranger  was  silenced.  She  proved  to  be  the  British  sloop  of  war 
Little  Belt,  of  eighteen  tons.  Thirty-two  of  her  men  were  killed  or 
wounded,  and  the  vessel  was  considerably  injured. 

N  the  1st  of  May,  1810,  Congress  passed  an  act 
declaring  that  if  either  Great  Britain  or  France 
should,  before  the  3d  of  March,  1811,  so  revoke 
or  modify  her  decrees,  as  that  they  should  cease 
to  violate  the  neutral  commerce  of  the  United 
States,  which  fact  the  President  should  declare  b\ 
proclamation  ;  and  if  the  other  nation  should  not 
within  three  months  thereafter  revoke  its  edicts  in  like  manner; — 
then  the  non-intercourse  law  should,  after  the  expiration  of  three 
months  from  the  date  of  the  proclamation,  be  revived,  and  havb  full 
force  and  effect  so  far  as  regarded  the  nation  neglecting  to  revoke 
them,  and  that  the  restrictions  imposed  by  that  act  should  be  discon- 
tinued in  relation  to  the  nation  so  revoking  or  modifying  her  decrees. 
France,  ever  ready  to  catch  at  any  thing  which  might  humble  her 
rival,  declared  through  her  minister  [August  5,  1810]  that  the  de- 
crees of  Berlin  and  Milan  were  revoked ; — at  the  same  time  it  was 
explicitly  slated  that  the  revocation  had  been  made  in  full  confidence 
that  the  condition  would  be  enforced  against  Great  Britain,  if  she  did 
not  annul  her  orders  in  council  and  renounce  the  new  principles  ot 
blockade. 

On  the  2d  of  November,  1810,  the  President  announced  that  all 
restrictions  on  the  trade  of  the  United  States  with  France  had  ceased. 


170 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  JAMES   MADISON. 


Great  Britain,  however,  refused  to  repeal  her  orders  in  council  until 
the  ?i3d  of  June,  1812.  Previous  to  this  tardy  and  ungraceful  act, 
Congress  passed  laws  raising  the  military  force  to  thirty-one  thousand 
men,  completing  the  milihiry  establishment  previously  existing,  and 
authorizing  the  President  to  accept  the  services  of  volunteer  military 
corps  and  other  armed  forces.  The  Chesapeake,  Constellation,  and 
Adams,  were  at  the  same  fitted  for  sea.  On  the  14th  of  March  the 
President  was  authorized  to  borrow  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States 
any  sum  not  exceeding  eleven  millions  of  dollars 

At  this  time  another  foe  reappeared  on  our  western  border,  and 
commenced  a  series  of  daring  incursions  similar  to  those  which, 

during  the  war  of  indepen- 
dence, had  almost  depopulated 
that  fertile  region.  The  In- 
dians, led  by  the  daring 
Tecumseh  and  his  fanatical 
brother,  the  Prophet,  united 
themselves  with  the  emissa- 
ries of  Great  Britain  to  excite 
a  war  against  the  United 
States.  At  a  great  council 
held  at  Vincennes,  by  General 
Harrison,  governor  of  the  In- 
diana territory,  in  1811,  Te- 
cumseh not  only  declared  that 
the  white  man  had  no  right  to 
the  soil,  and  that  as  it  belonged 
to  the  red  men  in  common,  no 
single  tribe  could  dispose  of 
the  part  it  occupied,  but  even 
grasped  his  arms  in  the  most  determined  manner;  and,  but  for  the 
firmness  of  the  governor,  and  the  presence  of  his  soldiers,  he  would 
probably  have  been  murdered.  After  this  affair  the  outrages  com- 
mitted by  the  savages  were  so  numerous,  that  General  Harrison,  with 
a  small  force  of  regulars  and  militia,  marched  into  the  Indian  coun- 
fry,  and  on  the  6th  of  November  appeared  before  the  Prophet's  town 
Here  he  held  a  conference  with  some  of  the  principal  chiefs,  who 
agreed  that  both  parties  should  remain  quiet  until  the  following  morn- 
ing, when  a  second  council  was  to  convene  and  agree  upon  terms  of 
peace.     Notwit  :3tanding  this  friendly  appearance,  Harrison,  with 


TE0DM3B11. 


BATTLE   OP  TIPPECANOE. 


477 


OOONOIL     OF     VIN0BNNB3. 


ihe  sagacity  for  which  he  was  ever  remarkable,  discerned  symptoms 
of  treachery  among  the  Indians;  and,  accordingly,  posting  his  little 
army  in  an  advantageous  position,  near  a  place  called  Tippecanoe, 
he  ordered  the  troops  to  sleep  upon  their  arms,  and  in  case  of  attack 
to  maintain  their  ground  at  all  hazards.  The  event  justified  this  pre- 
caution. Before  daylight,  on  the  morning  of  the  7th,  the  savages 
furiously  attacked  the  left  flank,  drove  in  the  picket,  and  rushed 
upon  the  camp.  But,  encouraged  by  their  general,  the  regulars  and 
mounted  riflemen  gallantly  maintained  their  ground,  while  Major 
Daviess,  with  his  cavalry,  charged  their  whole  line.  The  latter 
movement  was  unsuccessful;  and,  at  daylight,  the  Americans  beheld 
themselves  nearly  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  who  were  pouring  in  a 
most  deadly  fire.  At  this  juncture  an  almost  simultaneous  charge 
was  made  with  fixed  bayonets  by  the  companies  of  Captain  Snelling 
and  Major  Wells,  and  the  enemy  were  dislodged.  The  mounted 
riflemen  then  dashed  forward,  and  drove  the  Indians  into  a  marsh. 
About  the  same  time  Captain  Cook  and  Lieutenant  Larabie  charged 
iin  the  right,  so  that  the  savages  being,  driven  at  ail  points,  were  at 
length  completely  routed. 
In   th's   hard-fought  action   the    Americans   lost,  in   killed   and 


ViS 


ADMINISTRATION  OF   JAMES   MADISON. 


OENXBAL     HARRISON. 


wo\inded,  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight ;  the  general  estinnateJ  the 
lOs^  of  the  Indians  at  one  hundred  and  fifty.     Major  Daviess,  emi 

nent  in  Kentucky  as  a  lawyer  anJ 
an  orator,  was  amongst  the  slain 
The  battle  was  followed  by  the 
burning  of  the  Prophet's  town,  the 
dispersion  of  the  hostile  savages, 
and  the  submission  of  most  of  the 
tribes  in  that  vicinity.  Tecumseh 
was  not  in  this  action,  being  then 
engaged  on  a  mission  to  the  south 
for  the  purpose  of  uniting  all  the 
Indians  of  that  region  with  those 
at  the  north,  in  a  confederacy 
against  the  United  States. 

In  the  early  part  of  1812  the  Pre- 
sident received  information  that  an 
individual  named  John  Henry  had  been  employed  in  1809  by  Sir 
James  Craig,  Governor-General  of  Canada,  on  a  secret  agency  to  the 
United  States,  having  for  its  object  the  discovery  and  fomenting 
nmong  the  two  great  political  parties  of  the  country  such  a  spirit  of  dis- 
satisfaction and  hatred  as  would  eventually  lead  to  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union.  This  nefarious  mission  appears  to  have  been  confined 
to  the  New  England  states,  they  being  the  richest  and  most  influen- 
"ial  part  of  the  country,  as  well  as  the  most  opposed  to  any  declara- 
tion of  war  with  Britain,  This  information  was  communicated  to  the 
President  by  Henry  himself,  through  the  Secretary  of  Slate,  and 
transmitted  to  Congress  in  March.  It  excited  throughout  the  coun- 
try a  strong  feeling  of  indignation,  and  confirmed  the  popular  opinion 
6S  to  the  difficulty  of  effecting  a  cordial  reconciliation  with  Britain. 

On  the  20th  of  May,  the  Hornet  sloop-of-war  returned  from  Europe 
with  intelligence  that  neither  England  nor  France  manifested  any 
disposition  to  change  their  policy  towards  the  United  States.  At  this 
news  the  President  sent  a  message  to  Congress,  recounting  the  re- 
peated efforts  of  our  country  to  effect  a  treaty  of  peace,  the  insulting 
manner  in  which  they  had  been  met  by  Great  Britain,  and  the  out- 
rages practised  upon  our  commerce.  "  We  behold,"  adds  the  Presi- 
dent, "on  the  side  of  Great  Britain  a  state  of  war  against  the  United 
States  ;  and  on  the  side  of  the  United  States,  a  state  of  peace  towards 
fiteat  Britain."     He  then  submitted  for  their  solemn  consideration  the 


>VAR    VriTn    eIREAT   BRITAIN. 


479 


question  whether  this  state  of  things  should  continue,  or,  relying  upon 
the  mighty  Disposer  of  events,  the  nation  should  assert  its  natural  rights 
by  opposing  force  to  force.  After  due  consideration  of  this  message, 
the  House  of  Representatives,  on  the  4th  of  June,  1812,  passed  a  bill 
specifying  the  numerous  aggressive  practices  of  Great  Britam,  and 
declaring  war.  It  passed  the  Senate  by  a  majority  of  six,  and  was 
ratified  by  the  President  on  the  18th.  By  this  act  the  President  was 
authorized  to  apply  the  whole  land  and  naval  force  of  the  United 
States  to  carry  the  same  into  effect,  and  to  issue  to  private  armed 
vessels  of  the  United  States  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  in  such 
form  as  he  should  think  proper,  and  under  the  national  seal,  against 
the  vessels,  goods,  and  effects  of  the  government  and  people  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland.  It  was  followed  by  other  acts,  providing  for  the 
organization  of  the  army  and  navy,  the  defence  of  the  sea-coast,  and 
tl»    issue  of  treasury  noies. 


I 


,  this 
re- 
ling 
oui- 
resi- 
niied 
ards 


vtxw   ov   wAsaiKaxov. 


OOMUOOOBI    BUIib 


CHAPTER  XL. 


CAMPAIGN  OP   lyi2. 


HE  declaration  ol  war  with  Great 
Britaiii  was  received  with  differ- 
ent fielings,  by  different  classes 
of  the  American  community. 
The  minority  of  Congress,  the 
Legislatures  of  Massachusetts, 
Connecticut,  and  New  Jersey, 
and  several  of  the  commercial 
cities,  protested  against  it  in  pub- 
lic addresses.  But  unquestiona- 
bly the  greater  portion  of  the  peo- 
ple approved  of  lU-  net,  and 
considered  it  the  only  honourable  course  which  could  have  beeo 


INVASION   OF   CANADA. 


4t<l 


pursued  by  governnent.  It  cannot,  however,  be  denied  that  the 
nation  was  but  ill  prepared  for  a  struggle  with  a  power  among  thrt 
first  in  Europe,  and  the  acknowledged  mistress  of  the  ocean.  Until 
the  year  1808,  the  whole  military  establishment  had  scarcely 
amounted  to  three  thousand  men  ;  in  that  year  it  was  augmented  to 
nine  thousand  ;  and  in  January,  1812,  Congress  had  directed  twentv- 
five  thousand  additional  troops  to  be  raised.  The  President  was 
also  authorized  to  accept  the  services  of  any  number  of  volunteers, 
not  exceeding  fifty  thousand,  and  to  call  upon  the  state  governors  for 
one  hundred  thousand  militia.  But  the  act  providing  for  twenty-five 
thousand  regular  troops  had  been  passed  so  short  a  time  previous  to 
the  declaration  of  war,  that  scarcely  one-fourth  of  that  number  could 
be  raised,  the  great  mass  of  whom  were  necessarily  raw  and  undis 
ciplined.  The  militia  was  a  species  of  force  on  which  little  de- 
pendence could  be  placed.  The  navy  consisted  of  only  ten  frigates, 
ten  sloops  and  smaller  vessels,  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-five  gun- 
boats, only  sixty  of  which  were  in  commission. 

OR  the  better  regulation  of  the  army.  General 
Henry  Dearborn,  of  Massachusetts,  was 
appointed  to  command  the  northern  de- 
partment, and  General  Thomas  Pinckney 
the  southern.  In  April,  the  President  had 
made  a  requisition  upon  the  local  govern- 
ment of  Ohio,  for  twelve  hundred  men,  to 
be  placed  under  the  command  of  Briga- 
dier-General Hull,  Governor  of  Michigan 
Territory.  With  this  force,  and  detach- 
ments from  other  regiments,  numbering  altogether  about  twenty-five 
hundred  men,  Hull  arrived  at  Detroit,  whence  he  crossed  into 
Canada,  July  13,  and  published  a  pompous  proclamation  to  the  in- 
habitants, in  which  he  assured  them  of  his  ability  to  "  look  down  all 
opposition,"  and  invited  them  to  join  his  standard.  But  instead  of 
advancing  directly  upon  Maiden,  where  the  enemy  had  collected,  he 
remained  inactive  at  Sandwich  until  the  British  had  taken  Mack- 
maw,  and  all  the  neighbouring  Indians  came  pouring  down  upon 
his  troops.  The  general  still  showed  no  disposition  for  active  opera- 
tions, but  conducted  himself  with  so  much  delay  and  irresolution,  as 
to  lose  entirely  the  confidence  of  his  officers  and  troops. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  Major  Vanhorne,  with  two  hundred  men, 
was  sent  to  the  atsistance  of  a  company  of  volunteers,  who,  whiU 
61  as 


182 


CAMPAIGN  OF  1812. 


bBCorting  a  supply  of  provisions  for  the  army,  were  threatened  by  a 
body  of  British  and  Indians.  This  officer  proceeded  in  so  incautious 
n  manner,  that  he  was  soon  drawn  into  an  ambuscade  of  the  enemy 
and  defeated  with  considerable  loss.  To  compensate  for  this  failure 
Hull  issued  orders  on  the  7th  for  an  immediate  attack  upon  Maiden  • 
but  on  the  following  morning,  to  the  astonishment  and  indignation  of 
both  officers  and  men,  the  whole  army  was  directed  to  recross  the 
river  to  Detroit.  On  the  same  day,  a  second  unsuccessful  attempt 
to  open  communication  with  the  supplies  was  made  bv  e  small  party 
under  Colonel  Miller. 

EANWHILE,  General  BrocK  assumed 
command  of  the  British  forces,  and  after 
erecting  batteries  within  point-blank 
shot  of  the  American  lines,  summoied 
Hull  tosurrender.  Receiving  a  retusal, 
he  bombarded  the  town  all  that  day, 
[August  15,]  and  part  of  the  next,  when 
he  crossed  the  river  and  prepared  tc 
assault  the  American  line.  While  the 
garrison  were  awaiting  his  attack  with 
coolness,  after  hav'ng  planted  their  guns  in  an  advantageous  position, 
they  were  suddenly  ordered  to  retire  into  the  fort,  where  their  arms 
were  stacked,  and  the  artillery-men  forbidden  to  fire.  Being  thus 
crowded  into  a  narrow  compass,  they  were  cut  down  so  fast  that 
Hull  soon  run  up  a  white  flag  in  token  of  surrender.  The  term^  of 
capitulation  included  not  only  his  own  troops,  but  those  of  Colonels 
Miller  and  McArthur,  and  Captain  Brush,  all  of  whom  were  at  that 
time  absent  on  different  expeditions. 

The  indignation  of  the  Americans  at  this  cowardly  and  disgraceful 
transaction  was  unbornded.  From  the  language  of  the  general, 
they  had  been  led  to  expect  nothing  less  than  the  capture  of  all 
Upper  Car.ada  ;  and  now  the  blasting  of  these  prospects  by  the  sar- 
render  of  an  American  army,  together  with  a  large  extent  of  terri- 
tory, was  almost  too  much  for  endurance.  After  his  exchange,  Hull 
was  tried  by  court-martial,  found  guilty  of  cowardice  and  unofficer- 
like  conduct,  and  sentenced  to  be  shot.  In  consequence  of  his  age 
and  former  services,  the  sentence  of  death  was  remitted,  but  his 
name  was  stricken  from  the  rolls  of  the  army. 

The  officers  of  General  Hull  had  suspected  his  incapacity  to  com- 
mand,  long  before  he  gave  the  final  proof  of  it.     This  had  induced 


GENERAL   HAKRISON   APPOINTED  TO    COMMAND. 


4S7> 


DxrsNOB  or   vort  barbisoi 


them  to  ask  privately  of  the  governors  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky  for 
reinfdrcements,  and  accordingly  twelve  hundred  militia  under  Briga- 
dier-Gjneral  Tupper,  and  two  thousand  volunteers  under  Brigadier- 
Gfnenl  Payne,  were  sent  toward  Detroit.  On  the  road,  they  heard 
of  the  surrender,  and  on  petitioning  that  some  competent  officer,  well 
acqnninted  with  the  country,  might  be  appointed  to  conduct  them, 
that  post  was  given  to  General  Harrison,  then  Governor  of  Indiana 
Such  was  the  popularity  of  this  able  officer,  that,  although  not  a 
citizen  of  Kentucky,  he  was  immediately  invested  by  the  governor 
of  that  state  with  the  chief  command  of  its  militia,  and  the  rank  of 
major-general.  He  was  also  appointed  brigadier-general  in  the 
regular  army.  On  the  3d  of  September,  with  two  thousand  two 
hundred  men,  he  arrived  at  Piqua,  on  the  Great  Miami,  whence  he 
despatched  Colonel  Allen,  with  five  hundred  men,  to  the  relief  of 
Fort  Wayne,  then  invested  by  the  Indians.  At  the  colonel's  ap- 
proach, the  besiegers  fired  a  little  village  adjacent  to  the  fort,  and 
then  retreated.  General  Tupper  was  then  sent  with  one  thousand 
men,  to  disperse  the  enemy  at  the  Rapids  of  the  Miami ;  but  partly 
through  a  misunderstanding  with  General  Winchester,  Commander 
at  Fort  Wayne,  and  partly  from  defection  of  the  Ohio  militia,  this 
expedition  failed.  On  the  western  frontier,  however,  the  small  gar- 
•ison  of  Fort  Harrison,  under  CapU>  Zachary  Taylor,  defended 


484 


CAMPAlflN   OF   1812. 


QUXXNSTOWN. 


themselves  against  fearful  odds,  during  a  night  attack  by  the  Indians, 
and  although  a  block-house  containing  all  their  provisions  was  burnt 
to  the  ground,  they  drove  off  the  assailants  with  considerable  loss. 
The  captain  lost  two  men  killed,  three  wounded.  This  success  was 
followed  by  incursions  into  the  Indian  terniory,  during  which  Colonel 
Campbell  destroyed  many  villages  and  captured  a  number  of  warriors, 
with  their  wives  and  children. 

Meanwhile,  a  considerable  American  force  under  Brigadier-General 
Bloomfield,  was  stationed  at  Plattsburg,  and  another  under  Brigadier- 
General  Smyth,  at  Buffalo.  About  three  thousand  five  hundred 
militia,  with  small  parties  of  regulars,  were  stationed  on  the  Niagara 
frontier,  under  General  Van  Rensselaer.  The  latter  resolved  on  an 
attempt  upon  dueenstown,  a  small  place  on  the  Niagara  river,  eight 
miles  below  the  falls.  The  assaulting  party  was  divided  into  a  force 
of  three  hundred  regulars,  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Christie,  and 
the  same  number  of  militia  under  Colonel  Van  Rensselaer.  These 
were  to  be  followed  by  the  flying  artillery,  under  Colonel  Fenwick, 
ihe  remainder  of  the  regulars  under  Major  Mullany,  and  the  artillery 
of  Colonel  Winfield  Scott,  who  had  lately  arrived  from  Black  Rock. 

Before  daylight  on  the  13th  of  October,  the  army  was  put  i» 


CAPTURE   OF   THE   ALERT 

"*"'  !'"  '-'"y  8".n..d,  .„,"„„,  H  .oT"'""  «°"""'  "°-  -"• 
'a-P  ;  Ul  .he  nrilish,  bei,„  rcinfri  K     '"'""«"'"„  ,„  fo„if    , 

Amencon  „i|,„„  „f„,,/,^         "••    A.  ■h.s  cn.ical  „„e,„,  ,,,; 

*-  P0«  wi.h  heroic  fir.„  3;:f,  '     ::;  "V"'"'  »'0.™/„,„f„J 
"■ey  surrendered.     S„™  af,„  ,J"  ''  ""I  ""ly  surrounded,  when 

•«-p,s  ,0  en,er  C„„„da,  rl,.    '  "1"  ™  '"^  »-'«l  "«ucce.3f„, 
Wns  Che  success  of  ,he  Ja„d  7  """■'• 

'"".."""""-""Saled  ,0  .hems?   eV,h;„7'  r""""''  "■"""'^'y 

••°"'y  '™  "°Hy  disputed.     The  accu  '         .     ""''""»•  "■='>  ^"P- 

-seamen  by  in,p,ess„,e„,  and    ,  "l™     '.T"/'™^  ^-P-d  u„™ 

^^^^^^^^^^^^      <^^"    the   3d    of  Julv    P  '  \ 

J^''«^'dIVter.,n,henevvfr,We 

^rs  /^"^"^"-'-'^^ 

;:"'"  ^\"'^>'  H°"k  on  a  cruise  to 

g"';.'  ,^^   ^^^«    «"acl<ed   bv   the 

Bnt,shs]oop-or.„,rAle,,.H-hich 
•^^ter  a  battle  of  ei,ht  .,„,:' 
"-^    co„,p,ete,,    silenced,    and 
-on  after  sent  into  Ne.v  y"' 
-th  the  prisoners.      This  wa 

.'^e  first  ship-of-.,ar  taken  dur 

ing  the  campaign. 


""^MODOKa    POBTJtB. 


"7«o-OH«  POHT^B. .w,L„      "•■';"'-""'■  taken  dur 


186 


CAMPAIGN  or  1812. 


o^PTURX  OFTHX  oaaBi   .aBX 


a  chase  of  sixty  hours.  On  the  19th  of  August  he  fell  in  with  the 
frigate  Guerriere,  of  forty-nine  guns  and  three  hundred  men,  under 
Captain  Dacres.  After  considerable  manoeuvring,  during  which  the 
enemy  endeavoured  to  keep  at  long  range,  she  ran  down  upon  the 
Constitution,  discharging  several  broadsides,  which  Hull  received 
without  returning  a  shot,  until  five  minutes  before  six  o'clock,  when 
he  commenced  a  heavy  and  well-directed  fire.  One  broadside  after 
another  was  fired  with  such  quick  and  fatal  execution,  that  in  sixteen 
minutes  one  of  the  Guerriere's  masts  was  shot  away,  and  her  hull, 
rigging,  and  sails,  were  cut  to  pieces.  In  half  an  hour  she  surren- 
dered, every  spar  being  down  except  the  bowsprit,  and  the  hull  so 
shattered  that  it  was  found  necessary  to  blow  her  up.  The  Consti- 
tution lost  seven  killed  and  seven  wounded  ;  the  Guerriere,  fifieen 
killed,  sixty-two  wounded,  and  twenty-four  missing. 

On  the  13th  of  October,  the  sloop-of-war  Wasp,  of  eighteer;  guns, 
under  Captain  Jacob  Jones,  sailed  from  the  Delaware,  and  on  the 
18th  fell  in  with  a  convoy  of  six  merchantmen,  escorted  by  the  sloop- 
of-war  Frolic,  of  twenty-two  guns.  Captain  Whinyates  At  half- 
past  eleven  a.  m.,  the  action  commenced  at  the  distance  of  fifty  yards, 
and  after  a  heavy  fire  of  forty-three  minutes,  during  which  both 
vessels  suffered  severely,  the  Frolic  was  carried  by  boarding.  She 
was  in  a  shocking  condition,  her  deck,  berths,  and  cabin  being  filled 
wiih  dead  and  wounded.  Every  exertion  was  made  for  the  comfort 
of  ihe  sufferers  by  the  Wasp's  crew;  but  in  the  midst  of  theii 
praiseworthy  efforts,  the  British  ship  Poictiers,  soventy-four  guns, 


CAPTURE   OP   THE   MACEDONIAN. 


487 


OAPTURK    OF   TH«    PBOLIO. 


sixteen 

her  hull, 

surren- 

hull  so 

Consti- 

j,  fifteen 

eefi  guns, 
id  on  the 

the  sloop- 
At  half- 
Rfty  yards, 

hich  both 


suddenly  hove  in  sight,  captured  the  Wasp  and  her  prize,  and  carriea 
them  into  Bermuda. 

This  affair  was  followed  by  the  brilliant  victory  of  Commodore 
Decatur,  in  the  United  States,  forty-four  guns,  over  the  Macedonian 
of  forty-nine.  After  an  engagement  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  the 
enemy  surrendered,  having  thirty-six  killed,  and  sixty-eight  wounded, 
while  one  of  his  masts,  with  most  of  the  spars  and  rigging,  were 
entirely  shot  away.  The  Macedonian  was  commanded  by  Captain 
Garden,  one  of  the  ablest  officers  in  the  British  navy,  who  had  three 
hundred  men  and  a  superior  equipment.  The  gallant  Decatur  con- 
veyed his  prize  to  New  York,,  where  he  was  received  with  a  degree 
of  rejoicing  and  gratitude  similar  to  that  which  had  already  been 
bestowed  upon  Captain  Hull.  His  loss  had  been  four  killed  and 
seven  wounded,  and  the  United  States  suffered  but  little  damage. 

Captain  Hull  having  resigned  command  of  the  Constitution,  was 
succeeded  by  Commodore  Bainbridge,  who  soon  after  sailed  from 
Boston  on  a  cruise  to  the  West  Indies,  in  company  with  the  Sloop 
Hornet,  Captain  Lawrence.  While  Lawrence  blockaded  the  Bonne 
Citoyenne,  in  the  port  of  St.  Salvador,  Bainbridge,  on  the  29th  of 
December,  fell  in  with  the  Java,  a  British  frigate  of  forty-nine  guns, 

61 


188 


CAMPAIGN    OF    1812. 


OAFTAIN    LAWHBNOn. 


Jifr^,^l"l"nTfl'||i  and  four  hundred  men,  undet 
'  ''"'^  rt  1    ^^'^P*^'"  LsTibert.     The  action 
commenced  about   two  o'clock 
p.  M.,  and   lasted   two   hours, 
during  which  the  Java  was  re- 
duced to  a  complete  wreck,  not 
having  a  single  spar  left.     She 
was  subsequently  blown  up,  and 
the   Constitution   put    into   St 
Salvador.    The  British  loss  was 
sixty  killed,  and  more  than  one 
hundred  wounded;  that  of  the 
Americans  was  thirty-four,  of 
whom  nine  were  killed. 
Meanwhile,  a  squadron  of  British  frigates  captured  the  American 
schooner  Nautilus,  of  twelve  guns,  after  a  long  chase  ;  and  on  the 
22d  of  November,  the  gun-brig  Vixen  was  taken  by  the  frigate 
Southampton,  and  carried  into  the  West  Indies. 

Before  the  close  of  this  year,  the  havoc  made  upon  the  enemy's 
commerce  had  exceeded  all  previous  calculation.  When  Congress 
met  in  November,  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  vessels  had  been 
captured  by  the  American  cruisers,  together  with  more  than  three 
thousand  prisoners.  American  privateers  swarmed  in  every  sea, 
and  the  enterprise  so  conspicuous  in  the  character  of  the  nation  ren- 
dered them  most  formidable  opponents.  Built  with  a  view  to  expe- 
ditious sailing,  they  were  generally  able  to  overtake  merchant  ves- 
sels, and  to  escape  from  the  fastest  frigates  of  the  enemy.  These 
advantages  were  never  sullied  by  inhumanity,  and  the  generosity 
with  which  in  many  instances  the  crews  acted,  in  opposition  to  the 
love  of  profit,  reflects  credit  on  the  national  character. 

Two  gallant  actions  performed  on  the  lakes,  during  the  fall,  de- 
serve notice  in  this  place.  One  was  the  cutting  out  of  two  British 
vessels — the  Caledonia  and  Detroit — from  the  guns  of  Fort  Eric,  by 
Lieutenant  Elliot  and  fifty  men  in  small  boats,  October  9.  One  of 
the  vessels  was  burnt,  and  the  other,  with  a  rich  cargo,  brought 
safely  to  Black  Rock.  The  other  was  the  driving  of  the  Royal 
George  into  the  port  of  Kingston,  thus  giving  the  Americans,  for  the 
time,  complete  command  of  the  lake. 

Congress  met  November  2.  In  his  message,  the  President  re- 
counted the  military  and  naval  events  of  the  year,  and  announced 


ARMISTICE   REFUSED. 


489 


C&FTUHG  OT  THE  OALBDONIA  AND  DXTROIT, 

that  Great  Britain  had  offered  an  armistice,  grrounded  on  the  repeal 
of  the  orders  in  council  ;  but  that  as  no  disposition  was  manifested 
to  abandon  the  practice  of  impressment,  he  had  rejected  it.  Congress 
approved  his  conduct,  at  the  same  time  authorizing  him  to  raise 
twenty  additional  regiments  of  infantry,  and  ten  companies  of  rangers. 
A  bill  was  also  passed  authorizing  the  construction  of  four  seventy- 
four  gun  ships,  six  frigates  of  forty-four  guns,  and  six  sloops-of-war. 
Appropriations  of  money  were  also  made  for  defraying  the  expenses 
of  the  war 

At  the  presidential  election  this  year,  James  Madison  was  re- 
elected, while  Elbridge  Gerry  succeeded  Mr.  Clinton  as  Vice-Presi- 
dent. 


.1 7' 


69 


FORT      HIAQAH^. 


CHAPTER  XLL 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1813. 


'  i  '^iB**Y^  ^^  ^    ^^^y    ^^    defending 
the  north-western  territory 
against  the  victorious  Bri- 
tish and  Indians,  and  of 
y^        recovering  the  ground  lost 


by  Hull's  surrender,  was,  as  we  have 
seen,  committed  tc  General  Harrison. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  arduous  nature, 
requiring  abilities  of  the  highest  order 
to  give  it  even  a  prospect  of  success. 
The  sufferings  endured  by  the  troop* 

in  this  vast  wilderness  wero  of  the  most  painful  nature.     Many  of 

the  militia  were  without  a  covering  for  their  feet,  and  numb*)i'S  of 

regulars  perished  for  want  of  clothing. 

General  Harrison's  plan  for  the  campaign  of  1813  was  to  occupy 

the  rapids  of  the  Miami,  and,  after  collecting  provisions,  to  move  by 

490 


MASSACRE   AT  THE   RIVER   RAISIN. 


491 


Mifrfji^ 


U&SSACRE      AT     TBS      RIVEK     RAISII 


a  select  detachment  upon  Maiden,  On  the  8th  of  January  he  pro- 
ceeded to  Upper  Sandusky,  where  his  ferce  was  augmented  to  about 
fifteen  hundred  men.  He  had  already  despatched  orders  to  Genera' 
Winchester  at  Fort  Defiance  to  advance  to  the  Rapids  as  soon  as  he 
had  accumulated  provisions  for  twenty  days.  That  officer  was  to 
build  huts  there,  in  order  to  deceive  the  enemy  by  a  belief  that  he 
was  going-  into  winter  quarters.  Winchester  arrived  there  on  the 
10th  of  January,  and  on  the  17th  despatched  Colonels  Lewis  and 
Allen  with  six  hundred  men  to  the  river  Raisin.  On  the  road  Colo- 
nel Lewis  attacked  a  body  of  British  and  Indians  at  Frenchtown, 
defeated  them,  and  took  possession  of  the  place.  General  Winches- 
ter reached  it  on  the  20th  with  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  men, 
and  encamped  in  an  open  lot.  Colonel  Lewis's  troops  being  protected 
by  pickets.  About  daylight  on  the  22d  the)'  were  surprised  by  a 
party  of  British  and  Indians,  and  the  detachment  of  General  Win- 
chester was  thrown  into  complete  confusion  and  driven  across  the 
nver.  All  attempts  to  rally  were  unsuccessful,  although  made  in 
several  places  by  General  Winchester,  and  Colonels  Lewis  and  Allen. 
B  'ing  crowded  into  a  small  lane,  they  wer?  shot  down  on  both  .«ide9 


102 


CAMPAIviN    OF   1813. 


SIEOB     OF     rOST     MEIG! 


oy  the  Indians,  until  the  whole  body  was  nearly  annihilated.  The 
troops  under  Colonel  Lewis  bravely  maintained  their  post,  and 
repulsed  all  efforts  of  the  enemy  until  General  Winchester  capitu- 
lated for  them.  The  scene  following  this  defeat  was  one  of  butchery 
never  witnessed  but  among  savages  and  their  employers.  Whfi-n 
General  Winchester  surrendered.  Proctor,  the  British  commander, 
promised  that  the  prisoners  should  be  saved  from  the  fury  of  the  In- 
dians. At  noon  he  marched  with  the  captured  men  to  Maiden,  leaving 
a  few  soldiers  with  the  wounded  Americans  at  Frenchtown.  At 
bunrise  on  the  following  day,  the  Indians,  who  had  accompanied  h.jn, 
returned  to  the  village,  and  fired  the  houses  containing  the  disabled 
prisoners,  thrusting  back  all  those  who  endeavoured  to  escape.  Others 
met  their  death  in  the  streets  ;  and  a  number,  after  being  tomahawked, 
were  dragged  out  into  the  highway.  This  horrible  affair  of  the  mas- 
sacre at  the  river  Raisin  has  fixed  an  indelible  stain  upon  the  name 
of  Proctor. 

In -consequence  of  this  disaster.  General  Harrison  abandoned  his 
designs  upon  Maiden,  and  commenced  the  fortification  of  his  camp, 
which  he  called  Fort  Meigs.  Here  he  was  attacked  in  the  latter  part 
of  April,  by  General  Proctor,  with  his  victorious  army  of  British  and 


YORK   TAKEN    BY   THE   AMKRICAXS. 


4f3 


Indians.  Uii  the  Isl  of  May  the  enemy  opened  a  heavy  fire  from 
iheir  battei:e.s,  uliicli  was  continued  until  late  at  night,  but  wilhoul 
producing  much  efTect  on  the  well-constructed  works  of  the  garrison 
Thus  disappointed,  Proctor  transferred  his  guns  to  the  opposite  ^ida 
of  the  river,  and  opened  a  fire  upon  the  centre  and  flanks  of  the 
camp.  The  cannonading  continued  several  days;  that  of  the  Atne* 
ricans  producing  much  execution,  although  from  a  scarcity  of  ammu- 
nition they  were  compelled  to  economize  their  fire.  An  attempt  by 
General  Clay  to  raise  the  siege  was  defeated  by  the  insubordination 
of  his  troops.  Many  viiluable  lives  were  lost,  and  atrocities  were 
committed  upon  such  of  the  Americans  as  were  captured  by  the  Indians. 
At  length,  on  liie  9th  of  May,  Proctir,  finding  that  he  could  make  no 
impression  upon  tli-j  fort  with  his  batteries,  and  that  his  allies,  disap- 
pointed in  their  hopes  of  scalps  and  plunder,  were  deserting  him  in 
numbers,  embarked  and  sailed  down  the  river.  Their  force  is  sup 
posed  to  have  been  upwards  of  one  thousand  men,  with  as  many  In- 
dians— the  latter  under  the  celebrated  Tecumseh.  The  American 
garrison  seldom  exceeded  twelve  hundred  men,  only  a  small  portion 
of  whom  were  regulars.  The  loss  during  the  siege,  except  that 
caused  by  the  unfortunate  attempt  of  General  Clay,  was  not  great. 

On  the  li.5ih  of  April,  General  Dearborn,  with  seventeen  hundred 
men,  left  Sackett'w  Haibmii,  for  an  attack  on  York,  the  capital  of 
Upper  Canada.     On  the  27;h  the  army  effected  a  landing,  though  op- 
posed by  eight  hundred   Biitish  and  Indians.     Major  Forsyth,  with 
his  riflemen,  first  gained  the  shore,  followed  by  General  Pike,  who 
funned  his  troops  on  the  water-edge,  and  then  pressed  on  in  regu- 
liir  column.      After  carrying   one  of  the   batteries   they   were  ad- 
vancing upon  the  main  works,  when  an  explosion  of  one  of  the  ene- 
my's magazines  hurled  amid  their  ranks  masses  of  stone  and  timber, 
one  of  which  killed  General  Pike.     Colonel  Pierce  assumed  com- 
mand; and,  notwithstanding  the  momentary  pause  occasioned  by  this 
untoward  accident,  he  pushed  forward  and  carried  the  British  works. 
At  five  o'clock  the  Americans  took   possession  of  the  town.     The 
land  and  naval  forces  were  surrendered   prisoners  of  war,  and  all 
public  stores  given  up.     Two  hundred  and   ninety-one  officers  and 
privates  were  taken  prisoners,  and  four  hundred  killed  or  wounded. 
The  Americans  lost  three  hundred  and  twenty  men,  of  whom  two 
hund.        ad  sixty  were  killed  by  the  magazine  explosion. 

General  Dearborn  next  made  a  descent  upon  Fort  George,  w^ich 
was  taken  after  a  spirited  resistance.     The  garrison  having  received 

ai 


494 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1813. 


OKATQ      or     OBNXRA.L     PIKB. 


reinforcements  and  retired  to  Burlington  Heights,  Generals  Chandler 
and  Winder  were  detached  to  cut  otT  its  retreat.  These  generals 
were  surprised  at  night,  captured,  rnd  their  forces  driven  back  to 
Fort  George.  A  similar  result  attended  an  expedition  to  Beaver 
Dams, — the  party  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Boerstler  being  sur- 
rounded, and  compelled  to  lay  down  their  arms  at  the  head  of  the 
British  column. 

At  the  departure  of  General  Dearborn  for  York,  he  had  intrusted 
the  command  of  Sackett's  Harbour  to  Brigadier-General  Brown,  of 
the  New  York  militia,  whose  collected  force  amounted  to  about  five 
hundred  militia,  with  an  equal  number  of  regulars,  seamen,  and  vo- 
lunteers. The  militia  and  volunteers,  under  Colonel  Mills,  formed 
his  first  line,  being  posted  behind  a  hastily  constructed  breastwork  ; 
the  regulars,  under  Colonel  Backus,  composed  the  second  line  ;  while 
some  seamen,  under  Lieutenant  Chauncey,  were  stationed  at  the 
navy-yard.  These  arrangements  were  scarcely  completed,  when, 
on  the  29th  of  May,  Sir  George  Prevost  landed  with  one  thousand 
picked  me.-i  and,  after  defeating  the  militia,  with  the  loss  of  their 
colonel,  advan  pd  against  the  village.  About  one  hundred  militia, 
under  General  P'-own,  unitmg  with  the  regulars  under  Colonel 
Backus,  severely  ann.iyed  the  enemy ;  and,  when  forced  to  retire, 
hey  took  possession  of  some  )»eighbouring  houses,  and  poured  upon 


DEFENCE  OP  FORT  STEPHENSON. 


i% 


8A0ESTT    a     aAUBODH. 


id 

ia, 


).m 


the  assailants  so  well-directed  a  fire  that  they  were  driven  back. 
Their  rout  was  completed  by  a  stratagem  of  General  Brown,  by 
which  he  induced  them  to  re-embark  so  rapidly  as  to  leave  behind 
most  of  their  wounded  and  prisoners.  Their  loss  was  twenty-four 
killed,  twenty-two  wounded,  and  thirty-three  taken  prisoners ;  that 
of  the  Americans  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  in  killed,  wounded,  and 
missing.  Shortly  after  this  important  victory.  General  Brown  was 
appointed  brigadier-general  in  the  regular  army. 

N  the  20ih  of  July  the  British  and  Indians  made 
another  attack  upon  Fort  Meigs,  where  they  were 
again  defeated  after  a  siege  of  eight  days.  Gene- 
ral Proctor,  with  five  hundred  regulars  and  eight 
hundred  Indians  then  determined  upon  an  attack 
on  Fort  Stephenson,  garrisoned  by  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  under  Major  Croghan.  The  Bri- 
tish landed  on  the  first  of  August,  and  opened  a  heavy  fire  from  some 
six-pounders  and  a  howitzer.  The  Americans  had  but  one  piece  of 
artillery,  which  was  moved  from  place  to  place,  so  as  to  make  the 
enemy  believe  there  were  several.  The  firing  continued  all  next 
day  until  late  in  the  evening,  when,  after  skilful  manoeuvring,  the  Bri- 
tish marched  to  the  attack  in  two  columns,  led  by  Colonels  Short  and 
Warburton.     The  first,  numbering  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  had 


4P6 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1813 


DSrXHOB      OF     rOBT     8T3PU1INS0N. 


arrived  as  far  as  the  ditch,  when  the  piece  of  artillery  opened  upon 
them  with  fearful  effect,  killing  their  colonel,  with  numbers  of  his 
men,  and  driving  the  remainder  into  the  woods.  A  similar  fate 
attended  the  other  column.  Proctor  immediately  withdrew  his  forces, 
leaving  behind,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men.  To  the  wretched  sufTerers  in  the  ditch  the  brave  gar- 
rison extended  all  the  aid  in  their  power,  carrying  them  water  and 
other  necessaries  at  the  risk  of  their  own  safety,  and  even  making  an 
opening  in  the  picketing,  so  that  they  could  crawl  in.  For  this  bril- 
liant defence,  which  was  one  of  the  most  glorious  achievements  of 
the  war,  Croghan  and  his  men  received  the  thanks  of  Congress. 

Meanwhile  the  earnest  representations  of  General  Harrison  had 
awakened  government  to  the  necessity  of  obtaining  a  naval  supe- 
riority on  Lake  Erie,  so  that  two  brigs  and  several  schooners  wcro 
ordered  to  be  built  at  the  port  of  Erie,  under  the  directions  of  Com- 
modore O.  H.  Perry.  On  the  2d  of  August  this  officer  was  enabled 
to  sail  in  quest  of  the  enemy,  whom  he  encountered  on  the  10th  of 
September.  The  American  fleet  consisted  of  nine  small  vessels, 
carr;  ingfifty-four  guns;  the  British  of  six  vessels,  carrying  sixty-three 
guns.  The  battle  commenced  about  noon,  between  Perry's  flag-ship, 
the  Iiuwrcnce.  of  twenty  guns,  and  the  whole  British  fleet.    After  a 


■:/^' 


4;t, 


--J 


•.Ml.'.'  ()  ■-  [bi  If,  •'.;>  'tit*'!,  whvn  thf 

1  •'.  1    .    .   ■   '•  l''  ■  ,  i"(;  ..      '.      »■';  'i,,i(;ii''-il      'i 

•.!■  j'lr'    j !  ('  ,.'  J'  i    •  ;  t'li.,     V(iM  I'  r 

'.■«i'"i  ■;■"    :.  *-'ti       "    •  /'     ■-,)'•;  1(^1  '■   '■■:  ' 


,.  l.r^.  ' 


I'..       .     ■■     M)| 


raw 


"  •  '.■<i>i 


HI      ■  i:    ■  ' 


'■"     :  "1(1    I,  ,■■     '  .'  >■,•     ir-',;--    II        t 

'^.  ;],«  I'd  ih  Aft;  ,.-  ;;    .  . 

''     '  y.   "y'lriw     h:    i  1,.,,  I. US' 

'•.  {irtii-.-h  if '■it:  '■•  's.«!>  -i.'.  '■■ 


^■  ;(■- 


■:;i-B  :k   T:r;i:.:e'.T  v.s  s? 


1 


clo 


ols 
an 

f(ir 


die 

8UI 

mr 

ml 

tre 
Tc 

vol 
111) 

till 

ll'.l 
ri'i 
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tw 
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a> 
II  ti 


BATTLKS  OF  LAKE  ERIE  AND  THE  THAMES. 


407 


0  O  U  M  o  n  O  H  W     r  K  li  R  Y. 


close  contest  of  two  hours,  durinjr  which  the  remaining  Anr*ricnn 
vessels  were  unable  to  come  up,  the  Lawrence  was  silenced,  and 
every  thing  seemed  to  promise  the  liritish  a  speedy  victory;  but,  at 

IT?  W\  ^^''^  "'^'^'  ^''"^  "'""'*'  "* '''" 

'    Ik  Jill'' C    second   ship,    Niagara,   in    nn 

ll    iJjj    open  boat,  renewed  the  action 

l7|Tj|n    with  the  greatest  vigour,  and 

soon   compelled    the    opposing 

fleet  to  strike  its  colours. 

This  victory  was  bought  with 
the  loss  of  two  ofrict^ra,  and 
twenty-five  men  killed,  and 
ninety-six  wound<'d;  the  Hri- 
tish  had  forty-one  killed,  and 
ninety-four  wounded.  Not  only 
did  the  event  occasion  the 
greatest  joy  throughmit  tho 
counlry,  as  being  the  first  victory  gained  over  a  British  fleet,  but 
also,  inasmuch  as  it  gavi-  the  American  army  under  General  [larrison 
an  opportunity  to  cross  into  Canada,  and  retrieve  the  losses  of  the 
former  campaign. 

On  receiving  information  of  the  loss  of  his  fl(M't,  Proctor  inime 
dialely  abandoned  Maiden,  which  was  taken  possession  of  by  IJarri 
Bon  and  Governor  Shelby.  On  the  2(1  of  October  the  Ameiicaiu 
moved  forward  in  pursuit  of  the  British,  whom  they  overt  .ik  on  the 
5th,  drawn  uj)  in  line  of  battle,  on  a  narrow  isthmus  covered  with 
trees.  The  regulars,  under  I'roctor,  were  covered  by  tlii!  river,  and 
Tecumseh's  Indians  by  a  morass.  Colonel  Johnson,  with  the  mouiitec' 
volunteers,  was  ordered  to  charge  the  Indians,  while  tho  n)ain  army, 
under  Harrison,  charged  the  British.  So  impetuous  was  the  onset, 
that  both  the  enemy's  lines  were  immediately  broken,  and  to  the 
rr.imber  of  eight  hundred  men  they  threw  down  their  arms  and  sur- 
rendered. Proctor  efTected  his  escape.  Notwithstanding  this  loss, 
the  Indians  continued  to  fight  with  desperate  valour,  until  their  great 
chief  Tecumseh  was  killed,  when  they  fli'd  in  all  directions. 

In  this  decisive  action  the  victors  had  only  seven  killed,  and 
twenty-two  wounded.  The  British  and  Indians  lost  nearly  one  hun- 
dred in  killed  and  wounded,  together  with  large  quantities  of  arms 
Bid  military  stores.  Harrison  now  left  part  of  his  troops  at  Detroit 
under  General  Cass,  and  sailed  with  the  remainder  to  Buffalo. 

63  *'»'■' 


498 


CAMPAIGN  OP   1813. 


OF     TBS     THAUSa. 


ARLY  in  the  spring  of  this  year,  a  British  order  in 
council  declared  the  American  coast,  from  the 
Chesapeake  to  Rhode  Island,  in  a  state  of  blockade. 
In  March,  Commodore  Beresford  made  a  demand 
for  provisions  on  the  inhabitants  of  Lewistown,  with 
an  offer  of  payment.  Being  refused,  he  opened  a 
bombardment  on  the  6th  of  April,  which,  after  con- 
tinuing for  twenty-two  hours  with  no  effect  upon  the  Americans,  he 
abandoned,  and  sailed  for  Bermuda.  About  the  same  time  a  squadron 
of  four  ships  of  the  line  and  six  frigates,  under  Admiral  Cockburn, 
arrived  in  the  Chesapeake.  This  officer  signalized  himself  by  pil- 
laging country  seats,  farm-houses,  and  small  vessels,  plundering 
public  and  private  property,  and  firing  the  villages  of  Frenchtown, 
Havre  de  Grace,  Frederickton,  and  Georgetown.  The  British  were 
then  reinforced  by  large  bodies  of  troops  under  Sir  John  Warren  and 
Sir  Sidney  Beckwith.  These  officers  made  a  combined  attack  upon 
Norfolk,  but  were  gallantly  repulsed  by  the  seamen  and  militia  in 
ihat  vicinity.  They  then  proceeded  against  Hampton,  eighteen  miles 
from  Norfolk,  which  they  carried  after  an  obstinate  resistance.  The 
town  was  given  up  to  the  soldiery,  who  perpetrated  outrages  upon 


WAK   WITH   THE   INDIANS. 


49y 


prrsf.n  and  property  too  revolting'  to  be  described.  Not  long  afti - 
Admiral  Cockburn,  with  a  considerable  fleet,  perj^etrated  similar 
devastations  along  the  coast  of  North  Carolina. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  in  the  north  and  along  the 
coast,  serious  disturbances  had  taken  place  among  the  southern  In- 
dians. These  warriors  had  been  excited  by  a  visit  from  Tecumseb, 
who  had  used  all  his  eloquence  and  influence  to  bring  them  into  the 
confederation  he  was  at  that  time  forming  agamst  the  United  States. 
In  September,  1812,  the  Creeks  defeated  a  body  of  Georgia  volun- 
teers, but  were  soon  afterwards  overawed  by  the  appearance  of  Gene- 
ral Jackson  in  their  territory,  with  twenty-five  hundred  volunteers. 

On  the  30th  of  August,  Fort  Min^.nis,  with  its  garrison  of  about 
three  hundred  planters  and  settlers,  was  attacked  by  six  hundred 
Indians  under  the  chief  Weatherford.  After  a  close  conflict,  the 
assailants  cut  their  way  into  the  works,  drove  the  besieged  into 
houses,  and  set  them  on  fire.  Out  of  three  hundred  men,  women, 
and  children,  only  seventeen  escaped.  To  revenge  this  massacre, 
(teneral  Jackson  was  sent  against  the  savages  with  an  army  of  thirty- 
five  hundred  militia.  On  the  2d  of  November  he  sent  General  Coffee 
with  nine  hundred  men  against  a  body  of  Indians  posted  at  Tallu- 
shatchee.  The  attack  was  made  early  on  the  followmg  morning, 
and  after  a  sanofuinary  conflict  terminated  in  the  annihilation  of  the 
enemy,  A  number  of  wnmen  and  children  were  taken  prisoners. 
General  Coffee  lost  five  killed,  and  forty  wounded. 

On  the  7th  of  November  Jackson  marched  with  two  thousand  men 
to  relieve  some  friendly  Indians  at  Talladega,  which  was  then  threat- 
ened by  the  enemy.  The  enemy  were  attacked  on  the  9th  ;  and, 
after  a  close  struggle,  compelled  to  fly,  leaving  behind  them  more 
than  three  hundred  dead  warriors.  The  Americans  lost  fifteen 
killed,  and  eighty  wounded.  A  short  time  subsequent  to  this.  Gene 
ral  White  destroyed  the  principal  town  of  the  Hillabee  tribe,  killing 
sixty  of  their  warriors,  and  capturing  two  hundred  and  fifty  prison- 
ers. Another  victory  was  obtained  over  the  Indians  at  Autossee,  by 
a  force  under  General  Floyd.  After  a  contest  of  two  hours'  dura- 
tion, two  hundred  of  their  warriors  were  killed,  while  the  Americans 
lost  eleven  killed,  and  fifty-four  wounded. 

On  the  22d  of  January,  1814,  General  Jackson,  with  a  large  force? 
fought  a  decisive  battle  at  Emuckfaw  Creek,  near  a  bend  of  the  Tal- 
lapoosa. The  Indians  attacked  at  daylight ;  and,  after  a  warm 
action  of  half  an  hour,  were  driven  back  ;  but,  returning  m  a  littlf 


soo 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1813. 


BATTLB    OT    IMOCKfO.  W. 


while,  they  made  a  furious  assault  on  the  left,  which,  with  great 
difficulty,  was  sustained.  General  Coffee  charged  their  flank,  when 
they  were  driven  into  a  marsh.  Being  enticed  from  this,  they  were 
once  more  defeated,  and  their  warriors  cut  to  pieces.  The  conflict 
on  the  American  right  terminated  in  a  similar  irianner. 

On  the  14th  of  March,  General  Jackson,  with  about  three  thousand 
men,  commenced  another  expedition  against  the  Creeks.  The  first 
point  of  attack  was  the  fortress  of  Tohopeka,  defended  by  about  one 
thousand  warriors.  The  assault  was  conducted  by  General  Coflte 
on  one  side,  an.'  General  Jackson  on  the  other,  assisted  by  cannon 
and  musketry.  When  these  two  fences  arrived  at  the  breastworks, 
a  contest  ensued,  which,  for  obstinacy  and  bloodshed,  has  been  rarely 
surpassed  in  Indian  warfare.  No  quarter  was  asked  or  received  by 
either  party.  When,  towards  evening,  the  action  closed,  a  wretched, 
heart-broken  remnant,  was  all  that  remained  of  the  Creek  warriors. 
Only  four  men  had  been  taken  prisoners,  together  with  three  hun- 
dred women  and  children.  Five  hundred  and  fifty-seven  warriors 
were  found  dead  upon  the  ground,  besides  a  great  number  who  per- 
ished in  attempting  to  cross  the  river.  Fifiy-five  Americans  were 
tcilled,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-six  wounded.  Immediately  after 
his  action  »he  American  general  marched  to  the  Hickory  ground, 


TREATY   WITH   THE   INDIAN   TRIBES. 


501 


BATTLK     Oir     TOHOPBKA. 


where  he  concluded  treaties  of  peace  with  most  of  the  Indian  tribes 
in  that  vicinity. 

HE  naval  events  of  this  year  were 
not  less  glorious  than  ihdse  of  1812. 
On  the  23d  of  February,  the  Hornet 
sloop-of-war,  Captain  Lawrence,  fell 
in  with  the  bri^  Peacock,  of  twenty 
guns,  Captain  Peake  ;  and,  after  an 
action  of  thirty  minutes,  reduced  her 
to  a  complete    wreck.     The  Ame- 
ricans   lost   one    killed,   and   three 
wounded.     The  Peacock  sunk  before  all  her  crew  could  be  removed, 
carryin/T  wiih  her  three  Americans  and  nine  British.     For  his  gul- 
32 


502 


CAMPAIGN   OF  1813 


lontry  in  this  action,  Lawrence  was  promoted  to  the  command  of  the 
Chesapeake.  He  found  several  of  the  officers  sick,  many  of  the 
crew  newly  enlisted,  and  the  remainder  dissatisfied  at  the  withhold- 
ing of  their  prize-money.  Being  unfortunately  too  unmindful  of 
these  incident?!,  Lawrence  sailed  on  the  first  of  June  from  Boston,  in 
quest  of  the  British  frigate  Shannon.  Unknown  to  Lawrence,  thii 
vessel  had  recently  been  fitted  out  with  a  picked  crew  and  superior 
equipment,  and  had  sent  a  challenge  for  the  Chesapeake  one  day 
after  the  sailing  of  the  latter,  but  which,  unfortunately,  Lawrence  did 
not  receive.  The  action  commenced  at  half-past  five  ;  and  in  a  very 
short  time  the  fire  from  the  Shannon  proved  so  destructive  that  the 
Chesapeake's  sailing-master,  and  four  lieutenants,  were  killed  or 
wounded,  and  her  rigging  was  so  much  injured  that  she  fell  aboard 
the  enemy.  Captain  Lawrence  was  also  wounded,  but  remained  (^n 
deck  giving  his  orders  with  perfect  composure.  Soon  after,  the  Bri- 
tish commander,  Captain  Broke,  boarded  with  his  marines,  when 
Lawrence,  receiving  a  third  and  mortal  wound,  was  carried  below, 
while  issuing  his  noble  order,  "  Don't  give  up  the  ship."  The  lumd- 
ful  on  deck  were  soon  overpowered;  and,  for  the  first  time  dunna 
the  war,  the  British  flag  was  placed  over  an  American  frigate.  In 
this  desperate  and  sanguinary  battle  Captain  Broke  was  wounded, 
his  first  lieutenant  killed,  and  seventy-nine  others  killed  or  wounded. 
The  Chesapeake  lost  seventy-seven  killed,  and  about  ninety-seven 
wounded.  The  death  of  the  gallant  Lawrence  spread  a  feeling  of 
deep  sorrow  throughout  the  country. 

N  August,  Captain  Allen,  in  the 
^^  brig  Argus,  after  a  very  suc- 
cessful cruise,  was  met  by  the 
British  war-sloop  Pelican,  of 
rather  superior  force.  A  battle 
ensued,  [August  14,]  which, 
after  lasting  an  hour  and  a  half, 
terminated  in  the  capture  of  the 
American  vessel, — her  captain, 
first  lieutenant,  and  many  of  the 
seamen,  being  severely  wound- 
ed, most  of  her  rigging  shot 
away,  and  the  British  frigate  Sea-Horse  heaving  in  sight.  Subse- 
quently Captain  Allen  died  of  his  wounds,  and  was  buried  in  Enj» 
land      The  mortification  caused  by  this  event  was,  in  some  measure 


NAVAL   ACTIONS. 


603 


dis.ipated  by  the  capture  of  the  British  brig  Boxer,  [September  4,] 
of  fourteen  guns,  by  Lieutenant  Burrows,  in  the  brig  Enterprise,  of 
fourteen  guns. 

This  year,  like  the  former,  was  noted  for  the  enterprise  and  suc- 
cess of  the  American  privateers  against  the  enemy's  commercial 
vessels.     Victories  were  sometimes  gained  even  over  English  armed 

ships.     Few  naval  actions  were 

ever  more  desperate  and  gal- 

^y^^  lant  than    that  fought   by  the 

^^^^  Privateer,    Decatur,    of  seven 

^g  guns    and    one    hundred    and 

Bg^J  three  men,  with  the  schooner 

Dominica,  of  fifteen  guns  and 

eighty-eight  men,  in  which  the 

^^^^j  latter,  after  a  two  hours'  action, 

was  carried  by  boarding. 

During  this  year  the  Empe- 
ror of  Russia  offered  his  ser- 
vices to  mediate  between  Eng- 
land and  the  United  States,  as 
the  common  friend  of  both  countries.  This  was  accepted  by  Pre- 
sident Madison,  who  named  John  Gl.  Adams,  Albert  Gallatin,  and 
James  A.  Bayard,  as  commissioners.  But  Great  Britain  declined  to 
treat  under  the  mediation  of  Russia,  proposing  a  direct  negotiation 
at  London  or  Gottenburg.  This  the  President  accepted,  and  added 
Henry  Clay  and  Jonathan  Russell  to  the  commissioners  already 
appointed. 

During  the  session  of  Congress,  a  loan  of  twenty-five  million  dol- 
lars, and  the  issue  of  treasury  notes  for  five  millions,  were  authorized, 
and  provisions  made  for  the  increase  of  the  army  and  the  better  de- 
fence of  the  sea-coast. 


OAPTAIN      ALLBN. 


<8 


SXr^MOS    07    YOBT    OSWBOO 


CHAPTER  XLII. 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1814. 


^  HE  opening  of  this  campaign  on  the  nnrtn- 
i\>  eastern  frontier  was  not  calculated  to  dispel  the 
gloomy  feelings  with  which  the  Americans  had 
been  oppressed  by  the  result  of  former  operations 
in  that  quarter.  The  termination  of  the  war  in 
Spain  had  enabled  the  British  to  send  over 
large  detachments  of  "  Wellington's  veterans," 
flushed  with  victory  and  eager  to  add,  to  their  already  brilliant  fame, 
th?.  renown  of  performing  a  triumphant  campaign  in  America. 

Late  in  March,  General  Wilkinson  sent  one  division  of  his  army 
under  General  Brown,  to  Sackett's  Harbour,  and  then  marched 
against  the  enemy  at  La  Cole  Mill.  After  cannonading  this  place 
without  making  the  least  impression,  he  r>,?turned  to  Plattsburg, 
having  lost,  in  killed  and  wounded,  one  hund'.ed  men.  The  British 
acknowledge  a  loss  of  sixty.  He  was  soon  afterwards  superseded 
by  General  Izard.     This  was  followed  by  u  descent  of  the  eueinj 


604 


BATTLE  OP  CHIPPEWA 


505 


.iri^^iii^mi^m 


BiTTL*    OF    OHIPPBWA. 


upon  Oswego,  which  was  yieldod  only  dtler  a  most  gallant  defence 
by  Colonel  Mitchell,  who  succeeded  in^  saving  most  of  his  stores. 
Subsequently,  two  hundred  of  the  assailants  were  captured  while 
endeavouring  to  get  possession  of  these  stores. 

At  midnight  of  July  2,  General  Brown  made  a  descent  upon  Fort 
Erie,  which  surrendered  next  morning  without  resistance.  One 
hundred  and  thirty  prisoners  were  taken.  General  Brown  then 
advanced  against  three  thousand  British  under  General  Riall,  at 
Chippewa,  whom,  after  a  severe  action,  (July  5,)  he  defeated,  with  the 
loss  of  four  hundred  and  fifty-three  killed  and  wounded,  and  forty-six 
taken.  The  total  loss  of  the  Americans  was  three  hundred  and 
twenty-eight.  Soon  after,  the  British  were  reinforced  by  troops 
under  General  Drummond,  who  moved  against  the  town  of  Schlosser 
10  capture  the  American  stores.  To  prevent  this,  General  Scott  was 
sent  on  the  Queenstown  road  with  his  own  brigade,  Towson's  artil- 
lery, and  the  dragoons,  and  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  July  25,  came 
up  with  the  enemy  strongly  posted  at  Bridgewater.  Notwithstanding 
the  inferiority  of  force,  Scott  determined  on  an  attack  ;  and  sending 
to  General  Brown  for  a  reinforcement,  he  ordered  Captain  Towcon 
to  open  with  his  artillery.  A  desperate  action  ensued,  during  which 
two  American  regiments,  having  expended  their  fire,  were  forced 
back,  while  at  the  same  time  General  Riall  and  many  other  officen 


M 


au 


ySakd, 


506 


OAMPAiaN   OF   1814. 


wSBStik^i^i^. 


OSNSRAL    RIPLST. 


were  captured  in  another  quarter.  The  enemy's  batteries  of  nine 
pieces  still  pouring  in  a  terrible  fire.  General  Scott  was  on  the  point 
of  falling  back,  when  General  Ripley  arrived  with  reinforcements. 
Both  armies  were  now  fighting  by  moonlight,  and  Ripley,  seeing  the 
execution  caused  by  the  enemy's  cannon,  ordered  Colonel  Miller  to 
advance  and  capture  them.  This  he  did,  with  a  degree  of  gallantry 
which  shed  the  brightest  glcry  on  himself  and  his  intrepid  regiment. 
About  the  same  time,  Ripley  drove  the  enemy's  infantry  from  the 
crest  of  the  hill.  The  British  made  three  determined  efforts  to 
recover  their  batteries,  but  being  repulsed  in  every  direction,  they 
withdrew  from  the  field  about  midnight.  In  this  obatinate  battle, 
Generals  Brown  and  Scott  were  both  seriously  wounded,  and  eight 
hundred  and  sixty  killed,  wounded,  or  missing.  The  British  loss 
was  eight  hundred  and  seventy-eight,  including,among  their  wounded, 
Generals  Drummond  and  Riall.  From  its  vicinity  to  the  falls,  this 
is  called  the  battle  of  Niagara. 

The  command  of  the  American  army  now  devolved  upon  General 
Ripley,  who,  breaking  up  his  camp  at  Chippewa,  retired  with  six 
teen  hundred  men  to  Fort  Erie,  which  he  proceeded  to  strengthen 
Drummond  invested  the  place  on  the  4th  of  August,  and  on  the  next 
Jay  General  Gaines  arrived  and  took  command  ef  the   grrisor 


BIEGB  OP   FORT   ERIE. 


Wl 


aatiBRAi,  uiLLBa. 


The  sien;e  and  cannonade  continued  until  the  15th,  when,  at  two 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  British  made  a  furious  assault  upon  the 
works,  but  were  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  more  than  nine  hundred. 
The  garrison  lost  eighty-four.  On  l-he  2d  of  September,  General 
Brown  arrived,  and  at  noon  of  the  17th,  in  company  with  Generals 
Porter  and  Miller,  made  a  sortie  from  the  fort,  capturing  the  enemy's 
whole  line  of  intrenchments,  together  with  three  hundred  and  eighty 
prisoners,  and  destroying  in  half  an  hour  the  fruits  of  forty-seven 
days'  labour.  His  total  loss  was  five  hundred  and  twenty-seven  ; 
•hat  of  the  British  five  hundred, exclusive  of  prisoners.  On  the 
night  of  the  21st,  the  enemy  raised  the  siege.  On  the  9th  of  Octo- 
ber, General  Izard  arrived,  assumed  command,  destroyed  Fort  Erie, 
and  retired  into  winter  quarters. 

Meanwhile,  another  British  force  had  attempted  a  dismemberment 
of  the  Union.  This  was  to  be  done  by  obtaining  a  naval  superiority 
on  Lal^e  Champlain,  moving  down  the  Hudson  and  attacking  New 
York,  thus  cutting  ofTthe  eastern  states  from  the  others — it  being  sup- 
posed that  they  were  willing  to  make  a  separate  peace.  Accordingly, 
a  large  army  of '^Wellington's  veterans"  marched  toward  Plattsburg 
m  the  river  Saranac,  near  its  juncture  with  Lake  Champlain.  Aflei 
skirmishing  with  the  militia,  they  entered  the  town  on  the  6th  of 


.t^!k-^.ii^^-.,kaA^ .^a-.^^^n. 


/aiiafti^ 


.%, 


«>. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


i  ^°  J% 


Va 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


1^  1^ 

2.2 


1^ 

US 

AO     12.0 


18 


U     III  1.6 


^^ 


vl 


/,. 


V 


/A 


50S 


CAMPAION   OP   1814. 


OBNIRAL    UAOOMB. 

September,  the  Americans  under  General  Macomb  having  retired  U 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  and  torn  up  the  bridges.  They  num- 
bered but  fifteen  hundred,  yei 
with  this  force  the  general  kept 
the  enemy  in  check,  who,  nnd- 
ing  his  efforts  to  cr^ss  unavail- 
ing, erected  batter  ^a  to  annoy 
the  American  camp. 

On  themorningofthe  11th,  the 
British  fleet  of  seventf^en  vessels. 
carrying  ninety-five  guns,  en- 
gaged the  American  fleet  of  four- 
teen sail,  and  eighty-six  guns, 
under  CommoAire  McDonough. 
ooMMODORjt  M'DONou>. H  After  an    action  of  more   than 

two  hours,  the  British  flag-ship  struck  her  colours,  a  brig  and  two 


^^■^^tif<,iM-M^.ili2u^ 


.  ■,<!■''.' 


__j|MgiiM^^«.«aMai 


coK:>::i:i^  ujhl£. 


Si'ooj 

com  I 

and  1 

the  A 

and 

of  ih 

the  s 

cans. 

fled  \ 

was 

force! 

were 

Ea 

clarec 

portio 

towns 

Admi 

large 

part  h 

Ross  I 

can  fc 


UATILE   OF    LAKE    CHAMPLAIN. 


609 


BATTLB    or    LAICB    OBAUFLAIV. 


sloops  were  taken,  and  three  galleys  sunk  :  Captain  Dovvnie,  the 
coinnmnder,  was  killed,  with  eighty-three  of  his  men;  one  h'liidred 
and  ten  were  wounded,  and  eight  hundred  and  fifty-six — more  than 
the  whole  American  force — taken.  The  victors  lost  one  hundred 
and  ten.  This  glorious  victory  put  an  end  to  a  furious  cannonade 
of  the  enemy's  land  forces,  which  had  continued  all  day  ;  while  at 
the  same  time  the  shores  rang  with  the  shouts  of  the  joyful  Ameri- 
cans. That  night  the  *'  veterans,"  numbering  about  fourteen  thousand, 
fled  with  such  haste  to  Chazy,  eight  miles  distant,  that  their  flight 
was  not  discovered  until  the  next  morning.  The  American  land 
forces  numbered  about  forty-five  hundred,  of  whom  three  thousand 
were  militia.     The  American  loss  was  only  ninety-nine. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  this  year,  the  British  government  had  de- 
clared the  whole  coast  of  the  United  States  under  blockade,  and 
portions  of  their  naval  force  attacked  with  greater  or  less  success  th^ 
towns  of  Eastport,  Stonington,  Castine,  and  others.  Early  in  August, 
Admirals  Cochrane  and  Malcolm  entered  the  Chesapeake  with  a 
large  fleet  and  army,  part  of  which  were  ordered  up  the  Potomac, 
part  higher  up  the  Chesapeake,  while  tfte  main  body  under  General 
Rtiss  landed  at  Benedict,  on  the  Patuxent,  August  19.  The  Ameri- 
can force  of  three  thousand   men,  mostly  militia,  under  General 

2c2 


GIO 


CAMPAIGN   OF   1814. 


lM 


tv^,:K''^ 


m  I? 


'^-. 


i'r-'a 


BLADXHSBUBa. 


Winder,  retired  before  him,  until  at  Bladensburg  it  was  reinforced 
by  twenty-one  hundred  men  vnder  General  Stansbury.  Commodore 
Barney  with  his  sailors  also  joined  him,  having  dcstroj^ed  his  flotilla. 
A  battle  took  place  at  Bladensburg,  in  which,  although  the  militia 
fled  as  soon  a«  the  enemy  were  in  sight,  Barney  and  Colonel  Miller, 
with  the  marines,  nobly  sustained  the  charge,  and  but  for  their  small 
number  would  have  driven  back  the  assailants'  whole  army.  At 
length  this  little  band  were  attacked  in  front  and  on  both  flanks, 
by  three  times  their  own  number,  and  both  their  leaders  beinij 
severely  wounded,  they  were  driven  ofl^  the  field.  Barney  and 
Miller  were  both  taken,  but,  on  account  of  their  gallant  conduct, 
received  the  greatest  care  and  praise  from  the  British. 

This  victory  left  the  American  capital  at  the  mercy  of  the  victors, 
who  arrived  there  under  General  Ross,  at  eight  o'clock  in  the  eve- 
ning. He  offered  to  retire  on  condition  of  receiving  a  sum  of  money 
equal  to  the  value  of  the  public  and  private  property.  There  being 
no  authority  near  competent  to  enter  into  such  an  arrangement, 
he  set  fire  to  ail  the  public  buildings  except  the  post-office,  thus 
destroying  all  the  collections  of  art  at  the  capitol,  together  with  the 
valuable  natia  al  and  public  records.     After  this  proceeding,  which 


BURNING   OF  THE   OAPITOL. 


511 


disgraced  tho  British  character,  he  re-embarked  on  the  30th,  having 
lost  nine  hundred  men  in  killed,  wounded,  and  taken.  The  Ame« 
ticnia  had  one  hundred  and  twenty  captured,  and  ninety  killed  oi 
wouciled. 

Meanwhile,  tbe  squadron  under  Captain  Gordon,  which  bad  en- 
tered the  Potomac,  reached  Alexandria  on  the  20th,  and  forced  the 
inhabitants  to  deliver  up  all  their  vessels  and  merchandise.  Having 
by  this  means  collected  a  rich  booty,  they  rejoined  the  main  fleet 
with  the  loss  of  seven  killed  and  thirty-five  wounded.  The  remain- 
ing expedition  was  not  so  fortunate.  Being  opposed  by  Colonel 
Reed  with  a  party  of  militia.  Sir  Peter  Parker  received  a  mortal 
wound,  fourteen  of  his  men  were  killed,  and  twenty-seven  wounded. 
The  remainder  retired  to  their  shipping. 

General  Ross  now  resolved  on  an  attack  upon  Baltimore,  where 
he  expected  to  find  a  large  booty.  He  was  destined,  however, 
to  experience  an  unexpected  and  bitter  reverse.  The  defence  of  the 
rity  was  intrusted  to  Genera!  Smith,  assisted  by  Generals  Strieker 
and  Winder,  the  whole  American  force  numbering  about  fifteen 
thousand,  of  whom  only  seven  hundred  were  regulars.  Fort  McHenry 
guarded  the  approach  by  water,  besides  which  large  vessels  had  been 
sunk  in  the  channel,  and  two  temporary  works  erected  between  the 
fort  and  the  city.  On  the  12th  of  September,  the  British  landed 
about  five  thousand  men  at  North  Point,  about  fourteen  miles  below 
Baltimore.  They  were  opposed  by  General  Strieker,  near  Bear 
Creek,  and  a  skirmish  ensued  between  the  advance  parties,  during 
which  General  Ross  was  killed.  Colonel  Brook  then  assumed  the 
command,  when  the  battle  became  general — the  Americans  slowly 
retiring  toward  the  city.  On  the  following  day  the  British  attempted 
to  reach  their  destination  by  a  circuitous  route,  but  failing,  they  sud- 
denly retreated  to  their  shipping. 

Meanwhile  Fort  McHenry  had  been  furiously  assailed,  the  enemy's 
whole  line  of  fifty  ships  bombarding  it  from  sunrise  on  the  13th, 
until  seven  the  following  morning.  The  garrison,  consisting  of  one 
thousand  men  under  Major  Armistead,  gallantly  did  their  duty,  and, 
with  the  assistance  of  the  smaller  forts,  poured  into  the  opposing 
fleet  so  well-directed  a  fire,  that  on  the  15th  it  descended  the  Chesa- 
peake, and  after  taking  on  board  the  land  forces,  joined  the  remain- 
der of  the  squadron.  The  British  lost  thirty-nine  killed,  two  hundred 
and  fifty -cie  wounded  ;  the  Americans  twenty-four  killed,  one  bun 
drt  d  an:'  thirty-nine  wounded,  and  about  fifty  taken. 


512 


CAMPAIGN  OP   1814. 


B0MB4HDX1NT    OF    FOBT    lI'BIIlaT, 


^« 


N  the  summer  of  this  year,  the  south-western 
states  again  became  the  theatre  of  active 
operations.  In  August,  a  body  of  British 
troops  arrived  at  Pensacola,  and  marched 
into  the  Spanish  fort  at  that  place.  Their 
commander,  Colonel  Nicholls,  issued  a  pro- 
clamation to  the  inhabitants  of  Louisiana, 
Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  inviting  them  to 
secede  from  the  federal  government.  He 
also  made  offers  of  alliance  and  friendship 
•o  the  pirates  of  Barataria,  under  their  renowned  chief  Lafitte  ;  but 
that  officer  immediately  made  the  whole  known  to  Governor  Clai- 
borne of  Louisiana,  who,  pleased  with  his  magnanimity,  promised 
pardon  to  the  whole  band,  on  condition  of  their  engaging  in  defence 
of  the  country.  This  was  accepted,  and  from  that  time  the  Bara- 
varians  did  good  service  '.a  the  American  cause. 

On  the  15th  -^f  September,  a  British  squadron  of  two  ships  and 
two  b:ig8  appeared  before  Fort  Bowyer,  which  commanded  the  en« 
Iranci  into  Mobile  Bay,  and  was  occupied  by  a  small  garrison  under 
Major  Lawrence.     An  action  commenced  at  four  in  the  afternoon 


i5 


X. 


.J 


1 


DEFENCE   OF    NEW   ORLEANS. 


613 


which,  after  continuing  about  three  hours,  ended  in  the  total  discoin 
filure  of  the  enemy's  force.  One  of  the  ships  was  sot  on  fire,  the 
other  forced  to  run  aground,  and  a  brig  was  greatly  injured.  The 
British  loss  in  the  three  vessels  was  two  hundred  and  thirty-four, 
that  in  the  fourth  not  being  ascertained.  A  land  force  of  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  marines,  and  two  hundred  Indians,  was  also  repulsed. 
Four  of  the  garrison  were  killed  and  five  wounded. 

HE  conduct  of  the  Governor  of  Pensa- 
cula,  in  admitting  the  British  and  In- 
dians within  the  city,  and  allow- 
ing them  to  fit  out  expeditiim? 
ngamst  the  United  States  from 
that  port,  was  considered  by  Gcno 
'\  ral  Jackson  a  violation  of  the 
treaty  between  Spain  and  the 
United  States,  which  called  for 
summary  punishment.  Accord- 
ingly, on  the  7th  of  November, 
he  appeared  before  that  place 
with  two  thousand  men,  and  en- 
tering the  city,  compelled  the 
authorities  to  sign  a  capitulation, 
by  which  Ponsacoia  and  its  dependencies  were  delivered  up  to  the 
American  government. 

After  this  act.  General  Jackson  proceeded  to  New  Orleans,  which 
he  reached  on  the  2d  of  December.  After  guarding  all  the  approaches 
to  that  city,  and  providing  for  the  defence  of  Lakes  Borgne  and  Pon- 
chartrain,  he  adopted  measures  to  rid  the  population  of  the  spies  and 
traitors  which  he  had  good  reason  to  believo  were  numerous.  Mar- 
tial law  was  proclaimed,  an  embargo  was  laid  upon  all  vessels  in 
the  harbour ;  negroes  were  impressed  and  compelled  to  work  on 
the  fortifications,  and  the  whole  militia  force  of  the  district  was 
called  out  and  placed  under  arms. 

The  British  flotilla  of  forty-three  gun-boats,  carrying  twelve  hun- 
dred men,  attacked  the  American  force  of  five  boats  and  one  hundred 
and  eighty  men,  on  the  14th,  and,  after  a  brisk  skirmish,  compelled 
the  latter  to  surrender.  This  secured  to  the  enemy  the  command 
of  Lakes  Borgne  and  Ponchartrain,  an  advantage  which  they  were 
not  slow  in  improving.  Guided  by  some  informers,  they  took  pos 
session  of  an  unfrequented  pass  on  the  2ild,  captured  the  pi<-ket 


>14 


CAMPAIGN   OP   1814. 


guaid,  ai:d  pushed  forward  to  the  bank  of  the  river.  On  receiving 
news  of  this  movement,  Jackson  resolved  on  an  immediate  attack, 
and,  collecting  about  two  thousand  men,  he  marched  against  them  at 
five  in  the  afternoon.  The  British  force  numbered  about  three 
thousand,  and  extended  along  the  river  shore  half  a  mile.  The 
attack  was  commenced  by  the  American  schooner  Caroline,  which, 
lighted  by  the  enemy's  camp-fires,  opened  upon  them  a  galling  fire. 
So  dark  wa3  the  evening,  that  this  was  the  first  intimation  to  the 
British  of  the  Americans  being  near.  At  the  same  time.  General 
Coffee  with  his  brigade  assailed  their  right,  and  General  Jackson 
their  left.  A  fierce  struggle  ensued,  which  was  ended  only  by  the 
occurrence  of  a  thick  fog,  when  Jackson  thought  proper  to  call 
ofT  his  troops.  His  loss  was  twenty-four  killed,  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  wounded,  and  seventy-four  missing;  that  of  the  enemy  forty- 
six  killed,  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  wounded,  and  sixty-four 
missing.  The  result  of  this  action  so  inspirited  the  Americans  that 
it  may  well  be  considered  the  cause  of  the  final  victory  on  the  8tii 
of  January. 

On  the  27th,  the  Caroline  ran  aground,  and  was  speedily  set 
on  fire  by  the  enemy.  Next  day  the  British  commander,  Sir  Edwaid 
Packenham,  furiously  assaulted  the  American  works  with  bombs, 
rockets,  and  heavy  artillery.  Little  effect  was  produced,  as  the  de- 
fences were  constructed  of  thick  cotton  bales,  which  no  balls  could 
penetrate.  At  the  same  time,  the  fire  from  the  American  batteries, 
and  the  vessel  Louisiana,  was  so  severe  that  the  assailants  were 
obliged  to  withdraw  with  considerable  loss.  A  similar  attempt  on 
the  night  of  January  1,  1815,  was  also  frustrated.  Soon  after,  the 
Americans  were  reinforced  by  twenty-five  hundred  Kentuckians, 
swelling  their  numbers  to  about  seven  thousand  men.  The  British 
also  received  an  addition  of  four  thousand  men  under  General  L:im» 
bert,  swelling  their  total  force  to  twelve  thousand. 

The  final  assault  upon  the  Americans  was  reserved  for  the  8lh  of 
January,  and  was  directed  against  the  defences  on  each  side  of  the 
river.  The  main  army,  under  the  superintendence  of  the  com- 
mander-in-chief, advanced  in  two  columns,  led  by  Generals  Gibbs 
and  Keane — General  Lambert  holding  the  reserve.  With  fascines 
wd  scaling-ladders,  the  troops  advanced  slowly,  to  within  nine 
hundred  yards  of  the  works,  when  the  American  artillery  opened, 
nnd  mowed  them  down  with  fearful  slaughter.  Still  pressing  on, 
they  ercountered  the  fatal  fires  of  the  western  riflemen,  which  soon 


Dl 
th 
SU 

re 
K 

tre 

sai 
sh; 
tlu 
wc 

] 

ton 

the 

Jac 

and 

mis 

was 

the 

the 

bile 

ri«or 


BATTLE   OF  NEW   ORLEANS. 


5  If' 


BATTLB     OF    NKW    0RL1IA.NS. 


Drolce  both  columns,  and  drove  them  back  in  confusion.  In  rallying 
them,  Sir  Edward  Packenham  was  killed,  and  General  Gibbs  as- 
sumed command.  The  troops  were  again  led  forward,  and  again 
repulsed;  and  a  third  attempt  met  with  like  result.  Gibbe  ant 
Keane  were  severely  wounded,  the  whole  army  thrown  into  dis- 
tressing confusion,  and  the  plain  covered  with  nearly  two  w.  u- 
sand  dead  and  wounded.  General  Lambert  then  collected  the 
shattered  remains  of  this  once  formidable  army,  and  retired  to 
the  encampment.  The  Americans  lost  but  thirteen  in  killed  ant 
wounded. 

Meanwhile,  the  detachment  on  the  left  bank,  under  Colonel  Thorn- 
ton, had  succeeded  in  driving  the  Americans  from  their  works ;  but 
they  were  soon  afterwards  recovered  by  a  stratagem  of  General 
Jackson.  Here  the  British  loss  was  one  hundred  and  twenty  killed 
and  wounded;  the  American,  six  killed  and  wounded,  and  nineteen 
missing.  General  Jackson's  whole  campaign  at  New  Orleans 
was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  in  our  annals;  and  the  ba'tle  of 
the  8th  of  January  is  justly  regarded  as  the  crowning  glory  of 
the  war.  After  this  sipnal  defeat,  the  enemy  proceeded  to  Mo- 
bile Bay,  where  they  took  possession  of  Fort  Bowyer,  whose  gar- 
rison numbered  only  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  men.     Sewn 


I! 


016 


CAMPAIGN  OF   1814. 


0RDI9B    OF    THZ     ISaKX. 


after,  the  arrival  of  the  news  of  peace    arrested  all  further  ;>io 
r.eedings. 

I  HE  maritime  extents  of  1814  were  as  stirring 
and  important  as  those  of  the  pre- 
ceding yoar.     In  February,  Com- 
modore Rf  dgers,  after  a  cruise  of 
seventy-five  days,  during  which  he 
captured  many  of  the  enemy's  ves- 
sels, fell  in  with  three  vessels  of 
war,  to  one  of  which,  the  Plantage- 
net,  of  seventy-four  guns,  he  offered 
battle.     This  was  declined,  and  Rodgers  pursued  his  way  to  New 
York.     Not  long  after,  the  celebrated  cruise  of  Captain  P.rter  was 
terminated  by  the  capture  of  his  vessel,  the  Essex.     For  more  than 
a  year  he  had  maintained  a  supremacy  along  the  Pacific  coast,  cap 
turing  or   destroying   twelve   British   vessels,  and  cargoes   to  the 
amount  of  more  than  two  millions  of  dollars.     The  Phcebe,  a  British 
frigate  of  thirty  guns,  being  sent  against  him,  Porter  was  blockadef 
in  the  port  of  Valparaiso  for  about  six  weeks.     In  attempting  to  ge 
to  sea,  the  Essex  was  struck  by  a  squall,  and  obliged  to  run  inti 
a  small  boy.     Here,  in  violation  of  the  laws  of  nations,  she  war 
attacked  by  the  English  captain  with  two  vessels,  and  after  a  contes 
of  three  hours,  obliged  to  strike  her  colours.     Her  1(  is  was  fifty 
eight  killed,  sixty-six  wounded,  and  thirty-one  missing;  that  of  th» 


captl 
turef 
UnitI 
of  ha 
and 
one 
kilJec 
'weiv 
Britisl 
Onf 
Was 
Wajeal 
of  fiftl 


CRUISE   OF  THE  WASP. 


517 


enemy  five  killed  and  ten  wounded.  Captain  Porter  and  his  crew 
were  paroled  and  sent  to  ihe  United  States  ;  but  being  attacked 
on  the  way  by  the  Saturn,  he  gave  up  his  parole,  and  soon  aAer 
escaped  to  the  United  States. 

On  the  29th  of  April,  the  Peacock  of  eighteen  guns,  Captain 
Warrington,  captured  the  brig  Epervier,  after  an  action  of  forty-two 
minutes.  Each  vessel  mounted  eighteen  guns.  The  Americans 
had  two  men  slightly  wounded  ;  the  British  lost  "ight  killed,  fifteen 
wounded,  besides  on^  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  specie. 

On  the  28th  of  June,  the  sloop- 
of-war  Wasp,  of  eighteen  guns. 
Captain  Blakely,  captured  the 
British  brig  Reindeer,  of  nine- 
teen guns.  The  action  lasted 
two  hours,  the  Americans  losing 
five  killed  and  twenty-one  wound- 
ed ;  the  British  twenty -five  killed, 
forty-two  wounded.  Continuing 
his  cruise,  Blakely,  on  the  1st 
of  September,  captured  a  mer- 
chantman, and  on  the  same  eve- 
ning the  sloop  Avon,  of  twenty 


CAPTAIN    BLArXLT. 


guns.  This  vessel  soon  afterwards  sunk.  On  the  23d  of  September, 
he  captured  the  brig  Atlanta,  which  he  sent  to  the  United  States. 
From  this  period  no  tidings  were  ever  heard  of  the  Wasp  or  her 
gallant  crew. 

On  the  24th  of  December,  Captain  Stewart,  in  the  Constitution, 
captured  the  brig  Lord  Nelson,  ofT  Bermudas.  OfT  Lisbon,  he  cap- 
tured the  ship  Susan,  with  a  valuable  cargo,  and  sent  her  to  the 
United  States.  On  the  20th  of  February,  1815,  after  an  action 
of  half  an  hour,  he  captured  the  frigate  Cyanne,  of  thirty-four  guns 
and  one  hundred  and  eighty  men,  and  the  sloop  Levant,  of  twenty- 
one  guns  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-six  men.  The  enemy  lost,  in 
killed  and  wo^inded,  seventy-seven ;  the  Americans  three  killed, 
twelve  wounded.  The  Levant  was  subsequently  recaptured  by  a 
British  squadron. 

On  the  15th  of  January,  Commodore  Decatur,  in  the  President, 

was  chased  by  the  British   blockading  squadron,  consisting  of  the 

Majeytic  of  seventy  guns,  and  the  Endymion,  Pomona,  and  Tenedos 

of  fifty  guns  each.     At  noon  he  had  outsailed  all  except  the  Endv 

88  «» 


610 


CAMPAIGN  OP  1814. 


aaOAFS    OV    TBI    BOBMBT. 

inion,  which  he  engaged  at  fiTe  in  the  afternoon^  and  after  an  action 
of  two  hours  and  a  half,  completely  disabled  her.  But  by  this  time 
the  remainder  of  the  fleet  had  arrived  within  gunshot,  and  the  gallani 
commodore  was  compelled  to  strike  his  colours. 

On  the  23d  of  March,  the  Hornet  sloop-of-war,  of  eighteen  guns, 
Captain  Biddle,  engaged  the  British  brig  Penguin,  and  nfteran  action 
of  fifteen  minutes  compelled  her  to  surrender.  Forty-two  of  the 
enemy  were  killed  or  wounded  ;  the  Hornet  had  one  man  killed 
and  eleven  wounde^.  Immediately  afterwards,  Captain  Biddle  was 
chased  by  a  British  seventy-four,  but  succeeded  in  escaping  by 
throwing  his  guns  and  other  heavy  articles  overboard. 

Meanwhile,  negotiations  for  peace  had  been  actively  carried  on  at 
Ghent,  and  on  the  24th  of  December,  a  treaty  was  signed  between 
the  ambassadors  of  the  two  nations,  and  ratified  by  the  Prince  Re- 
gent of  England,  on  the  28th  of  the  same  month.  Being  transmitted 
to  the  American  government,  it  was  approved  by  the  President,  with 
the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  on  the  17th  of  February,  1815. 
This  instrument  secured  to  each  nation  all  the  places  taken  by  the 
other  during  the  war,  with  some  insignificant  exceptions  ;  made  pro- 
visions for  regulating  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States  and  Cana- 
da, and  of  securing  peace  with  the  Indians.  Both  parties  agreed  to 
unite  their  best  efforts  for  the  suppression  of  the  dtave  trade.    A 


> 


■V- 


T;..1r;,|. 


51t 


-CAMi'Aiflar  < 


i^^ 


mion,  whi' ! 
of  two  J, 
xho  t 

cijr'u 

CflptHir.  be  British  I  .aod-i.'v 

of   fir'>:^t»    muiuifts  vti>ij"]|e(i  her  lo  nurreitder.     Fort\ 
(•tfitiiv  -.^dn.   kiiied  or  wouii'lfj  ;  th>»  Hornrt  hud  oti'- 
n.'-'.  Mevrn  r/innrfed.     'mr  .  iifstfly  nuerwards,  ('aplitiM   ■ 

-Iwur,  bm  <»uccRC(l«jd   in   •;•»• 
ti»f  licuvy  articles  ovtrboard. 
?  ♦!!;  jipjiCB  had  biien  ac.ljvf' 
»..  of  Dwcejobiir,  B  tri-iity  wi»e  » 
..le  two  nations,  and  rfititi<vi  by  !< 
m  the  ftii^h  of  tho  same  moDih.     Bt;  ■ 
rnmenl,  it  was  approved  by  the 
fit  of  Jhe  Senate,  on  the  17th  of  f 
(red  lo  "ich  natinn  all  the  piac- 
■,  wit^  .«>>ia8  insignificant  excep' 
.vdariea  of  tha  Uniie.i 
•.h  the  Indians.     Ek'i' 
til  iiii  ihe  sapprea&ioo  of  t>- 


oilier  du; 
visions  for  ri. 
dft,  and  of  e^ 
unite  theU  '««:»' 


r 


:ytij}Oi^ 


:  p:r«^ 


"."  "Ji  m  M  O  B  <IT'  ]R  E 


.^^n/Ji'^PMBM  JD^JKulATlUm,  in".^.B'. 


WAR   WITH   THE   BARBART  POWERS. 


51f, 


treaty  regulating  the  commerce  betwsfo  the  two  countries  was 
■igned  at  London  on  the  8d  of  July,  and  ratified  by  the  President  on 
the  29d  of  December. 

HE  termination   of  hostilities 
with  Great  Britain  affordea 


the  Americans  an  opportu< 
nity  to  punish  the  Aigerinet 
for  their  wanton  insults  upon 
our  commerce  in  th*>  Medi- 
terranean. War  was  accord- 
ingly declared,  and  in  June 
Decatur  appeared  off  the 
Barbary  coast  with  a  con- 
siderable squadron.  On  the 
17th,  he  captured  the  Al- 
gerine  frigate  Mazonda,  kill- 
mg  thirty  of  the  crew,  and  taking  four  hundred  and  six  prisoners 
His  own  loss  was  but  four  men  wounded.  Two  days  after,  he  cap- 
tured an  Algerine  brig  of  twenty-two  guns.  Arriving  in  the  harbour 
of  Algiers  on  the  28th,  he  so  intimidated  the  dey  as  to  compel  him 
immediately  to  sign  a  treaty,  the  terms  of  which  were  more  lenient 
than  had  ever  before  been  granted  by  that  nation  to  a  foreign  power 
Commodore  Decatur  then  made  a  present  of  the  captured  frigate  and 
brig  to  the  dey.  On  his  return  he  demanded  and  obtained  satis 
faction  of  the  Bey  of  Tunis  and  Bashaw  of  Tripoli,  for  violations  of 
their  treaties  in  permitting  British  vessels  to  remove  from  their  pro 
tection  American  privateers  with  their  prizes.  He  arrived  safely  in 
Jie  United  States,  November  12,  1815. 

The  national  events  ot  a  civil  nature  during  the  period  of  the 
war  were  of  but  little  historic  importance.  In  the  year  following 
the  conclusion  of  peace,  [1816,]  Indiana  was  admitted  into  thtf 
Union  as  a  state,  and  the  charter  of  the  United  States  Bank  was  re- 
newed. In  the  ensuing  fall,  the  presidential  election  gave  the  offic« 
of  chief  magistrate  *">  James  Monroe,  who  entered  upon  its  duties 
March  4,  1817. 


^^'  r 


6S 


J Ama    MoHBoa 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 


ADMINISTRATION  OP  JAMES   MONROE. 


ilKMMltl 

'Klli 


HE  new  President  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  his  station  under  cir- 
cumstances  of  great  encourage' 
ment.  Peace  had  been  concluded 
with  all  belligerent  powers,  the 
great  commotions  which  had  so 
long  disturbed  Europe  had  sub- 
sided, and  the  energies  of  the  coun- 
try were  beginning  to  recover  what 
had  been  lost  during  the  war.  Mr. 
Monroe  devoted  his  exertions  to 
the  encouragement  of  manufactures  and  commerce,  and  in  protecting 
the  border  settlements  against  incursions  from  the  Indians.  In  1817 
the  territory  of  Mississippi  was  formed  into  a  state,  ani  in  the  follow- 
ing  year  Illinois  was  also  admitted.  Alabama  and  Maine  were  in  a 
little  while  aaded  to  the  confederacy. 

In  1817,  an  individual  styling  himself  "Citizen  Gregor  McGregor, 
Brigadier-General  of  the  armies  of  the  United  Provinces  of  New 
Grenada  and  Venezuela,  and  General-in-Chief  employed  to  liberaio 
the  provinces  of  both  the  Floridas,  commissioned  by  the  supreme 


WAR  WITH   THE   FLORinA   INDIANS. 


6L1 


frovernment  of  Mexico  and  South  America,"  landed  with  a  party  of 
adventurers  at  Amelia  island,  at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Mary's  river. 
These  men  soon  shon-ed  that  their  object  was  outlawry  and  aggres- 
sion ;  and  when  their  means  of  perpetrating  mischief  were  exhausted, 
*hey  made  the  island  a  channel  for  the  illicit  introduction  of  slaves 
froiii  Africa  to  the  linited  States,  an  asylum  for  fugitive  slaves  from 
the  neighbouring  states,  and  a  port  for  all  kinds  of  smuggling.  A 
similar  establishment,  but  more  extensive,  was  instituted  on  an  island 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  near  the  Texan  coast,  under  the  i  nnmand  of 
an  adventurer  named  Aury.  These  two  parties  were  c  on  after- 
wards united  under  the  latter  individual,  who  received  further 
accession  to  his  strength  by  the  arrival  of  about  twenty  L  tish  offi- 
cers thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  general  pacification  of  Europe. 
These  outlaws  conducted  themselves  in  so  outrageous  a  manner  that 
the  President  was  at  length  obliged  to  send  against  them  a  squadron 
«nd  a  battalion  of  artillery  under  Captain  Henly.  On  the  23d  of 
December  he  commanded  Aury  to  evacuate  the  island  with  his  com« 
pany,  leaving  property  as  he  found  it ;  which  being  complied  withj 
possession  was  taken  on  the  following  day. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  year  General  Jackson  was  ordered  to 
assume  the  command  of  Fort  Scott,  so  as  to  keep  in  check  the  Semi- 
nole and  other  Florida  Indians,  who  had  lately  shown  symptoms  of 
insurrection.  These  savages  had  long  been  countenanced  by  the 
Spanish  authorities  in  their  incursions  into  the  United  States,  a  cir- 
cumstance which  made  them  peculiarly  bold  and  reckless  in  the  pro- 
secutiou  of  hostilities.  One  of  their  most  aggravated  acts  was  an 
attack  upon  a  boat  carrying  a  number  of  women  and  wounded  sol- 
diers, under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant  Scott.  All  who  fell  into  their 
hands  were  murdered,  and  their  scalps  suspended  from  poles.  The 
efforts  to  stop  these  outrages  having  hitherto  been  productive  of  little 
good,  General  Jackson  determined  to  invade  Florida  and  demand  of 
the  Spanish  authorities  satisfaction  for  their  countenancing  the  In 
dians.  Accordingly,  collecting  a  number  of  volunteers  and  others 
who  had  served  under  him  at  New  Orleans,  he  advanced  into  the 
Indian  country,  defeated  the  savages  in  several  skirmishes,  and  then 
marched  with  twenty-eight  hundred  men  for  the  Spanish  fort  of  St. 
Marks.  Here,  contrary  to  his  expectations,  and  to  the  reports  which 
had  led  to  the  movement,  he  found  no  Indians  present.  He  took 
possessir.i;,  however,  and  shipped  the  garrison  and  authorities  to  Pen- 
sacola.    One  of  the  American  vessels  lying  off  the  coast  decoved  on 

M  2x2 


522 


ADMINISTRATION  OF   JAMSS  MONROB. 


board  the  two  chiefs  Hillishago  and  Hornet  Henrico,  both  of  whon' 
we)    subsequently  hung. 

ACKSON  was  now  reinforced  by  fifteen 
hundred  friendly  Creeks,  and  with  his 
whole  force  he  marched  against  the  towns 
belonging  to  the  chief  called  Bowlegs. 
After  chasing  six  mounted  Indians,  he  en« 
tered  the  villages,  killed  eleven  negroes 
and  Indians,  and  took  two  prisoners.  Here 
a  person  named  Ambrister  was  taken  pri- 
soner; and,  being  accused  of  unlawfully 
aiding  the  savages,  was  tried  by  court-martial,  together  with  one 
Arbuthnot,  both  of  whom,  being  declared  guilty,  were  hung,  i,  ,.  , 
For  this  occupation  of  a  neutral  territory  General  Jackson  was 
subsequently  called  to  account ;  but  the  measure  was  defended  by 
the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  J.  Q,.  Adams ;  and  soon  after  all  com- 
plaints on  the  part  of  the  Spanish  authorities  were  silenced  by  a 
treaty  ceding  Florida  to  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Monroe,  having  been  elected  to  a  second  term  of  office,  signed, 
in  1834,  a  treaty  with  Russia  relative  to  the  north-western  boundary, 
and  another  with  Great  Britain  relative  to  the  suppression  of  the 
African  slave  trade.  The  same  year  was  signalized  by  the  visit  of 
Ldifayette  to  our  country.  During  his  stay  he  visited  most  of  the 
principal  cities  of  the  Union,  and  was  everywhere  received  with  the 
most  enthusiastic  marks  of  respect.  Congress,  being  in  session,  voted 
him  the  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  a  township  of  land 
six  miles  square.  At  Boston  he  witnessed  the  ceremony  of  laying 
the  corner-stone  of  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument.  On  the  7th  of  Sep- 
tember he  sailed  for  France  in  the  new  frigate  Brandy  wine,  expressly 
fitted  out  for  conveying  him  home. 

At  the  presidential  election  of  this  year,  J.  Q..  Adams  was  chosen 
by  the  House  of  Representatives,  there  being  no  choice  by  the  popu 
lar  vote. 


I-  i  . 


CHAPTER  XLIV 


ADMINISTRATION    OF  JOHN   QUINCY  ADAMS. 


HE  peaceful  administration  of  Mr.  Adams,  re- 
',^  Downed  for  the  enlarged  views  of  its  chief  offi- 
cer, his  liberal  political  tenets,  and  his  respect 
for  learning  and  religion,  affords  but  little  oppor- 
tunity for  the  parade  of  historic  description. 

Soon  after  his  inauguration  he  concluded  a 
treaty  with  the  Creeks,  who  ceded  all  their 
lands  lying  in  the  state  of  Georgia,  for  an  equal  extent  of  territory 
west  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Kansas  tribe  ceded  all  their  lands 
lying  in  and  around  Missouri,  for  the  payment  of  an  annual  sum  of 
thirty-five  hundred  dollars  for  twenty  years.  A  similar  agreement 
was  made  with  the  Groat  and  Little  Osages,  who  were  to  receive  for 
their  territories  in  Arkansas  an  annuity  of  seven  thousand  dollars  for 
twenty  years. 

In  1825,  a  general  convention  of  peace,  amity,  navigation,  and  com- 
merce, was  concluded  with  the  Republic  of  Columbia ;  and,  in  the 
following  year,  similar  ones  with  Denmark  and  Central  America. 

On  thf  4th  of  July,  1826,  a  singular  coincidence  took  place  in  the 
death  of  the  two  ex-Presidents,  Adams  and  Jefferson — the  one  at 
Gluincy,  in  the  ninety-first  year  of  his  age ;  the  other  at  Monticello, 
in  his  eighty-third  year.     Each  of  these  remarkable  men  had  lived 


624 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JOUN   QUINCY   ADAMS. 


\Q  tee  their  exertions  for  human  rights  crowned  with  the  happiest 
Bi  jcess ;  and,  after  having  been  elevated  to  the  highest  oHice  in  the 
gift  of  the  people,  both  expired  on  the  same  day,  just  half  a  century 
after  signing  the  Declaration  of  Independence  at  Philadelphia. 

In   1828,  a  new  tariff  law  was  passed  by  Congress,  which  met 
with  much  opposition  in  the  south.     This  tariff  was  very  unpopular 
in  the  southern  states,  where  the  policy  was  considered  unconstitu 
tional  and  oppressive  ;  but  it  continued  in  force  for  years,  notwith 
standing  the  complaints  of  its  opponents. 

As  the  season  for  a  new  election  of  president  approached,  a  strong 
party  was  formed  in  favour  of  General  Jackson,  who  had  been  one 
of  the  candidates  opposed  to  Mr.  Adam  at  the  previous  election 
Great  efforts  were  used  by  each  party,  and  the  contest  was  most 
animated.  The  result  was  the  defeat  of  Mr.  Adams,  and  the  election 
of  General  Jackson  as  President,  and  Mr.  Calhoun  as  Vice-President, 
by  a  v^te  in  the  electoral  colleges  of  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight 
u)  eighty-three. 


ANDRXW    JAOXaOM. 


CHAPTER^  XLV. 

ADMINISTRATION   OP  ANDREW  JACKSON. 

ENERAL    JACKSON'S 

administration  was  one  of 
the  most  important  in  the 
history  of  the  country;  and 
its  strong  features  resulted 
the  decided  character  of  the 
His  immense  personal  popu- 
larity   and    his    unflinching    deter- 
mination enabled  him  to  carry  every 
important  measure  which   he   pro< 
posed.     He  was  always  in  advance 
of  his  party  in  his  opinions  on  public  policy;  and  in  the  cabinet,  as 
in  the  field,  he  led  where  others  hardly  dared  to  follow. 

On  his  first  accession  to  office  he  boldly  dismissed  a  larger  number 
of  the  public  functionaries  than  usual  on  a  change  of  administration, 
and  filled  the  vacancies  thus  created  with  his  political  friends. 

Regarding  the  management  of  internal  improvements  by  the  gene- 
ral government  as  of  dangerous  tendency,  the  President  on  the  27th 
of  May,  1830,  refused  to  sign  tne  bill  authorizing  a  subscription  tn 
the  stock  of  the  Maysville  and  Lexington  Road  Conripany  in  Ken 
'ucky ;  and  thus  pro.iounced  the  subsequent  policy  of  the  goveru 
uicnt  on  this  important  question. 


526 


ADMINISTEATION   OF  ANDREW  JACKSON. 


r  H  O  M  A.  8     U.      DENTON. 


In  1832,  he  adopted  the  same  course  with  reference  to  the  re 
rhartering  of  the  United  States'  Bank,  and  thus  prevented  its  beins; 
rechartered  as  a  national  institution,  with  features  which  are  now 
considered  exceptionable  by  ail  parties  in  the  country. 

In  the  spring  of  1832,  the  Sacs,  Foxes,  and  Winnebagoes  in 
Wisconsin  Territory  commenced  a  war  under  the  direction  of  Black 
Hawk,  which  was  speedily  terminated  by  the  vigorous  action  of  the 
government,  and  the  chief  was  captured  and  taken  to  Washington. 

During  the  same  eventful  year,  the  State  of  South  Carolina,  in 
convention,  assumed  a  position  of  direct  antagonism  to  the  general 
government  on  the  tariff  question,  and  threatened  a  withdrawal  from 
the  Union.  The  President  boldly  met  the  issue  ;  and  his  proclama- 
tion announcing  his  determination  to  enforce  obedience  to  the  laws 
received  the  cordial  approval  and  support  of  Mr.  Webster  and  the 
other  great  leaders  of  the  opposition.  To  advocate  the  position 
which  South  Carolina  maintained  with  ability,  her  most  distin 
guished  statesman,  Mr.  Calhoun,  resigned  bis  office  of  Yice-Presi 


NULLUlOAflON   IN  SOUTH  OABOLINA. 


527 


DBSTRDOTIOH    Or    U&JOB    DAOX'b    D  X  T  A  O  H  U  X  H  % 


u6nt,  and  was  elected  to  a  seat  in  the  Senate.  The  period  was  one 
9t  intense  excitement,  and  men  were  hourly  expecting  to  see  tha 
first  bloodshed  of  a  civil  war.  Fortunately  for  the  country,  Mr. 
Clay,  the  great  statesman  of  Kentucky,  introduced  his  celebrated 
compromise  bill,  providing  for  the  gradual  reduction  of  duties  till  the 
year  1843,  when  they  were  to  reach  to  the  level  of  twenty  per  cent. 
This  measure  enabled  the  opponents  of  the  tariff  to  retire  with  dig 
nity  from  the  menacing  position  which  they  had  assumed,  and  the 
vexed  question  was  laid  at  rest  for  a  season.  On  the  4th  of  March, 
1833,  General  Jackson  entered  upon  the  second  term  of  his  Presi- 
Jency;  Martin  Van  Buren  being  Vice-President. 

In  1833,  the  commercial  and  monetary  affairs  of  the  country  were 
considerably  disturbed  in  consequence  of  the  misunderstanding  be- 
tween the  President  and  the  managers  of  the  United  States  Bank 
Each  party  charged  the  other  with  disregarding  the  interests  of  the 
people  in  the  struggle  for  victory.  The  President  was  very  strongly 
solicited  to  restore  the  government  deposits  which  he  had  caused  to 
be  removed  from  the  bank ;  but  having  become  convinced  that  tha 
continued  existence  of  the  bank  itself,  constituted  and  managed  as 
i  was,  would  be  injurious  to  the  country,  he  remained  firm  in  his 
purpose  to  separate  it  from  all  connection  with  the  government 
The  bank  obtained  a  new  charter  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 
anil  subsequently  failed.     In  his  determination  to  oppose  the  bank, 


528 


ADMINISTBATION    OF  ANDREW   JACKSON. 


ihe  President  was  strongly  supported  in  both  houses  of  Congress, 
Mr.  Benton,  in  the  Senate,  being  particularly  active  in  the  cause. 

In  1834,  the  President  informed  Congress  that  the  French  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies  had  rejected  the  bill  for  indemnifying  the  United 
States  for  losses  sustained  under  the  action  of  the  Berlin  and  Milan 
decrees.  His  message  on  the  subject  suggested  retaliatory  meas- 
ures, breathing  throughout  a  determination  to  insist  upon  indemnifi- 
cation. The  French  resented  this  language,  and  withdrew  their 
minister ;  but  subsequently  paid  the  indemnity. 

In  the  summer  of  this  year  some  unhappy  disturbances  occurred 
with  the  Florida  Indians,  and  a  small  force  under  General  Clinch 
was  ordered  against  them.  Little  was  done  by  either  party  until 
the  28th  of  December,  when  Major  Dade,  with  a  detachment  of 
seven  officers  and  one  hundred  and  two  privates  was  surprised  by 
a  body  of  Indians  and  negroes,  the  whole  number,  except  four,  mur- 
dered, and  the  dead  bodies  subsequently  stripped  and  mutilated. 
This  was  followed  by  like  outrages  on  a  smaller  scale,  which,  during 
the  whole  of  Jackson's  second  term,  rendered  the  territory  of  Florida 
a  field  of  bloodshed. 

At  the  presidential  election  in   1836,  Martin  Van  Buren  was 
chosen  President,  and  Richard  M.  Tohnson  Vice-President 


ll^BTIV    VAH    BOBBH. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 


ADMINKIRATION   OF   MARTIN   VAN   BUREN 


HE  spirit  of  speculation,  which  seems  periodically 
to  visit  great  commercial  countries,  had  been 
abroad  in  the  United  States  during  the  latter  part 
of  General  Jackson's  administration.  The  conse- 
quent revulsion  commenced  on  the  very  day  when 
he  left  the  chair  of  state.  The  usual  consequences  followed. 
Thousands  of  merchants  failed,  and  the  banks  throughout  the 
country  suspended  specie  payments.  The  new  President 
thought  that  the  emergency  warranted  an  extraordinary  ses- 
sion of  Congress,  which,  accordingly,  commenced  in  September, 
1837;  and,  during  a  session  of  forty  days,  passed  several  bills  for 
the  relief  of  the  government,  which  had  itself  become  embarrassed. 
The  issue  of  treasury  notes  was  authorized,  and  an  unsuccessful 
attempt  was  made  to  establish  what  is  called  an  independent  trea- 
sury, transacting  its  affairs  in  specie,  and  having  no  connection  with 
banks. 

The  war  in  Florida  was  continued  during  the   whole  of  this 
administration,  but  finally  was  ended,  by  the  subjugation  of  the 
Seminole  tribes,  and  their  subsequent  removal  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi.     In  1837,  the  border  conflicts,  originating  from  the  sym 
pathy  of  many  of  our  citizens  with  the  Canadian  patriots,  increased 
fr  it  M» 


530 


ADMINISTRATION  OP   MARTIN   VAN   BUREN. 


to  such  an  extent  as  eventually  threatened  a  direct  collision  with 
England.  This  gent-rnl  feeling  was  aggravated  by  an  attack  of  the 
British  upon  the  American  steamer  Caroline,  which  they  set  on 
and  sent  over  the  Falls.  This  led  to  an  angry  correspondence 
tween  the  English  minister  and  the  Secretary  of  State,  but  eventu- 
ally the  matter  was  dropped.  Subsequently  there  arose  vexatious 
disputes  concerning  the  Maine  boundary,  during  which,  citizens  on 
each  side  of  the  linp  arrayed  themselves  in  military  costume,  and 
occasionally  came  into  open  collision.  The  President  issued  a  pro- 
clamation, forbidding  all  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  take  part  in 
these  disturbances,  and  appointing  Gteneral  Win  field  Scott  as  super- 
intendent of  the  northern  border  until  the  question  of  boundary  could 
be  settled.  The  prevention  of  war  between  the  two  countries  was 
in  a  great  measure  owing  to  the  efforts  of  that  officer. 

,  CONVENTION  for  determining  the  bound- 
aries with  Texas  was  concluded  at  Wash- 
ington, April  25,  1837.  Treaties  were 
also  concluded  with  Peru,  the  Bolivian 
Confederacy,  and  the  King  of  Greece. 
These  were  followed  by  fresh  difficulties 
with  Great  Britain,  and  Congress  authorized 
the  President  to  raise  a  provisional  army, 
appropriated  money  for  fortifications  and 
for  the  repair  of  the  national  vessels,  and  the  building  of  new  ones. 
At  the  same  time,  special  commissioners  were  appointed  by  both 
parties  to  settle  the  dispute  by  negotiation.  •       •      : 

The  greater  portion  of  Van  Buren's  administration  was  occupied 
by  his  efforts  to  establish  an  independent  treasury,  into  which  the  public 
moneys  were  to  be  deposited,  after  removal  from  the  state  banks. 
The  collections  were  to  be  made  in  gold  and  silver.  The  measure 
was  finally  passed  on  the  eve  of  the  President's  retirement  from 
office.       '  !■    11/;  »     • 

The  commercial  revulsion  in  the  country  having  produced  a 
change  of  politics,  the  party  opposed  to  the  administration  suc- 
ceeded in  electing  their  presidential  candidate,  General  W.  H.  Har- 
rison, [November,  1840,]  by  a  large  majority.  John  Tyler  was 
chosen  Vice-President.      /  ■    •     ■         •      ••       -   

■  ■    •  •     ;••    ••'.    1,  I'V    i'    :..■!'■•.  ' 


I-    >r, 


WIMilAU     H.     BARBISON. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OP   HARRISON   AND   TYLER. 


ENERAL  HARRISON 
was  inaugurated  as  Presi 
dent  on  the  4lh  of  March, 
1841.     His  services  in  the 
war  of  1812  had  given  him 
popularity,  and  his  subsequent  discharge 
of  the  duties  of  several  important  diplo- 
matic  offices    had    inspired    confidenco 
in  his  abilities  as  a  statesman.     His  in* 
augural  address  was  an  able  paper,  and 
received  the  approval  of  his  political 
fi'iends.    The  cabinet  appointments  were  judicious.    That  of  Mr. 
Webster,  as  Secretary  of  State,  ultimately  proved  very  fortunate. 
But  ere  the  President  could  give  any  further  indication  of  his  course 
of  action — in  one  short  month  after  his  inauguration  [April  4th, 
1841]  he  died,  after  a  short  illness,  in  the  sixty-fifth  year  of  his 
age.    Mr.  Tyler,  the  Vice-President,  was  his  constitutional  suc- 
cessor, and  immediately  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  station. 

General  Harrison  had  called  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  which 
met  on  the  2'7th  of  May.    The  Independent  Treasury  Act  was  re- 

6S1 


582 


ADMINISTRATIONS   OP   HARRISON   AND  TYLER. 


J  OB  I>    TTLIIL 


j.cnled ;  nnd  two  several  bills  for  establishing  a  new  United  States 
Bunk,  after  passing  both  houses  of  Congress,  were  defeated  by  the 
vrto  of  the  President.  This  caused  a  total  rupture  between  Mr. 
Tyler  and  the  party  by  whom  he  had  been  elected ;  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  cabinet,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Webster,  immediately 
retired  from  office. 

About  this  time,  Alexander  McLeod,  accused  of  being  concerned 
in  the  attack  upon  the  ill-fated  Caroline,  was  arrested  in  New  York, 
and  the  demand  of  the  British  minister  for  his  release  was  refused 
Great  Britain  assumed  a  belligerent  attitude,  but  his  trial  took  place 
at  Utica  in  October.  Fortunately  for  the  cause  of  peace,  he  was  ac- 
quitted, and  thus  one  incentive  to  war  between  the  two  countries  was 
removed.  But  as  several  questions  of  an  irritating  nature  were  still 
pending  between  the  two  governments,  Lord  Ashburton  was  sent  by 
the  British  Prime  Minister,  as  a  special  ambassador,  with  full  powers 
to  effect  an  amicable  adjustment.  He  was  met,  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  by  Mr.  Webster,  Secretary  of  State,  and  the  negotia- 
tions lasted  from  April  to  August,  on  the  9th  of  which  month  the 
two  ministers  concluded  a  treaty,  settling  the  line  of  the  north-eastern 
boundary  by  a  minute  geographical  description  of  the  country  through 
which  it  was  to  run,  and  also  providing  for  the  suppression  of  the 
•lave  trade.  This  treaty  was  approved  by  the  two  governments,  and 
immediately  after,  Mr.  Webster  resigned  his  seat  in  the  presidential 
cabinet.  On  the  31st  of  August,  Congress  adjourned,  after  a  mos' 
aborious  session,  of  which  the  most  important  act  was  a  genera 


ANNEXATION    OF   TEXAS. 


633 


Duiikrnpt   law,  which,  however,  was  repealed,  after  being   a  few 
months  in  operation. 

The  last  act  of  Mr.  Tyler's  administration  was  th**  passage  of  n 
joint  resolution  by  both  houses  of  Congress,  for  the  annexation  oi 
Texas  to  the  United  States.  This  was  signed  by  thn  President  on 
the  3d  of  March,  1845,  and  on  the  following  day,  James  K.  Polk, 
of  Tennessee,  took  his  seat  as  chief  magistrate  of  the  Union,  having 
been  elected  by  the  democratic  party  in  November.  Before  giving 
an  account  of  the  succeeding  administration,  we  will  notice  the  rise 
and  progress  of  the  republic  of  Texas,  which,  at  the  period  which 
we  havn  now  *eached  became  one  of  the  states  of  th^  Union. 


84 


aSNBRAL     HOUSTON. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 


HISTORY   OP  TEXAS. 


H  E  State  and  territory 
now  forming  part  of  the 
American  Union,  under 
the  name  of  Texas,  was 
until  a  comparatively  re- 
cent period,  a  portion  of 
Mexico ;  and,  as  such, 
formed  one  of  the  ori- 
ginal Spanish  American 
colonies.  No  attempt 
was  made  to  settle  it  by 
any  European  power  for 
more  than  a  centnry  after  the  conquest  of  Cortes.  In  1685,  the 
French  adventurer  La  Salle  having  been  carried  to  the  coast,  built 
there  a  fort,  and  took  possession  of  the  country  for  France;  he  was 
subsequently  killed,  and  his  colony  broken  up;  but  ever  after  France 
634 


EMIGRATION   INTO   THE   TERRITORY. 


535 


included  what  is  now  called  Texas  within  the  boundaries  of  Louisi- 
ana. In  the  years  169iy-2,  some  Spanish  missions  were  established 
along  the  coast,  including,  among  others,  the  present  town  of  San 
Antonio  de  Bexar.  In  1763,  Louisiana,  including  Texas,  was 
ceded  to  Spain;  but  in  1800  it  again  reverted  to  France,  and 
thus  a  fruitful  source  of  dispute  was  afforded  by  the  question  of 
toundary. 

Texas  took  an  active'  part  in  the  revolution  which  freed  Mexico 
from  Spain ;  but  the  nuirative  of  her  sr''^°'"ings  and  triumphs  at  this 
time  belongs  rather  lo  the  history  of  the  ;  .ner  country  than  to  her 
own.  It  was  this  movf>nent  that,  by  drawing  adventurers  from  the 
United  States,  first  opened  lo  our  country  a  knowledge  of  the  advan- 
tages and  resources  of  Texas  ;  and  principally  through  the  efforts  of 
our  people  were  the  Texans  and  Mexicans  enabled  to  achieve  the 
victories  of  Goliad,  Bexar,  Medina,  and  others. 

The  treaty  of  1819,  by  which  Spain  ceded  Florida  to  the  Uuited 
States,  fixed  the  Sabine  river  as  the  boundary  between  Louisiana  and 
Texas.  When  Mexico  achieved  her  independence,  emigrants  from 
the  United  States  flocked  into  the  latter  territory,  so  that  in  a  little 
while  the  population  assumed  all  the  distinguishing  characteristics 
of  our  western  states.  One  of  the  most  influential  of  these  settlers 
was  Mr.  Samuel  Austin,  after  whom  the  present  capital  is  named. 
Much  of  the  early  prosperity  of  the  colony  may  be  attributed  to  his 
influence.  In  1824  Texas  was  united  to  Coahuila,  both  forming  one 
state  of  the  Mexican  confederacy.  From  this  time  the  population 
mcreased  so  rapidly  as  to  alarm  the  Mexican  authorities,  and  pro- 
cure the  passage  of  several  laws  restricting  the  privileges  of  foreign 
emigrants,  and  rendering  the  local  gover  .aent  more  and  more 
severe.  So  arbitrary  was  the  conduct  of  the  authorities,  that  in 
1832  a  revolt  took  place,  which  resulted  in  driving  Colonel 
Bradburn,  commandant  of  the  military  post  of  Anahuac,  from  the 
country. 

In  August,  1833,  Austin  visited  the  city  of  Mexico  for  the  pur 
pose  of  presenting  to  the  supreme  government  a  petition  on  the  pari 
of  Texas  for  a  separation  from  Coahuila,  and  the  formation  of  an  inde- 
pendent state  government.  This  gave  great  ofience  to  the  authori- 
ties ;  and  when  Austin,  wearied  by  delays,  wrote  to  the  Texans  to 
assume  the  responsibility  of  organizing  the  required  government,  he 
was  arrested  and  thrown  into  prison.  News  of  this  proceeding  pro- 
duced thfj  greatest  ferment  in  Texa.s,  and  soon  gave  rise  to  a  party 
67 


636 


HISTORY  OF   TEXAS. 


•A'hc  declared  their  determination  to  separate,  if  possible,  from  the 
mother  country.  A  political  condition  bordering  on  anarchy  con- 
tinued until  intelligence  of  the  adoption  of  the  "Plan  of  Toluco," 
abolsMng  the  state  governments,  and  substituting  a  central  for  a 
fede.rii  republic,  was  receii^ed.  About  the  same  time  Austin  re- 
tur.ied  Aom  his  long  imprisonment.  The  people  of  Texas  now 
refused  their  assent  to  the  change  in  government,  denouncing 
Santa  Anna,  the  central  president,  as  a  tyrant  and  usurper, 
and  declaring  their  determination  of  adhering  to  the  constitution 
of  1824.  In  September,  1835,  their  central  committee  of  safety, 
of  which  Austin  was  chairman,  recommended  the  organization 
of  militia  and  volunteer  companies,  and  an  immediate  appeal 
to  arms.       .  ,  .   ■ 

MEANWHILE  Mexico  had  not  been  blind  to  these 
movements  in  thf"  Msaffec.ed  province.  With  cha- 
racteristic prompt't  nit  Santn  Anna  had  been  order- 
ing forces  and  sup.  ics  to  liie  frontier,  and  in  Sep- 
tember General  Cfy  jiri'.ed  Wkih  a  considerable  army 
at  San  Antorin  de  TJexar.  From  this  place  he  sent 
two  hundred  men  to  Gonzales,  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  a  piece  of 
cannon,  which  the  inhabitants  had  refused  to  surrender.  This  force 
was  attacked,  October  2,  by  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  Texans, 
totally  defeated,  and  driven  towards  Bex^-  This  success  was 
followed  on  the  8th  by  the  capture  of  Goliad,  with  ten  thou- 
sand dollars'  worth  of  stores,  two  brass  cannon,  and  three  hun- 
dred small  arms.  The  assailants  numbered  fifty,  under  Captain 
Collinsworth. 

On  the  20th  of  October,  three  hundred  Texans,  under  Austin,  took 
position  within  five  miles  of  Bexar,  in  order  to  await  reinforcements 
preparat  ry  to  an  attack.  On  the  27th,  ninety-two  of  their  number, 
under  Colonel  Bowie  and  Captain  Fannin,  w«re  attacked  by  a  supe- 
rior Mexican  force,  which  they  repulsed  with  loss.  The  siege  of 
Bexar  continued  with  but  little  progress  until  the  5th  of  December, 
when  a  separate  volunteer  force  of  three  hundred  men,  under  the 
veteran  Milam,  assaulted  the  works  in  two  columns,  took  possession 
of  two  houses,  and  then  worked  their  way  from  room  to  room  in  the 
interior,  at  the  same  time  shooting  the  Mexicans  from  their  guns 
through  the  windows.  In  this  manner  the  battle  was  contmued  for 
SIX  days,  when  General  Cos  agreed  to  capitulate.  A  large  quantity 
of  cannon,  stores,  and  provisions,  was  given  up,  while  Cos  and  his 


SIEGE  OF  THE   ALAMO.  537 

* 

men  were  dismissed  on  parol.     Thus  ended  the  first  Mexican  inva- 
sion of  Texas. 

EANWHILE  Austin  had  been  sent  to  the  United 
States  as  commissioner,  and  Samuel  Houston  suc- 
ceeded him  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  revolu* 
tionary  forces.  But  a  still  harder  struggle  than 
that  just  terminated  awaited  the  Texans.  On  the 
first  of  February,  1836,  Santa  Anna  marched  from 
Saltillo  towards  the  Rio  Grande  with  eight  thousand  men, 
and  a  large  train  of  artillery,  provisions,  and  stores.  On 
the  23d  he  appeared  with  the  greater  part  of  his  forces 
before  San  Antonio  de  Bexar.  The  garrison,  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  men,  under  William  B.  Trevis,  retired  to  the  Alamo, 
and  called  upon  the  provisional  government  and  neighbouring  region 
for  reinforcements.  Here  they  were  besieged  by  four  thousand  men 
and  during  two  weeks  sustained  themselves  against  all  the  efforts  of 
the  enemy,  as  well  as  the  ravages  of  weariness  and  famine,  with  a 
fortitude  which  has  few  parallels  in  modern  history.  The  works 
were  finally  taken  by  assault,  [March  6,]  and  the  whole  garrison, 
except  a  Woman  and  a  negro,  put  to  the  sword.  Tin'  dead  bodies, 
after  having  been  subjected  to  the  grossest  indecencies,  were  thrown 
into  a  heap,  and  burned.  The  loss  of  tlie  enemy  has  been  estimated 
at  from  one  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  men. 

On  the  2d  of  March,  a  convention  of  delegates  from  all  parts  of  Texas 
published  a  declaration  of  independence  and  total  separation  from  the 
Mexican  republic.  A  national  constitution  was  formed  on  the  17th; 
and  David  G.  Burnett,  of  New  Jersey,  chosen  provisional  President. 
During  the  siege  of  the  Alamo,  General  Urrea,  with  one  division 
of  the  Mexican  army,  was  marching  along  the  coast,  where  he  cap- 
tured two  parties  of  Texans,  under  Colonel  Johnson  and  Captain 
King.  Johnson  and  a  few  others  escaped  ;  but  all  the  others  were 
put  to  death.  A  third  party,  under  Colonel  Ward,  was  soon  after- 
wards obliged  to  surrender.  The  garrison  of  Goliad,  under  Colonel 
Fannin,  after  evacuating  that  place,  were  pursued  and  surrounded  by 
Urrea's  forces,  and  finally  obliged  to  capitulate,  on  promise  of  being 
treafed  as  prisoners  of  war.  But,  on  being  returned  to  Goliad,  they, 
wnh  Ward's  detachment,  amounting  in  all  to  about  four  hundred 
mon,  were  shot. 

The  news  of  this  outrage  created  .hrbughout  the  United  States 
leolings  of  the  strongest  sympathy  and  indignation.     Volunteers 


538 


niSTOlY   OP  TEXAS. 


rushed  to  the  assistance  of  the  suffering  patriots  in  such  nuiiib'^rl 
that  GeneraJ  Houston  soon  found  himself  in  a  situation  to  assume 
the  offensive.      On  the  31st  of  April,  with  about  eight  hundred 
men,  he  came  up  with  Santa  Anna's  force  of  sixteen  hundred  men 
at  the  San  Jacinto  river.     LaU;  in  the  afternoon  a  battle  was  com* 
menced  by  a  furious  charge  of  cavalry  to  the  battle-cry  of  "Re 
member  the  Alamo."     So  resistless  was  the  onset,  that  in  fifteen 
minutes   the    enemy's  camp  was    carried,  and   his  soldiers  flying 
in  all  directions.     The   rout   was   total  —  six  hundred   and    thirty 
of  the  Mexicans  being   killed,   two  hundred  and  eight   wounded, 
and  seven  hundred  and  thirty  made  prisoners.     The  Texans  lost 
but  eight  killed,  and   seventeen  wounded.     General   Santa  Anna 
was  among  the  prisoners.     He  inmiediately  concluded  an  armistice 
with  General  Houston,  by  the  terms  of  which  the  Mexican  forces  then 
m  Texas  were  immediately  ordered  to  depart.     This  was  effected 
under  the  direction  of  General  Filisok.     Soon  after,  Santa  Anna 
signed  a  secret  treaty  with  President  Burnett,  recognising  the  inde- 
pendence of  Texas,  and  establishing  the  Rio  Grande  as  a  boundary. 
^-«,  ARLY  in  September,  the  new  government  went 
15\^   into  operation,  by  the  election  of  General  Houston 
as  the  first  constitutional  President,  and  Mirabeau 
B.  Lamar  as  Vice-President.     At  the  same  time 
the  people  expressed  their  desire  to  be  admitted, 
as  a  state,  into  the  American  Union;  and  a  minis- 
ter was  appointed  to  negotiate  at  Washington  fo. 
that  purpose.     On  the  3d  of  March,  1837,  the  independence  of  Texas 
was  acknowledged  by  the  United  States ;  but  the  proposal  for  annexa- 
tion received  no  action.     Meanwhile  the  Mexican  Congress  had  dis- 
avowed the  treaty  signed  by  Santa  Anna,  and  that  chief  himself  dis- 
claimed it  when  once  more  restored  to  liberty.     Thus  the  war  still 
continuing,  excursions  into  the  territory  on  the  borders  were  fre 
quently  made  by  both  nations,  and  a  system  of  harassing  warfare  was 
carried  on,  alike  unsatisfactory  and  ferocious.     In  the  notable  expe- 
ditions against  Mier  and  Santa  Fe  the  Texan  parlies  were  taken 
prisoners,  marched  into  Mexico,  and  subjected  to  treatment  at  which 
humanity  recoils.    Nothing  decisive  was,  however,  effected ;  ahhough, 
among  foreign  nations,  Texas  was  generally  acknowledged  and  dealt 
with  as  a  sovereign  nation. 

Notwithstanding  the  failure  of  their  first  proposal  for  annexation 
10  the  U::;jted  States,  the  people  of  Texas  continued  to  cherish  th« 


ANNEXATION   OP  TEXAS. 


539 


project,  and  from  time  to  time  attempted  to  bring  about  its  exe- 
cution. At  length,  under  the  presidency  of  General  Houston, 
in  1845,  a  joint  resolution  to  that  eiTect  passed  the  United  States 
Congress,  [February  28,]  and  was  signed  by  President  Tyler  ou 
the  3d  of  March.  It  was  accepted  by  the  constitutional  conven- 
iion  of  Texas  on  the  4th  of  July  of  the  same  year;  so  that  from 
that  date  the  history  of  Texas  is  merged  in  that  of  the  great  Ame- 
rican republic. 


JAUXS    X.     POLZ. 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

ADMINISTRATION   OF   JAMES   K.    POLK. — OPENINQ   OF   THE    MEX^ 

ICAN   WAR. 


RESIDENT  POLK  had  been  elected  by  the 
political  party  favourable  to  the  annexation  of 
I  \  Texas  ;  and  his  first  ict  was  to  lay  before  the 
government  and  citizens  of  the  newly  acquired 
territory  the  first  and  second  sections  of  the 
joint  resolution  for  their  approval  and  acceptance. 
This  being  complied  with,  the  American  Con- 
gress, on  the  29th  of  December,  1845,  admitted 
Texas  into  the  confederacy  as  a  sovereign  state.  During  the  same 
session,  the  tariff' law  of  1842  was  repealed,  and  another  substituted, 
which  considerably  reduced  the  duties  on  many  articles.  The 
measure  met  with  the  determined  opposition  of  the  minority,  and 
was  carried  in  the  Senate  only  through  the  casting  vote  of  the  Vice- 
President,  Mr.  Dallas.  Its  opponents  claimed  that  it  was  insuffi- 
cient both  for  revenue  and  protection. 

Another  important  measure  of  the  early  part  of  this  adminis- 
tration, was  the  establishment  of  an  independent  treasury,  such  as 
had  existed  under  the  administration  of  Mr.  Van  Buren.     A  short 


ADVIlNlisTRATION    OF    JAMAIS    K.    Pdl.K. 


time  provious  to  this  measure,  the  question  concerning  the  northern 
boundary  line  of  Oregon  had  been  settled.  The  President  had 
claimed  the  whole  of  this  territory,  up  to  54°  40' ;  the  British 
asserted  an  equal  right  with  the  United  Stales,  and  the  two  Govern 
merits  finally  agreed  on  the  49th  parallel. 

Meainvbile,  the  relations  between  our  country  and  Mexico  were 
daily  gnnving  more  critical,  in  consequence  of  the  act  which  deprived 
the  latter  power  of  all  hope  of  ever  again  regaining  her  authority  in 
Texas.  From  the  first  intimations  of  the  project  of  annexation,  she 
had  used  all  her  influence  to  defeat  it;  and  when  the  action  of  the 
joint  resolution  was  consummated,  she,  through  her  minister,  de- 
clared it  to  be  "an  act  of  aggression  the  most  unjust  which  can  be 
•"ound  recorded  in  the  annals  of  modern  history — namely,  that  of 
despoiling  a  friendly  nation,  like  Mexico,  of  a  considerable  portion  of 
her  territory."  Soon  after,  the  minister  was  withdrawn.  So  strong 
was  the  popular  feeling  throughout  that  country,  that  President 
Herrera,  who  was  disposed  toward  an  amicable  adjustment  of  the 
difficulty,  was  loudly  denounced  as  a  traitor,  and  a  strong  party, 
headed  by  General  Paredes,  raised  against  him.  Anxious  for  peace, 
Herrera  consented  to  receive  a  minister  from  the  United  States, 
clothed  with  full  powers  ;  but  before  negotiations  could  be  opened, 
his  administration  had  ended,  and  the  new  President,  Paredes,  re- 
fused to  listen  to  overtures  of  peace. 

Previous  to  this,  President  Polk,  [March  21,  1845,3  ^"^^  issued 
orders  to  General  Zachary  Taylor,  to  prepare  the  troops  at  Fort 
Jessup,  where  he  commanded,  for  marching  into  Texas  as  soon  as 
required.  Soon  after,  the  general  was  instructed  to  take  up  a 
favourable  position  in  that  territory,  which  he  did  by  occupying 
Corpus  Christi,  on  the  Oulf  of  Mexico.  After  remaining  here  until 
the  following  spring,  he  was  ordered  to  take  up  a  position  on  the 
Rio  Grande — the  American  Government  claiming  that  river  as  the 
boundary.  On  tho  8th  of  March,  ho  broke  up  his  camp,  and  moved 
toward  that  river,  taking  possession,  in  his  route,  of  Point  Isabel, 
as  a  depot  for  his  public  stores.  Before  reachinjj  it,  he  had  been 
met  by  two  small  parties  of  Mexicans,  one  of  which  lied,  after  a 
show  of  resisting  his  passage  of  the  Arroya  Colorado,  and  the 
other,  a  civil  deputation,  after  protesting  in  the  name  of  the  local 
government,  against  the  occupation  of  their  territorj',  retired  to  Mata- 
inoras.  General  Taylor  left  a  small  force  under  Major  Monroe,  ut 
I  'oint  Isabel,  with  directions  to  fortify  the  place  in  the  best  manner 


512 


ADMINISTRATION   OP   JAMES   K.    POLK. 


OOBFOB    OHBISTI. 


possiDle.  It  had  been  set  on  fire  by  the  Mexicans,  but  the  flames 
were  extinguished,  and  the  authorities  and  straggling  soldiers  driven 
away  by  a  detachment  of  dragoons  under  Colonel  Twiggs.  At 
eleven  o'clock,  a.  m.,  of  March  28,  the  American  army  reached  the 
Rio  Grande,  and  planted  the  national  flag  opposite  Matamoras.  On 
the  same  day,  Colonel  Worth  was  sent  across  the  river  with  de- 
spatches for  the  authorities;  but  his  interview  with  the  prefect  and 
other  oflicers  was  productive  of  nothing  decisive. 

The  first  care  of  the  American  general  was  the  erection  of  the 
system  of  defences  subsequently  known  as  Fort  Brown.  At  the 
same  time,  the  Mexicans  raised  batteries  and  mounted  cannon,  for 
a  considerable  distance  along  the  river.  As  yet,  however,  war  had 
not  been  proclaimed  by  either  government,  nor  had  any  thing  oc 
curred  to  interrupt  the  friendly  relations  hitherto  existing  between 
the  two  nations. 

On  the  10th  of  April,  Colonel  Cross,  quarter-master  general  of  the 
army  of  occupation,  was  murdered  by  a  band  of  outlaws,  while 
riding  from  camp,  to  take  his  customary  daily  exercise.  His  body 
was  not  recovered  until  the  21st.  Meanwhile,  Lieutenant  Porter 
Bnd  three  others,  who,  with  a  small  party,  had  been  sent  out  to 
reconnoitre,  were  waylaid  and  killed. 

On  the  26th,  General  Taylor  received  information  that  the  MeiJ- 
car>s  were  crossing  the  river,  both  above  and  below  the  frrt.     Ic 


SRIRMISI1£S   WITH   THE   MEXICANS. 


543 


POINT    ISA  BSL 


order  to  be  satisfied  of  the  correctness  of  this  report,  he  despatched 
Captain  Ker  with  a  small  party,  to  the  landing  below,  and  Captain 
Thornton  to  that  above.  The  former  soon  returned  without  seeing 
an  enemy.  Thornton's  party  fell  into  an  ambush,  was  completely 
surrounded,  and  soon  after  separated  into  two  portions.  The  cap- 
tain's horse,  being  severely  wounded,  leaped  the  chaparral  fence 
which  enclosed  him,  and  ran  at  full  speed  toward  the  American 
camp.  Both,  however,  were  captured,  and  taken  into  Matamoras. 
Meanwhile,  the  party  now  commanded  by  Captain  Hardee,  after  fight- 
ing with  great  bravery,  was  overpowered  by  numbers,  and  induced  to 
surrender,  on  a  promise  of  good  treatment.  Soon  after  these  acci- 
dents, the  Mexicans  crossed  the  Rio  Grande  in  large  numbers,  and 
spread  themselves  between  General  Taylor's  camp  and  that  of  Major 
Monroe,  thus  cutting  ofl^  the  communication  between  them. 

On  ascertaining  the  danger  of  his  main  depot.  General  Taylor  re- 
solved on  marching  immediately  to  its  relief.  With  the  greater  part 
of  his  army,  he  left  his  camp  on  the  Istof  May,  and  arrived  at  Point 
Isabel  on  the  evening  of  the  2d,  having  met  with  no  opposition  from 
the  Mexicans.  A  regiment  of  infantry,  and  two  companies  of  artil 
lery,  were  left  at  the  river  fort,  under  the  command  of  Major  Jacob 
Brown. 

Intelligence  of  the  hostile  operations  of  the  Mexicans  having  been 
transmitted  to  the  seat  of  government,  the  facts  were  formally  an- 
nounced to  Congress  by  a  message  of  the  President,  on  the  11  th  of 
May,  1846.  On  the  13lh,  Congress  passed  an  act  declaring  the  exist- 
ence of  war  between  the  two  republics,  empowering  the  Presiden* 
to  accept  the  services  of  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  and  appropriating 
ten  millions  of  dollars  to  defray  expenses.  Thus  authorized,  the  ex- 
ocutive  issued  a  proclamation,  invoking  the  aid  of  the  nation  in  «:ar 
tying  on  the  war. 


^  —  "TaffL'jti'V 


OB  Ha  BAL    T ATLO  B 


\ 


CHAPTER  L. 


OrERATIONS    OF    GENERAL   TAYLOR. 


intervals  by  the  garrison. 

644 


HE  departure  of  General  Taylor  from 
the  fort  opposite  Matamoras  was  the 
signal  for  the  opening  of  the  war. 
Early  on  the  morning  ot  May  3, 
the  Mexican  batteries  in  Matamoras 
commenced  a  heavy  fire  upon  the 
river  fort,  which  continued  the  greater 
part  of  the  day,  and  was  answered  at 
One  sergeant  was  killed,  and  considera 


BATTLE   OF    PALO   ALTO. 


645 


mjury  done  to  tents  nnd  other  articles  withm  the  fort.  The  attnck 
was  renewed  on  the  f)lh.  the  assnilnnts  having  erected  a  field  battcrj 
during  the  night,  and  drown  up  a  large  reserve  force  in  rear  of  tha 
American  works,  for  the  purpose  of  storming  them.  The  bombard* 
ment  continued  during  the  greater  part  of  the  morning,  and  was  re- 
newed with  much  spirit  on  the  Oih.  On  the  forenoon  of  this  day 
Major  Brown  was  mortally  wounded,  by  the  bursting  of  a  shell 
from  the  enemy's  batteries,  and  the  command  devolved  on  Captain 
Hawkins.  In  the  afternoon,  that  oflicer  was  summoned  to  surren- 
der, and  on  his  refusing,  the  assault  was  renewed,  and  continued 
during  that  and  the  following  day.  It  was  kept  up  at  intervals  on 
the  8th,  until  the  sound  of  cannon,  from  the  direction  of  Point  Isabel, 
arrested  the  attention  of  both  parties. 

General  Taylor,  as  has  already  been  stated,  arrived  at  Point  Isabel 
^ith  the  greater  part  of  his  army,  on  the  2d.  After  placing  the  for- 
bifications  in  the  best  state  of  defence,  and  taking  all  other  precau- 
tions necessary  to  the  security  of  the  post,  he  again  marched  fo"  the 
river  fort.  May  7.  After  advancing  about  seven  miles,  the  army 
bivouacked  on  the  open  plain,  and  resumed  its  march  on  the  follow 
ing  morning.  At  noon,  the  advance  reached  the  watering-place  of 
Palo  Alto,  near  which  the  Mexican  army  was  drawn  up  across  ths 
road,  in  order  of  battle.  Here  CJeneral  Taylor  halted,  in  order  to 
afford  hie  troops  an  opportunity  to  refresh  themselves  with  cold 
water,  preparatory  to  forming  the  line.  The  Mexican  army  was 
plainly  visible  across  the  prairie — their  left,  composed  of  a  heavy 
cavalry  force,  occupying  the  road,  resting  upon  the  thicket  of  chap- 
arral, while  masses  of  infantry,  greatly  outnumbering  the  American 
forces,  were  on  the  right. 

At  two  o'clock  the  Americans  moved  forward  by  heads  of  columns, 
their  eighteen-pound  battery  following  the  road.  At  the  same  time 
Lieutenant  Blake  and  another  officer  made  a  close  and  daring  recon- 
noissance  of  the  enemy's  line,  which  resulted  in  the  disco. ery  of 
several  batteries  of  artillery  in  the  intervals  of  their  infantry  and 
cavalry.  These  guns  soon  opened  upon  the  American  line,  and  were 
answered  by  all  General  Tayhtr's  artillery.  As  the  Mexican  fire  did 
little  execution,  their  cavalry  endeavoured  to  pass  round  some  neigh- 
bouring chaparral,  in  order  to  outflank  the  American  right ;  but  this 
niovement  was  deftiJted  by  the  active  exertions  of  Captain  Walker's 
volunteers,  aided  by  some  artillery  under  Captain  Ridgely.  So  vio- 
lent was  the  cannonading  on  both  sides,  that  the  grass  of  the  prairia 

69  3(2 


546 


OPERATIONS   OF   aENERAL  TAYLOR. 


BATTLS    OF    PALO    ALTO. 


was  tired,  the  smoke  from  which  hid  the  armies  from  each  other, 
and  caused  a  suspension  of  hostilities  for  nearly  an  hour.  This 
interval  gave  opportunity  to  each  general  to  form  a  new  line  of 
battle,  so  that  when  the  atmosphere  became  clear  the  action  was 
n^sumed  with  increased  vigour.  The  slaughter  among  the  dense 
masses  of  cavalry  was  very  great ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  Major 
Ringgold,  chief  artillerist  of  the  Americans,  was  mortally  wounded, 
and  several  of  the  infantry  killed.  The  firing  continued  with  but 
little  intermission  until  dark,  when  the  Mexicans  withdrew  into  the 
neighbouring  chaparral.  The  whole  engagement  had  been  one  of 
artillery  ;  for,  although  the  enemy's  cavalry  made  several  attempts 
upon  ihe  American  flank,  they  were  in  no  instance  near  enough  to 
risk  a  charge ;  and  the  discharge  of  small  arms  towards  the  close  of 
tho  action  was  of  but  short  continuance  and  of  little  eflljct.  The 
loss  of  the  Americans  was  nine  killed,  and  forty-six  wounded  and 
missing.  Their  total  force  was  nearly  twenty-nine  hundred  ;  thai 
of  the  Mexicans  about  six  thousand.  Both  armies  encamped  for  the 
iiight  on  or  around  the  battle-field. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th,  the  Mexicans  were  discovered  movmg 
oy  their  left  flank  so  as  to  gain  a  new  position  on  the  road  to  Mata- 
moras,  and  there  again  resist  the  advances  of  the  Americans      Gene- 


BATTLE   OF   RESACA   DE   LA   PALMA. 


517 


CAPTAIN     HAT. 


al  Taylor  immediately  prepared  for  battle,  by  ordering  his  supply 
.rain  packed,  and  loavinsr  with  it  four  pieces  of  artillery,  and  sending 
his  wounded  to  Pont  Isabil.     Then  halting  his  columns  at  the  edge 
of  the  chaparral  which  extends  several  miles  towards  the  Rio  Grande, 
he  threw  forward  some   li^'ht  troops  and  infantry,  under  Captain 
McCall,  to  reconnoitre  the  thickets,  and  report  in  case  of  meeting  an 
enemy.     The  captain  soon  came  upon  small  bodies  of  infantry  posted 
in  the  chaparral,  who  immediately  opened  upon  him  with  musketry 
»nd,in  endeavouring  to  advance,  he  found  himself  in  front  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  Mexican  army.     This  being  reported  to  General  Tay 
lor,  he  ordered  forward  successive  portions  of  his  army,  who,  imme 
diately  closing  with  the  Mexican  forces,  soon  brouoht  on  a  general 
!ngagement.     The  enemy  being  securely  posted  in  almost  impene- 
rable  thickeH,  and  having  their  batteries  planted  in  a  ravine  which 
Tossed  nn/i  commanded  the  road,  fought  with  an  obstinacy  rare 


M8 


OPERATIONS   OF   GENERAL   TAYLOE. 


M  AT A  MORA  8 


among  Mexican  troops,  and  yielded  their  ground  only  when  driven 
inch  by  inch  with  the  bayonet.  Their  artillery  continued  to  pour  an 
incessant  shower  of  grape  and  canister  shot  into  the  American  ranks. 
As  the  result  of  the  battle  depended  upon  the  possession  of  theso 
guns,  Captain  May  was  ordered  to  charge  the  batteries  with  his 
squadron  of  dragoons,  which  he  did  in  gallant  style,  sweeping  the 
artillerists  from  their  posts,  and  driving  back  the  supporting  infantry. 
Several  o^  the  cavalry  were  killed,  while  La  Vep,a,  a  Mexican  gene- 
ral, was  taken  prisoner.  Soon  after  liie  eip'hth  mfuniry  arrived  to 
May's  assistance,  and  succeeded  in  securing  the  guns  and  drivinij 
the  Mexicans  from  the  left  of  the  road.  The  enemy  were  finally 
repulsed  at  every  point;  and,  leaving  their  camp  and  baggage,  they 
fled  precipitately  towards  the  river.  Being  hotly  pursued,  numbers 
were  killed  in  the  flight,  and  many  more  drowned  in  attempting  to 
cross  the  Rio  Grande.  The  approach  of  General  Taylor's  army  was 
hailed  by  the  garrison  at  little  Fort  Brown  with  the  most  enthusiastic 
applause,  and  the  two  eighteen-pounders  within  the  fort  were  opened 
upon  the  flying  enemy.  After  providing  for  his  wounded.  General 
Taylor  bivouacked  near  the  river  bank,  within  view  of  Matamoraa 
and  the  garrison  under  Captain  Hawkins. 


SIEGE   OP   MONTEREY. 


549 


The  marching  fore:?  of  the  Americans  on  th'<»  day  was  rather  more 
than  twenty-two  hundred,  but  the  number  actually  engaged  in  the 
battle  appears  to  have  been  no  greater  than  seventeen  hundred. 
The  Mexican  force  probably  numbered  six  thousand  men,  as  they 
had  been  reinforced  during  the  night  by  bodies  of  infantry  and 
cavalry.  General  Taylor's  loss  was  thirty-nine  killed,  including 
three  officers,  and  eighty-three  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Mexicans 
in  both  battles  is  estimated  by  General  Taylor  at  one  thousand  men. 

Had  "General  Taylor  possessed  the  means  necessary  for  crossing 
the  rivt  he  could  easily  have  completed  his  victory  by  the  capture 
of  Mata  floras.  This,  hdwever,  he  was  unable  to  do  until  the  18th 
Meanwhile  an  exchange  of  prisoners  restored  Captain  Thornton  and 
his  men  to  the  Americans;  while,  about  the  same  time,  Majors 
Brown  and  Ringgold  died  of  their  wounds.  Barita,  a  small  but  im- 
portant post  below  Matamoras,  was  taken  possession  of  on  the  15th 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wilson  and  a  considerable  body  of  infantry. 
Three  days  after,  the  general  crossed  with  his  whole  army,  and 
demanded  an  unconditional  surrender  of  the  city.  After  some  delay 
this  demand  was  complied  with.  The  American  flag  was  substituted 
for  the  Mexican,  and  a  new  civil  governmert  formed,  at  the  head  of 
which  was  Colonel  Twiggs.  Arista,  with  the  whole  Mexican  army, 
had  evacuated  the  city  on  the  evening  previous,  and  was  then 
marching  with  all  speed  to  Reynosa,  where  he  expected  to  be  joined 
by  President  Paredes. 

Although  General  Taylor  was  thus  placed  in  possessioTi  of  all  the 
region  watered  by  the  southern  portion  of  the  Rio  Grande,  yet  he 
was  still  in  no  condition  to  advance  into  the  interior  of  Mexico;  noi 
was  it  until  the  latter  part  of  August  that  his  earnest  and  repeated 
demand  for  supplies  had  been  answered  so  far  as  to  enable  him  to 
commence  his  march  for  the  city  of  Monterey.  Meanwhile  he  had 
detached  small  parties  against  the  towns  of  Mier,  Camargo,  and 
Reynosa,  all  of  which  were  occupied  with-^ut  resistance.  Towards 
the  end  of  August  General  Worth,  with  his  division,  was  ordered  to 
Seralvo,  from  which  place,  on  the  5th  of  September,  he  informed 
General  Taylor  that  Monterey  had  been  reinforced  by  a  large  body 
of  Mexicajis  under  General  Ampudia. 

As  the  '    Juction  of  this  city  was  considered  essential  to  the  suc- 
cess of  any  ultimate  expedition  against  the  capital  in  this  direction, 
he  Amerit  an  commander  determined  to  attack  it  without  further  loss 
>)t'  ^  me.     iccording'y,  with  about  seven  thousand  men,  he  marcheo 
35 


r,50 


OPERATIONS   or   GEXERAL  TAYLOR. 


OKHERAL     TATLOR     ADVANCINO      TO      UONTltRIT. 


for  Seralvo  on  the  7ih,  leaving  General  Patterson  in  command  of  al; 
the  forces  stationed  at  various  posts  between  Camargo  and  Mata- 
nioras.  After  collecting  supplies  at  Seralvo,  he  hurried  on  without 
waiting  for  rrinforcements,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  19th  reached 
the  Walnut  Springs,  three  miles  from  Monterey.  Here  a  careful 
reconnoissance  showed  that  in  addition  to  the  proper  works  of  the 
city,  which  were  very  strong,  the  enemy  had  erected  a  number  of 
small  forts  on  the  hills  adjacent,  as  well  as  fortified  the  strong  build- 
ing on  Independence  Hill,  known  as  the  Bishop's  Palace.  As  these 
works  commanded  the  western  approach  to  the  city.  General  Taylor 
determined  to  detach  against  them  one  division  of  his  army  under 
General  Worth,  while,  with  the  main  force,  he  conducted  in  person 
the  assault  upon  the  city. 

On  the  20th  General  Worth  with  his  division  moved  by  a  circui- 
tous route  to  the  Saltillo  road,  leading  to  Independence  Hill.  Early 
on  the  morning  of  the  31st,  his  cavalry  force,  under  Colonel  Hays, 
encountered  a  large  body  of  the  enemy,  both  on  foot  and  horseback. 
These  were  defeated  with  loss,  and  soon  after  Worth  gained  a  poHi 


SIEGE   OF    MONTEREY. 


551 


CAVALRT     ACTION     OF     TBI      2l8T     SiPTEUBKR. 


tion  on  the  road  ftivourable  for  an  attack.  The  first  fort  on  Federa- 
cion  Hill  was  gallantly  stormed  by  a  small  party  under  Captain 
Smith,  assisted  by  Captain  Miles  and  a  body  of  Texas  rangers  under 
Colonel  Hays.  Immediately  after,  Fort  Soldada  was  carried  by  i 
portion  of  the  same  force,  assisted  by  a  regiment  under  Colonel  Per- 
sifer  F.  Smith.  The  guns  of  both  these  places  were  turned  agains; 
the  Bishop's  Palace,  and  every  preparation  made  for  attacking  that 
strong  fortress  on  the  following  day. 

Meanwhile,  to  favour  Worth's  enterprise,  the  American  com* 
mander  ordered  the  first  regiment  of  regulars,  under  General  Twiggs, 
and  the  volunteers  under  General  Butler,  to  make  a  diversion  against 
the  centre  and  left  of  the  town.  The  enemy's  defences  in  this 
,|uarter  had  been  constructed  with  so  much  labour  that  every  house 
appeared  to  be  a  fortification,  and  each  street  was  raked  throughout 
its  greatest  extent,  with  fires  from  heavily  mounted  batteries.  In 
endeavouring  to  approach  Fort  Teneria,  General  Butler's  troops 
became  -itangled  in  this  labyrinth  of  difficulties,  and  sufltred  most 
severely.  After  much  loss,  the  fort  was  finally  carried  with  the  bay- 
onet. At  the  same  time,  the  Baltimore  battalion,  under  their  leader 
Uolonel  Watsou,  approached  the  city  from  the  west,  but  unfortunately 


552 


OPERATIONS   OP  GENERAL  TAYLOR. 


got  into  a  narrow  lane  or  street,  where  they  were  expoaed  both  to 
direct  and  cross-lires,  of  some  of  the  enemy's  most  active  batteries. 
The  greater  part  of  the  battalion  were  either  killed  or  wounded,  and 
the  remainder  saved  from  a  similar  fate  only  by  throwing  themflelves 
at  full  length  into  a  narrow  ditch. 

The  22d  passed  without  any  active  operations  in  the  lower  part  of 
the  city.     The  greater  part  of  the  morning  was  occupied  in  burying 
the  dead.     The  citadel,  and  other  works,  continued  to  fire  at  parties 
exposed  to  their  range,  and  at  the  garrison  in  Fort  Teneria.   Captain 
Bragg's  battery  was  placed  under  cover  in  front  of  the  town,  to  repel 
'  any  demonstration  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  in  that  quarter.     But  the 
■  day  was  far  otherwise  employed  by  General  Worth.     Before  day- 
•  light,  a  strong  party  under  Colonel  Childs,  assisted  by  Captains  Vin- 
ton and  Scott,  and  Lieutenant  Ayres,  commenced  the  ascent  of  the 
hill  surmounted  by  the  Bishop's  Palace.     After  incredible  toil,  they 
reached  a  position  suitable  for  opening  upon  the  works  ;  but  so  strong 
'  were  the  walls,  tha*  little  or  no  impression  could  be  made.     In  a 
short  time,  a  body  of  lancers  appeared  on  the  crest  of  the  hill ;  but 
being  charged,  they  broke  and  fled  in  confusion  toward  the  palace, 
the  gates  of  which  opening  to  receive  them,  were  entered  simulta- 
neously by  friend  and  foe.     Once  within,  the  Americans  soon  cleared 
the  walls  of  the  garrison,  while  Lieutenant  Ayres  mounted  the  hal- 
yards and  pulled  down  the  Mexican   flag.     Two  pieces  of  artillery 
were  captured,  with  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition,  and  some  small 
arms.     Seven  of  the  assailants  were  killed  and  twelve  wounded. 

On  the  following  morning,  a  combined  attack  was  made  upon  the 
town  by  the  forces  of  General  Taylor  on  the  east,  and  General  Worth 
on  the  west.  Directing  their  movements  to  the  Grand  Plaza,  the 
central  focus  of  the  city,  the  troops  moved  slowly  along  the  least 
dangerous  approaches.  By  daylight,  it  was  ascertained  that  the 
enemy  had  abandoned  all  their  lower  defences,  and  thrown  their 
main  army  into  the  cathedral,  and  the  works  near  the  centre.  These 
were  immediately  occupied  by  the  Americans,  who  opened  fr^m 
them  a  heavy  fire  of  both  artillery  and  musketry.  The  remaining 
troops  advanced  from  street  to  street,  until  within  one  square  of  the 
principal  plaza.  This  advance,  though  vigorous,  was  conducted 
with  due  caution,  thus  being  attended  with  but  little  loss  to  the 
assailants,  while  their  opponents  suffered  severely.  Toward  eve- 
ning, the  commander,  after  battering  down  a  portion  of  the  cathedral, 
halted  his  troops,  and  sent  orders  to  General  Worth  to  renew  the 


BISBOF     6     FALAUA,     MUt4TkXlSY. 


Bttack,  in  combination  with  his  own  force,  on  tne  following  morning. 
Although  such  great  success  had  attended  the  operations  of  the 
Americans,  the  labour  of  storming  the  city  was  as  yet  but  half  ac- 
complished. The  citadel,  main  cathedral,  and  other  large  works, 
were  still  garrisoned  by  the  enemy;  and  had  they  still  continued 
the  defence,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  loss  of  the  Americans 
would  have  been  more  serious  than  on  the  three  previous  days. 
This,  however,  they  failed  to  do.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the  24th, 
the  American  commander  received,  through  General  Worth,  a  com- 
niunication  from  General  Ampudia,  the  Mexican  commandant,  pro- 
posing to  evacuate  the  town  upon  certain  conditions.  Commissioners 
were  appointed  by  each  general,  and  after  a  long  and  tedious  nego- 
tiation, terms  of  capitulation  were  agreed  upon,  and  signed  by  the 
two  comn)anders.  These  were,  in  substance,  that  the  city,  with  all 
its  public  property,  should  be  surrendered  to  the  Americans  ;  that 
the  Mexican  army  should  march  out  with  their  muskets,  six  pieces 
of  cannon,  and  twenty  rounds  of  ammunition  ;  and  that  during 
an  armistice  of  eight  weeks,  neither  army  should  pass  a  certain 
specified  line. 
Un  occupying  the  city,  it  was  found  to  be  of  great  strength,  and 

7« 


3  A 


554 


OPERATIONS   OF   GENERAL   TAYLOR. 


STORMIMQ    OF    MONTBHBY. 


to  have  all  its  approaches  strongly  fortified.  The  works  were 
mounted  with  forty-two  pieces  of  cannon,  well  supplied  with  anunu- 
nit'on,  and  during  the  siege  had  been  manned  by  from  nine  to  ten 
thousand  men.  The  assailants  numbered  rather  more  than  six 
thousand  six  hundred  ;  while  their  artillery  consisted  of  one  ten-inch 
mortar,  two  twenty-four  pound  howil;jers,  and  four  light  field  bat- 
teries, of  four  guns  each.  Their  loss  was  twelve  officers,  and  one 
hundred  and  eight  men  killed  ;  thirty-one  officers  and  three  hundred 
and  thirty-seven  men  wounded.  The  luss  of  the  Mexicans  was 
never  known,  but  it  was  supposed  considerably  to  exceed  that  of  the 
Americans. 

Monterey  now  became  the  head-quarters  of  the  American  army. 
During  the  autumn.  General  Taylor  detached  Brigadier-General 
Worth,  with  twelve  hundred  men  and  eight  pieces  of  artillery,  to 
Saltillo,  while  Brigadier-General  Wool,  with  the  column  under  his 
command,  numbering  twenty-four  hundred  strong,  and  having  six 
pieces  of  artillery,  was  ordered  to  the  town  of  Parras,  seventy  miles 
north-east  of  Worth's  position.  Saltillo  lies  about  seventy  miles 
from  Monterey,  at  an  elevation  of  two  thousand  feet  above  that  city 
These  two  places  were  occupied  without  opposition,  the  enemy 
having  previously  fallen  back  to  San  Luis  Potosi. 


SANTA   ANNA  AT   POTOSI. 


5:.5 


aBNEBAL  TAYLOR  TAKING  LBAVB  Or  THK  TBOOPS 


Meanwhile,  President  Paredes  had  been  deposed,  and  General 
Santa  Anna  appointed  Dictator  of  Mexico.  After  raising  a  large 
army,  that  officer  established  his  head-quarters  at  Potosi,  designing 
to  raise  a  sufficiency  of  supplies  to  enable  him  to  arrest  the  furthei 
progress  of  General  Taylor.  Early  in  1847,  most  of  that  officer's 
regular  troops  were  withdrawn  by  General  Scott,  which  so  reduced 
his  numbers  as  to  force  him  to  abandon  his  designs  upon  the  Mexi- 
can capital  and  to  fall  back  toward  Monterey.  General  Taylor  took 
leave  of  the  troops  who  left  him,  in  a  very  feeling  address.  The 
arrival  of  volunteers  under  General  Wool  again  enabled  him  to  move 
forward,  so  that  on  the  21st  of  February,  ascertaining  that  Santa 
Anna  was  moving  rapidly  upon  him  with  twenty  thousand  men,  he 
took  up  a  strong  position  at  the  pass  of  Augostura,  three  miles  from 
Buena  Vista,  and  seven  from  Saltiilo.  On  the  following  day,  the 
Mexican  forces  were  observed  approaching  over  the  neighbouring 
mountains  ;  and  immediately  after.  General  Taylor  received  a  sum- 
mons to  surrender,  which  he  refused.  Toward  evening,  a  brisk 
rannonade  was  commenced  upon  the  Americans,  but  with  little  or  no 
pffect      A  portion  of  the  enemy's  infantry  then  wound  along  the 


556 


OPERATIONS   OF   GENERAL   TAYLOR. 


gorge  1  and  hi.'Ss  to  the  left  of  the  general's  position,  and  oppned 
a  heavy  fire  up'n  that  flank.  It  was  returned  by  a  portion  of  tht 
Kentucky  mounted  regiment,  under  Colonel  Marshall,  and  the 
skirmish  lasted  until  after  dark.  Three  Americans  were  wounded. 
During  the  night,  General  Taylor  retired  to  Saltillo,  leaving  with 
General  Wool  the  care  of  providing  for  the  commencement  of  the 
attack.  On  the  following  morning,  the  action  was  renewed  in  earnest. 
The  American  army  did  not  number  more  than  five  thousand  men  ; 
yet  these  coolly  prepared  to  resist  the  overwhelming  host,  whose 
dark  lines  of  infantry  were  drawn  out  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
while  the  cavalry  appeared  in  dense  colunms,  presenting  the  most 
gaudy  appearance.  Before  sunrise,  a  large  body  of  both  foot  and 
horse  moved  toward  the  point  which  had  been  the  scene  of  conflict 
on  the  preceding  night,  evidently  with  the  intention  of  turning  the 
American  left  flank,  and  penetrating  to  the  centre.  To  prevent 
this.  General  Taylor  ordered  Sherman's  and  Bragg's  batteries  to  the 
threatened  position,  the  second  Illinois  regiment,  under  Colonel  Bis- 
sel,  occupying  a  position  between  them.  The  second  Kentucky 
regiment  was  placed  near  the  centre.  The  extreme  left  was  sup- 
ported by  the  second  Indiana  regiment,  under  Colonel  Bowles,  so 
placed  as  to  check,  by  a  direct  fire,  the  enemy's  flank  movements. 
The  battle  was  opened  on  both  sides  by  the  artillery,  which  was 
soon  followed  by  the  musketry  of  the  Mexican  right.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  great  disparity  in  numbers,  the  Americans  niaintuined  their 
ground  with  firmness,  each  regiment  vying  with  the  others  in  the 
obstinacy  of  their  resistance. 

Ai  the  same  time,  the  Mexican  cavalry  were  winding  slowly  along 
the  mountain  defiles,  and  notwithstanding  the  havoc  caused  by  the 
American  artillery,  they  succeeded  in  gaining  a  position  close  to  the 
rear,  and  in  view  of  the  stores  at  Buena  Vista.  To  prevent  their 
further  advance,  General  Taylor  sent  forward  his  artillery,  extended 
his  front,  and  opened  a  combined  fire  of  rifles  and  cannon  upon 
the  approaching  lancers.  The  action  now  raged  with  terrible  effect, 
but  although  at  the  first  shock  the  cavalry  reeled  and  fell  back,  they 
twice  rallied,  and  it  was  not  until  they  had  been  divided  into  two 
bodies,  that  this  vigorous  attempt  was  abandoned. 

At  this  critical  position  of  his  afliiirs,  Santa  Anna  sent  a  flag  of  truce 
to  the  American  general,  desiring  to  know  "what  he  wanted."  A 
temporary  cessation  of  hostilities  took  place,  during  which  the  de« 
tached  cavalry  were  enabled  to  regain  the  main  body.     This  again 


I' '  .If  -" 


"f"l" 


BATTLE   OF   BUENA    VISTA. 


557 


RXPOLSX    OF    TUE    U  B  Z  I  0  A  N    0AVALH7     AT    BUINA    VISTA. 


pave  the  enemy  a  large  numerical  superiority,  which  enabled  them 
almost  completely  to  overwhelm  the  second  Kentucky  regiment,  and 
drive  the  second  Indiana  from  the  field.     Captain  O'Brien,  with  two 
pieces  of  artillery,  sustained  this  heavy  charge  to  the  last,  but  was 
finally  compelled  to  leave   his  guns  on  the  field.     Perceiving  their 
advantage,  the  enemy  rushed  on  in  dense  masses,  captured  the  guns, 
and  the  Indiuniuns  retreating  by  order  of  Colonel  Bowles,  the  Mexi- 
cans advanced  upon  the  Kentucky  regiment,  under  Colonels  McKee 
and  Clay,  and  the  Mississippi  regiment,  under  Colonel  Jefferson  Da- 
vis.   At  this  moment,  by  order  of  Ceneral  Taylor,  Captain  Bragg  threw 
himself  into  action,  and  opened  his  battery  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
Mexican  cavalry.    By  this  daring  movement,  the  enemy's  progress  was 
suddenly  arrested,  and  his  whole  body  of  lancers  driven  back.     Bui. 
during  their  retreat,  they  attacked  the  second  Kentucky  regiment, 
<vhich  had  pursued  beyond  supporting  distance.    The  gallant  troops 
composing  it  were  overwhelmed  with  immense  slaughter,  and  driven 
into  a  ravine,  where  they  were  saved  from  total  annihilation  only  by 
the  timely  discharge  of  a  battery  placed  there  under  command  of 
Captain  Washington.      The   remainder  of  the   American  artillery 
_  then  opened  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  Mexican  right  flank,  which  con- 
tributed materially  to  his  final  repulse.    Night  had  now  fallen  upon 

Sa2 


558 


OP&RATIONS   OF   OENERAL   TAYLOR. 


OOLO       EL    JBFFBK30N     DAVIS. 


.ne  field,  and  each  army  appeared  unwilling  further  to  test  the 
strength  of  the  other.  Notwithstanding  the  numerous  changes  in 
position,  the  forces  occupied  nearly  the  same  ground  as  th<'y  iiad  in 
the  morning.  The  Americans  expected  a  renewal  of  the  battle  on 
the  following  day;  but  the  disheartened  condition  of  the  Mexicans 
rendered  this  impossible  ;  and  before  daylight,  Santa  Anna,  with  his 
troops,  was  in  full  retreat  to  Agua  Nueva. 

In  this  action  the  Americans  lost  two  hundred  and  sixty-seven 
killed,  four  hundred  and  fifty-six  wounded,  and  twenty-three  missing. 
The  killed  and  wounded  of  the  enemy  have  been  estimated  at  more 
than  two  thousand,  nearly  five  hundred  of  their  dead  being  left  upon 
tne  field.  The  relative  loss  of  officers  among  the  Americans  is  sur- 
prisingly great,  and  comprises  some  of  the  brightest  ornament* 
to  the  service.     The  names  of  Colonels  Yell,  Hardin,  Clay,  McKee, 


WITIUUAWAL  OF   GENERAL   TAYLOR  S   TROOPS. 


559 


Captain  Lincoln,  and  others,  will  long  be  remembered  m  connection 
with  the  price  at  which  this  victory  was  bought. 

The  report  of  this  action  was  sent  toward  the  seat  of  government, 
in  care  of  Mr.  Crittenden,  escorted  by  Major  Giddings,  with  two 
hundred  and  sixty  men.  This  force  was  attacked  by  General  Urrea, 
with  a  numerous  body  of  lancers,  but  succeeded  in  driving  him 
off  with  loss.  The  major  had  two  soldiers  and  fifteen  teamsters 
killed.  Immediately  after,  General  Taylor  started  in  pursuit  of 
Urrea,  having  with  him  Captain  May's  dragoons,  and  two  companies 
of  artillery.  The  pursuit  continued  as  far  as  Caiderota,  when  the 
Mexican  general  succeeded  in  escaping  beyond  the  mountains. 
General  Taylor  then  fell  back  upon  Monterey,  and,  with  General 
Wool,  concerted  a  plan  for  marching  against  Sun  Luis  Potosi.  This 
he  was  prevented  from  executing,  by  a  second  demand  for  troops 
made  upon  him  by  General  Scolt,  which  de|.iived  him  of  nearly  all 
the  officers  and  men  by  whom  he  had  been  so  nuMy  suf^taiiit-d  at 
Buena  Vista.  Toward  the  close  of  the  year,  lie  returned  to  the 
United  States,  leaving  the  command  of  the  army  at  Monterey  with 
General  Wool. 


"V^^^::::^^^'' 


^,,-.- 


,  -J,-  .  I    • 


OOLON'IL    FRKUONT 


CHAPTER  LJ. 


OPERATIONS  IN   CALIFORNIA  AND   NEW   MEXICO. 


O  sooner  had  war  been  determined  on  between 
the  United  States  and  Mexico,  than  the  at- 
tention of  the  former  country  was  turned  to- 
ward those  vast  provinces  lying  to  the  north 
of  Mexico  proper,  and  over  which  she  had  at 
^  no  time  held  more  than  a  nominal  sway.  Ac- 
cnidingly,  almost  simultaneously  with  the  ope- 
rations of  General  Tajlor  against  Matamoras,  a  military  force  of 
ihree  hundred  drag  ons,  and  three  thousand  Missouri  vohmteers, 
was  concentrated  at    Furl  Leavenworth,  under  Brigadl'^r-GeneraJ 


SUCCESS  OF  COLONEL  DONIPHAN. 


661 


Kearny  or  the  purpose  of  marching  against  New  Mexico.  A 
portion  of  these  operations  have  been  narrated  in  the  history  of  Cali- 
fornia ;  but  a  summary  sketch,  although  at  the  risk  of  some  repetition, 
seems  necessary  here,  in  order  to  preserve  the  natural  connection  of 
dates.  On  the  18th  of  August,  1846,  thi?  army  took  possession 
of  the  capital  city,  Santa  Fe,  where  Kearny  organized  a  free  govern- 
ment, under  the  direction  of  the  United  States,  formed  a  code  of 
laws,  and  appointed  Charles  Bent  governor.  On  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember, he  marched  for  Upper  California,  leaving  orders  with  Colonel 
Doniphan  to  proceed  with  about  one  thousand  men,  against  the 
Navajo  Indians. 

Doniphan  carried  on  his  campaign  against  the  Indians  until  the 
14th  of  December ;  and  on  the  17th,  he  again  set  forward  on  an 
expedition  to  the  south,  leaving  Colonel  Price  at  Santa  Fe  with 
fifteen  hundred  men.  Immediately  after  his  departure,  an  insur- 
rection of  the  inhabitants  took  place,  which  was  suppressed  with 
difficulty;  and  this  was  followed  by  the  murder  of  Governor  Bent 
and  others,  by  secret  parties  throughout  the  country.  So  strong  was 
the  popular  feeling  against  the  Americans,  that  on  the  24th  of  Feb- 
ruary, a  large  body  of  the  insurgents  attacked  Colonel  Price  at  La 
Canada,  but  were  repulsed.  Another  battle  took  place  on  the  29th, 
at  the  strong  post  of  El  Embudo,  where  the  Mexicans  were  defeated 
with  considerable  loss.  Price  then  marched  to  Puebla  de  Taos, 
which  was  attacked  on  the  4th  of  February,  and  after  a  vigorous 
assault,  which  lasted  all  day,  compelled  to  capitulate.  The  principal 
leaders  of  the  cmspiracy  were  shot,  after  which  Price  returned  to 
Santa  Fe. 

Meanwhile  Colonel  Doniphan  had  been  fighting  his  way  toward 
El  Paso  del  Norte.  On  Christmas  day  he  was  attacked  at  Bracito 
by  eleven  hundred  men,  and  though  his  own  force  actually  engaged 
was  only  about  five  hundred,  he  defeated  his  assailants  with  the  loss 
of  two  hundred  in  killed  and  wounded.  On  the  29th,  he  entered 
El  Paso,  and  on  the  8th  of  February  marched  for  Chihuahua.  At 
the  pass  of  Sacramento  he  encountered  four  thousand  of  the  enemy, 
Btrongly  posted  behind  a  system  of  twenty-seven  redoubts,  and  having 
ten  pieces  of  cannon.  Doniphan's  force  was  nine  hundred  and 
Iwenty-four  men,  who  were  obhged  to  protect  a  train  of  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty  wagons,  besides  the  regular  army  train.  But  so  in- 
timidated were  the  Mexicans,  that  on  being  assailed,  they  abandoned 
llieir  works,  after  a  slight  resistance,  and  iled  over  the  adjacent 

n 


56-         OPERATIONS  IN   CALIFORNIA   AND   NEW   MEXICO. 


-?^feW--''- -■•'-V 


BATTLB    OF    DBAOITO. 


mountains.  Two  Americans  were  killed,  and  seven  wounded.  On 
the  1st  of  March,  formal  possession  was  taken  of  Chihuahua.  Re- 
ceiving orders  from  General  Wool  to  join  his  command  at  Saltillo, 
Doniphan  reached  that  place  May  2;},  1^17,  and  soon  after,  his 
command  was  reviewed  by  General  Taylor.  When  the  term  of  ser- 
vice of  his  troops  expired,  he  returned  with  them  to  New  Orleans. 

During  these  events,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fremont,  who  had  ori- 
ginally been  sent  into  California  on  a  scientific  expedition,  had  raised 
a  considerable  force  of  mounted,  men,  with  which  he  commenced 
operations  against  the  Mexican  troops  in  his  vicinity.  On  the  13th 
of  June,  he  captured  thirteen  men  and  two  hundred  horses,  belong- 
ing to  General  Castro,  and  on  the  15th,  he  took  possession  of  Sanoma 
pass,  containing  a  small  garrison,  nine  cannon,  and  a  number  of 
muskets.  On  the  Pacific  coast,  Commodore  Sloat  had  taken  the 
sea-port  of  Monterey,  and  on  the  13th  of  August,  a  body  of  riflemen 
under  Fremont,  and  Commodore  Stockton,  Sloat's  successor,  took 
possession  of  Ciudad  de  los  Anfjelos,  of  which  Fremont  was  appointed 
governor.  On  the  lllh  of  D(!cember,  Kearny  reached  the  city  of 
Ban  I'lego,  in  California,  having  five  days  prev.ously  gained  a  victory 


KECAPTURE  OF  LOS  ANGEL08. 


063 


(IBNBRAL     KBAKNT    TTOnNDBD    AT    84.11    PA8QUAL. 


;d 


at  San  Pasrjual,  where,  with  many  of  his  officers  and  men,  he  wns 
vvouiidcd.  On  the  8th  of  January,  he  fought  another  battle  to  rc- 
cnplure  the  city  of  Los  Antrelos,  which  had  been  taken  by  the 
Mexicans.  Being  successful,  fjuiet  was  for  a  short  period  restored 
to  California. 

On  the  10th  of  November,  Colonel  Burton,  with  a  little  garrison 
at  La  Paz,  was  attaclced  by  a  considerable  force  of  the  enemy,  raised 
principally  among  the  neitrbbourinrr  towns,  and  sustained  a  trying 
siege  of  nearly  a  week's  dmation.  Nearly  at  the  same  time.  Lieu- 
tenant Heywood  was  assaulted  at  San  Jose,  but  succeeded  in  driving 
nvvny  the  enemy  after  two  days'  skirmishing.  The  whole  popula- 
tion of  New  Mexico  and  California  was  so  discontented  with  the 
government  of  the  Americans,  that  small  parties  were  organized 
throughout  these  territories  for  the  purp(<se  of  keeping  alive  the  re- 
membrance of  their  connection  with  the  Mexican  government 
These  finally  assumed  so  serious  an  aspect  as  to  oblige  Generil 
(formerly  CJolonel]  Price  to  take  the  field  with  a  large  force.  On 
the  9th  of  March,  that  officer  laid  siege  to  Santa  Cruz  de  Rosales, 
which  was  defended  by  a  military  garrison  under  General  Trias 
After  a  bombardment,  which  lasted  until  the  16th,  and  a  furious 
assault  01  that  day,  the  city  surrendered.  This  action  closed  the 
military  events  of  the  war  in  California  and  New  Mexico. 


I 


aXHSRAI,     S  OOTT 


CHAPTER  LII. 


CAMPAIGN   OF   GENERAL   SCOTT. 


HE  favourite  scheme  of  the  American  government, 
during  the  Mexican  war,  was  to  conduct  an  expedi« 
tion  against  the  enemy's  capital,  by  way  of  Vera 
Cruz,  and  a  land  mp'~^  towards  the  interior.  The 
first  step  in  this  operation  was  the  reduction  of  the 
latter  city,  with  its  strong  castle  of  San  Juan  de  Ulloa.  Its  execu- 
tion was  confided  to  Major-General  Scott,  who  arrived  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Rio  Grande,  January  1  1847.  After  detaching  a  large  nuiii 
der  of  troops  from  the  "Army  of  Occupation,"  ae  embarked  |['Marct 

664 


SIEGE   OF  VERA   CRUZ. 


565 


r 

li' 

Ira 
\e 
le 
lu- 
th 
m 
ck 


7")  With  twelve  thousand  men,  on  board  the  squadron  of  Commodore 
Conner,  and  on  the  9th  of  March  landed  his  army  near  Vera  Cruz. 
On  the  following  day,  after  a  slight  opposition  from  the  enemy,  the 
:ity  was  formally  invested,  and  the  fleet  commenced  the  landing  of 
mortars  and  other  pieces  necessary  for  a  siege.  On  the  13th,  not- 
withstanding a  heavy  fire  from  the  town,  the  Americans  had  suc- 
ceeded in  completing  the  entire  investmg  line,  which  occupied  a 
space  of  ground  eight  miles  in  length,  and  completely  circumscribed 
the  city.  From  this  time  to  the  22d  they  were  occupied  in  landing 
and  planting  their  batteries,  although  exposed  to  a  severe  fire  of  artil- 
lery from  the  city  and  castle.  About  noon  of  the  22d,  General  Stott 
summoned  the  city  to  surrender,  but  Governor  Morales  replied  that 
Rooner  than  do  so  he  would  buiy  himself  beneath  its  rains.  Imme- 
diately upon  the  reception  of  this  answer,  the  general  ordered  his 
men  into  position,  and  opened  upon  the  city  with  his  mortars.  This 
was  retorted  on  the  part  of  the  enemy  with  shells  and  shot ;  and  the 
firing  on  both  sides,  from  the  time  of  opening  until  the  night  of  the 
25th,  was  heavy,  and  with  but  little  interruption.  On  the  22d  the 
.smaller  vessels  of  the  American  fleet  took  up  a  position  close  to  the 
siiore,  and  added  their  fire  to  that  of  the  land  forces,  with  much  eflfect. 
On  the  following  day,  this  little  fleet,  after  doing  material  injury  to 
the  fortifications,  was  withdrawn  to  a  position  of  greater  safety.  On 
the  26th,  a  violent  north">r  set  in,  which  raised  such  quantities  of  sand 
as  completely  filled  the  '.renches,  and  caused  a  temporary  cessation 
of  hostilities.  Communication  with  the  fleet  was  also  cut  oflT.  But 
so  destructive^  had  been  the  fire  of  the  Americans,  both  to  life  and 
property,  that  the  citizens  petitioned  their  governor  to  open  negotia- 
tions of  surrender.  This  he  resolutely  declined  to  do,  declaring  his 
determination  to  yield  only  when  it  would  no  longer  be  possible  for 
him  to  fire  a  gun.  But  terror  at  the  sight  of  the  surrounding  scenes 
of  destruction  overcoming  every  other  feeling,  Morales  was  finally 
obliged  to  resign,  and  General  Landero  was  elected  in  his  stead. 
Early  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  that  officer  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to 
General  Scott,  proposing  to  surrender  the  city  by  itself.  To  this  the 
general-in-chief  replied  that  he  could  not  stipulate  for  either  city  or 
castle  apart  from  the  other.  But,  during  the  same  day,  negotiations 
were  again  opened  by  the  enemy,  which  finally  resulted  in  the  sur* 
lender  of  both  Vera  Cruz  and  its  castle.  Generals  Worth  and  Pil- 
low, with  Colonel  Totten,  were  the  American  commissioners ;  Vil- 
■  Liunuera,  Herrera,  and  Robles,  those  of  the  enemy.  In  substance, 
36  '■ 


we 


CAMPAIGN    OF   GENERAL   SCOTT. 


the  terms  of  capitulation  were,  that  the  Mexican  officers  should  retira 
•o  their  houses  on  parole,  carrying  with  them  their  arms  and  private 
effects;  their  army  was  to  be  dismissed  on  parole,  while  public  pro- 
perty of  every  description  was  to  be  given  up  to  the  United  States, 
on  condition  of  being  restored  to  Mexico  by  a  definite  treaty  of  peace. 
On  the  29th  the  surrender  took  place.  Leaving  the  city  and  castle, 
the  Mexicans  marched  between  the  extended  lines  of  their  con 
querors,  stacked  their  arms,  laid  down  the  national  colours,  and  de- 
parted for  the  interior.  Immediately  after  this  ceremony,  General 
Scott  entered  Vera  Cruz,  at  the  head  of  General  Worth's  division, 
and  in  company  with  the  chief  officers  of  the  army  and  navy.  When 
the  national  flag  was  hoisted  over  the  castle  and  mam  plaza,  salutes 
were  fired  from  the  guns  of  the  castle,  the  city  batteries,  and  the 
squadron.  General  Worth  was  appointed  military  governor  of  the 
•jity,  Colonel  Belton  of  the  castle,  and  Major  Scott  of  the  strong  work 
:alled  Fort  Santiago.        .    '  ' 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  during  this  siege  was  but  seventeen 
Jled,  and  twenty-eight  wounded  ;  that  of  the  Mexican  army  has 
jver  been  ascertained.     So  destructive  was  the  American  artillerv 


LIEUTENANT  HUNTER. 


5H7 


tn 

iS 

le 

en 
Ins 
|rv 


•hat  it  has  been  estimated  that  at  feast  five  hundred  non-combatants 
were  killed  by  the  bursting  of  bombs  through  houses,  or  among 
crowds  collected  in  the  streets.  The  quantity  of  military  stores 
taken  by  General  Scott's  army  was  very  great.  Besides  four  thou- 
sand stand  of  arms  laid  down  by  the  enemy  in  retiring,  one  thou- 
sand more  were  found  in  the  city;  four  hundred  pieces  of  cannon, 
with  a  vast  amount  of  shells,  powder,  and  shot,  were  found  either  in 
position  or  in  stores. 

On  the  30th,  Commodore  Perry,  successor  to  Conner  in  the  com- 
mand of  the  Gulf  Squadron,  detached  the  steamer  Scourge,  Lieuten- 
ant Hunter,  to  blockade  the  port  of  Alvarado,  which  had  been  twice 

attacked  unsuccessfully  by 
Commodore  Conner.  In 
approaching  the  town  the 
vessel  opened  a  fire  upon 
it,  and  sent  a  boat  on  shore 
containing  two  officers  and 
a  few  men,  with  a  demand 
for  an  unconditional  surren- 
der of  the  place  in  thirty 
minutes.  The  terrified  au- 
thorities instantly  acceded  ; 
and  thus  the  town  which 
had  so  long  resisted 
the  American  Gulf  forces, 
was  taken  without  blood- 
shed by  a  steamer  of  three 
guns.  On  the  following 
morning,  at  2  o'clock,  the 
Scourge  appeared  before  the  town  of  Tlacotalpam,  where  a  similar 
summons  was  followed  by  similar  success.  For  these  operations  - 
Lieutenant  Hunter  was  dismissed  from  the  squadron,  for  having  dis- 
obeyed orders  in  attacking  the  town,  when  he  was  instructed  merely 
to  blockade  it. 

After  remaining  about  two  weeks  at  V^ra  Cruz,  General  Scott 
commenced  his  march  for  the  Mexican  capital.  On  the  14th  of 
April,  General  Twiggs,  with  the  van  of  the  army,  reached  the  moun- 
tain pass  of  Cerro  Gordo,  where  he  was  soon  afterwards  joined  by 
the  main  body.  Here,  among  the  high  hills  commanding  the  road, 
were  posted  ten  thousand  Mexican  troops,  in  strong  redoubts,  com 


OOUllODORE      PT  RB7. 


cm 


CAMPAION   OF  GE\BnAL   SCOTT 


BiTILX     OF      OBRBO     QOROa 


m;inded  by  President  Santa  Anna.  This  ofTicer,  after  the  battle  of 
Buona  Vista,  had  retired  to  the  capital ;  and,  by  extraordinary  exer- 
tions, had  succeeded  in  raising  another  army,  with  which  he  hoped 
to  retrieve  his  former  losses,  and  rid  his  country  *  f  its  enemies. 
With  a  promptitude  that  does  him  honour,  he  threw  himself  in  the 
way  of  greatest  danger ;  and,  instead  of  again  marching  against  Gene- 
ral Taylor,  then  in  command  of  but  a  handful  of  raw  volunteers,  he 
hurried  forward  to  oppose  the  victorious  career  of  the  conqueror  of 
Vera  Cruz.  Seizing  the  strnngr  gorge  of  Cerro  Gordo,  he  fortified  it 
in  such  a  manner  that,  in  approaching,  an  assailing  party  would  be 
obliged  to  march  along  the  distance  of  a  mile  in  full  range  of  his  bat- 
teries. On  one  flank  General  La  Vega  was  posted  with  a  larga-iiirce, 
and  on  the  other  several  garrisons  of  small  forts. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  17th  General  Scott  commenced  a  careful 
reconnoissance  of  the  enemy's  position.  Before  entering  the  ridge 
of  clifTs  known  as  the  Cerro  Gordo,  the  road  crosses  the  bed  of  a  once 
large  stream  known  as  the  Plan  del  Rio,  On  the  right  was  a  high 
cliff  covered  with  forts  and  batteries,  and  similar  fortifications  form- 
ing a  strong  chain  of  defence.  A  front  attack  would  have  led  to  a 
tctal  annihilation  of  the  American  forces,  and  upon  this  direction  of 
assault  Santa  Anna  had  evidently  calculated.     But  on  the  evening 


BATTLE   OP  CERBO  GORDO. 


669 


of  the  17tb  General  Scott  opened  a  new  road  through  the  chaparral 
to  the  right,  so  as  to  escape  the  fire  in  front,  and  turn  the  Mexican 
left  flank.  As  General  Twiggs's  division  then  became  greatly  ex- 
posed. Colonel  Harney  was  sent  against  a  fort  on  the  steep  ascent 
in  front ;  and,  under  a  heavy  fire  of  grape  and  musketry,  carried  it 
with  the  rifles  and  a  small  detachment  of  infantry  and  artillery. 
The  two  armies  were  now  in  view  of  each  other ;  but  no  further 
operations  took  place  during  the  night,  except  the  raovemeut  of 
Twiggs's  division  to  secure  a  position  favorable  for  opening  the 
attack  on  the  followinnr  day. 

Early  on  the  18th  Twiggs  was  ordered  forward  from  the  captuied 
position  against  Santa  Anna's  main  fort,  while  at  the  same  time  Gen- 
eral Pillow  assaulted  the  enemy'3  right,  where  La  Vega  was  posted  ; 
and  Generals  Shields  and  Worth  seized  upon  the  Jalapa  road,  so  as 
to  cut  off  all  retreat.  The  van  of  Twiggs's  division,  under  the 
intrepid  Harney,  moved  up  the  steep  ascent,  although  exposed  to 
sweeping  fires  of  cannon  and  musketry,  and  notwithstanding  their 
severe  loss,  paused  not  until  they  had  gained  the  works  and  leaped 
among  the  enemy.  The  ensuing  struggle  was  but  short,  aud  the 
Mexicans  were  soon  flying  in  all  directions  to  gain  the  main  road. 
They  here  experienced  their  greatest  loss  ;  and  one  of  their  generals, 
Vasquez,  was  killed.  During  this  time  General  Worth  had  been 
using  great  efibrts  to  reach  a  fort  in  Santa  Anna's  rear,  which  was 
defended  by  General  Pinzon,  a  mulatto  ofllicer  of  considerable  abil- 
ity and  courage.  This  he  accomplished  soon  after  the  victory  of 
Twiggs's  division,  so  that  on  being  summoned  to  surrender,  the  gar- 
rison thought  it  most  prudent  to  comply.  These  successes  were, 
however,  dampened  by  the  repulse  of  General  Pillow  from  the  bat- 
teries commanded  by  La  Vega.  A  renewal  of  the  attack  was 
attended  by  the  same  result,  but  the  garrisons  finally  stirrendered^- 
-omis^ertaining  the  fate  of  Santa  Anna's  position.  On  the  Jalapa 
road.  General  Shields,  while  gallantly  seconding  the  efforts  of  the 
main  army,  was  dangerously  wounded  by  a  musket  ball  through 
the  lungs,  and  carried  senseless  from  the  field.  The  command  of 
his  troops  devolved  on  Colonel  Baker,  who  pursued  the  enemy 
until  late  in  the  afternoon.  Their  loss  during  the  flight  was 
greater  than  while  the  battle  lasted. 

In  this  action  the  force  of  the  Americans  was  about  eight  thou- 
sand men.  The  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  was  between  four  and 
five  hundred,  that  of  the  Mexicans  being  nearly  the  same.     More 

72  3B2 


570 


CAMPAIGN    OF  GENERAL  SCOTT. 


;  tiijii  y. 
(Ill'  il'i'/ 

'   '    '"{ 
»/•.-,■  I J     t" 
/  oiil  I'M  ;t* ;  >la 

•Jl  (!!•■    if.O  I 

nin't)  f/n.i 

'■>  itv.)  ()) 
I  i.i.iyi'cl 

.;  ^v;.■•.,r• 


OOLOHBL     BAKER. 


than  three  thousand  prisoners  were  taken,  together  with  Generals 
Piuzon,  Jarrero,  La  Vega,  Obaudo,  and  Noriega,  with  an  immense 
quantity  of  field  batteries,  heavy  ordnance,  small  arms  and  accoutre- 
ments- The  private  baggage  and  money  chest  of  Santa  Anna,  con- 
taining about  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  specie,  were  also  captured. 
Santa  Anna  himself,  with  Ampudia  and  Caualizo,  escaped  by  a  pri- 
vate pass,  and  gained  the  Jalapa  road  in  rear  of  the  Americans. 

Determined  to  render  the  rout  of  the  enemy  as  complete  as  po9- 
flfble,  General  Scott  pushed  on  his  forces  in  ha.  .e  along  ihe  Jalapa 
road.  On  the  following  day  Twiggs  entered  Jalapa  without  oppo- 
sition ;  and  on  the  21st  the  town  and  strong  castle  of  Perote  were 
taken  by  General  Worth.  Three  weeks  after,  [May  15,]  that 
active  officer  took  possession  of  Puebla,  which  became  for  a  whilo 
the  head-quarters  of  the  American  army. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  Commodore  Perry  entered  the  harbour  of 
Tuspan  with  a  portion  of  his  fleet,  attacked  the  town,  and  forced  it 
to  surrender,  with  a  loss  on  his  part  of  seventeen  killed  and  wounded* 


nilERILLA   WARFARE. 


671 


Santa  Anna,  afler  his  defeat  at  Cerro  Onrdo,  proceedtd  to  the 
capital,  which  he  reached  on  the  ]7th  of  May.  He  immediately 
cullected  into  one  the  scattered  fragments  of  the  various  armies  dis- 
persed throughout  the  country,  and  began  an  elaborate  system  of 
defence.  Stirring  appeals  were  addressed  to  the  patriotism  of  the 
people,  calling  for  men,  money,  and  stores ;  the  aid  of  religious  sen* 
timent  was  invoked,  and  every  means  taken  to  rouse  the  country  lor 
<  ne  more  great  effort.  The  strong  pass  of  the  Rio  Frio,  considered 
one  of  the  most  dangerous  in  Mexico  for  an  assailing  army,  was 
occupied  by  a  considerable  force,  who  erected  there  some  works. 
About  this  period,  also,  the  formidable  guerilla  force  scattered  among 
the  mountains  and  defiles,  were  authorized  to  commence  their  sys- 
tematic operations  against  the  Americans.  A  guerilla  party  was 
composed  of  lancers,  rancheros,  and  highwaymen,  mounted  on  horse- 
back, and  attacking  small  companies  or  trains  as  opportunity  offered. 
The  only  code  of  war  acknowledged  by  these  guerillas  was  their 
own  will;  so  that  the  introduction  of  this  system  gave  a  peculiarly 
ferocious  aspect  to  many  of  the  scenes  of  1847-8.  At  different  times 
a  number  of  these  outlaws  attacked  persons  upon  the  road  from  Mon- 
ter»!y  and  Vera  Cruz  to  the  capital,  and  frequently  butchered  them 
in  a  shocking  manner.  The  Americans  were  not  slow  in  retaliating. 
In  a  rancho  near  Seralvo  a  number  of  volunteers  hung  about  forty 
Mexicans,  and  then  secretly  decamped.  A  young  man  named 
Oglesby  having  been  murdered  in  returning  from  Camargo,  a  party 
of  Texans  pursued  the  murderers,  overtook  them,  and  put  all  to  the 
sword.  The  most  strenuous  efforts  were  made  by  the  authorities  of 
both  nations  to  prevent  such  horrible  occurrences;  but  the  evil  con- 
tinued, with  but  little  interruption,  until  the  close  of  the  war. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  a  party  numbering  one  hundred  and  fifty  vo- 
lunteers and  citizens,  under  Captain  Bainbridge,  left  Puebla  for  Vera 
Cruz.  On  approaching  the  Cerro  Gordo,  some  of  the  officers  were 
fired  upon,  and  the  party  were  soon  after  informed  that  several  thou- 
sand Mexicans  were  in  the  pass.  Continuing  to  advance,  they  ascer- 
tained that  a  detachment  of  the  enemy  were  barricading  the  bridge; 
and  ahhough  eVening  had  already  fallen,  and  they  were  excessively 
fatigued,  yet  a  guard  was  posted  below  the  bridge,  in  order  to  pre- 
vent surprise.  On  the  following  morning  the  bridge  was  passed 
without  opposition ;  but  when  an  officer  and  private  soldier  returned 
to  bring  over  the  wagons,  the  whole  train  was  fired  upon  by  about 
twenty-five  Mexicans,  by  which  four  men  were  killed,  and  a  wagoa 


572 


CAMPAIGN   OF   GENERAL   SCOTT. 


taken.     About  the  same  time  a  body  of  lancers  appeared  on  tha 
opposite  side,  but  rode  away  on  perceiving  that  the  captain  was  pre 
paring  to  receive  them.     The  little  company  then  pursued  its  way 
undisturbed  until  it  arrived  at  the  camp  of  Colonel  Mcintosh,  which 
was  posted  upon  the  road. 

I 1  HIS  officer,  like  Captain  Bainbridge,  had  been 

"^l  V^  attacked  by  a  large  force  of  the  enemy, 
and  was  now  waiting  for  reinforcements 
The  attack  had  lasted  all  night,  and  was 
successfully  met  only  by  the  exertion  .  of 
Captain  Duperu's  dragoons.  After  resting 
a  day,  Bainbridge  again  set  out  for  Vera 
Cruz,  which  he  reached  in  safe'v ;  but 
Captain  Duperu,  having  a  long  return 
train  to  guard,  which  was  threatened  by  u 
large  body  of  lancers,  halted  at  Santa  Fe. 
Here  he  was  charged  by  a  superior  force, 
which  he  repulsed  with  but  little  loss  to  himself,  although  a  few  of 
the  wagons  were  cut  off,  and  their  drivers  captured.  Soon  after,  he 
reached  Vera  Cruz  in  safety,  having  lost,  in  all,  three  killed  and  three 
wounded. 

On  the  same  day  that  the  party  under  Captain  Bainbridge  left 
Colonel  Mcintosh's  camp.  General  Cadwalader  reached  it  with  eight 
hundred  men  and  two  howitzers.  On  ascertaining  that  the  train  had 
been  attacked,  he  marched  for  the  National  Bridge,  where  he  soon 
came  into  action  with  a  large  Mexican  force  strongly  posted  behind 
ridges  and  chaparral.  During  the  battle,  some  volunteers  under 
Lieutenant  Blakely  charged  and  swept  some  barricades  which  had 
been  thrown  up  by  the  enemy,  while,  at  the  same  time,  the  heights 
on  the  right  and  left  were  also  carried.  General  Cadwalader  then 
crossed  the  bridge,  but  was  annoyed  during  a  great  part  of  his  march 
by  a  flank  and  rear  fire  from  several  parties  of  guerillas.  His  loss 
was  fifteen  killed,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  wounded ;  that  of  the 
enemy  was  about  one  hundred.  During  these  attempts  of  the  gue- 
rillas, the  Americans  lost  no  less  than  thirty  wagons,  two  hundred 
pack  mules,  and  several  thousand  dollars  in  specie. 

It  has  already  been  mentioned,  that  soon  after  the  battle  of  Cerro 
(iordo  the  Mexicans  detached  a  military  force  to  take  possession  ot 
the  Rio  Frio  pass,  and  fortify  against  the  advance  of  the  Americans 
Why  this  wbs  not  done  has  yet  to  be  explained  ;  but  the  neglect  wot 


ADVANCE   UPON    MEXICO. 


5TS 


certainly  an  egregious  error  on  the  pari  of  Mexico,  The  gorge  could 
have  sustained  a  few  courageous  men  against  the  efforts  of  an  entire 
army;  and  until  the  news  of  its  having  been  passed  by  General  Scott 
reached  the  United  States,  no  little  anxiety  was  felt  in  that  country 
for  the  result.  But  so  strangely  negligent  were  the  Mexicans,  that 
even  the  works  thrown  up  there  were  abandoned  at  the  approach  of 
the  American  forces. 

On  the  4lh  of  August  General  Scott's  army  commenced  its  march 
for  the  Mexican  capital,  moving  by  detachments.  Owing  to  the  preva  • 
lence  of  heavy  rains,  which  rendered  the  roads  almost  impassable,  the 
troops  were  unable  to  reach  Ayotla  before  the  15lh.  About  four  miles 
in  advance  of  this  place  was  the  strong  fortification  of  El  Penon,  which 
mounted  fifty-two  pieces  of  cannon,  was  munitioned  and  garrisoned  in 
the  most  careful  manner,  and  completely  commanded  the  road.  A  day 
was  spent  in  reconnoiteringthis  work,  when  the  American  commander 
resolved  en  avoiding  it,  by  opening  an  old  abandoned  road  leading  to 
the  southward  around  Lake  Chalco  towards  the  capital.  This  was  cut 
up  by  ravines,  lava  beds,  and  rocks,  to  such  an  extent  that  in  the  rainy 
season  it  was  regarded  as  impassable  even  for  travellers;  yet  around 
it  the  army  marched  with  their  baggage,  artillery,  and  stores,  and 
reached  San  Augusiin  on  the  17lh,  after  having  dispersed  a  body  of 
lancers  on  the  way.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day  General 
Worth's  column  was  ordered  towards  San  Antduio,  and  a  company 
of  engineers  escorted  by  Captain  Thornton  began  a  careful  recon- 
noissance  of  that  place.  While  this  was  going  on,  the  garrison 
fired  from  a  masked  battery,  killing  the  ca|)tain  and  wounding 
one  of  the  guides.  The  party  were  then  withdrawn,  while  Colo- 
nel Duncan's  battery  with  some  sappers  and  miners  moved  down 
the  road  to  a  position  which  would  enable  them  to  act  in  an} 
direction  in  case  of  emergency.  On  the  American  left  was  placed 
Colonel  Smith't)  light  battalion,  for  the  purpose  of  watching  the 
enemy's  flank  Colonels  Clark  and  Garland  occupied  other  parts  of 
the  field.  All  these  troops  were  without  shelter,  although  a  drench- 
ing rain  continued  to  fall  all  night.  A  portion  of  the  first  brigade, 
under  General  Worth,  was  stationed  at  a  neighbouring  hacienda, 
which,  during  the  night,  was  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  San  Antonio 
batteries.  Before  morning  the  rain  fell  in  such  quantities  that  many 
of  the  companies  were  obliged  to  rise  and  remain  standing  until 
iavHght. 

The  Mexican  posts  around  San  Augustin  presented  a  series  o! 


5T4 


CAMPAIGN   OP   GENERAL   SCOTT. 


•I   . 


OS  NB  BA  L    TW  tQOa 


lorlitications  of  great  natural  strength,  carefully  erected,  and  provided 
with  every  thing  necessary  to  a  successful  resistance.  Around 
It,  in  every  direction,  was  an  irregular  valley,  broken  by  rocks  and 
gullies,  and  having  the  whole  surface  jagged  with  sharp  points 
of  lava.  Among  the  rocks  to  the  west  was  the  fortress  of  Contreras, 
containing  several  thousand  men,  and  mounting  twenty-two  pieces 
of  cannon.  North  of  San  Augustin  were  the  still  stronger  works  of 
Churubusco,  and  at  short  distances,  those  of  San  Angel  and  San 
I'allo,  all  filled  with  large  garrisons  and  bristling  with  cannon  and 
musketry.     The  city  wall  was  one  huge  fortification. 

On  the  19th,  Captain  Lee,  with  Lieutenants  Beauregard  and 
Tower,  continued  the  previous  day's  reconnoissance  of  the  hostile 
lines.  While  this  was  going  on.  General  Pillow,  accompanied  by 
the  forces  of  Lieutenants  Smith  and  Callender,  was  ordered  toward 
Contreras.  He  advanced,  opening  the  road  step  by  step,  until  he 
reached  an  elevated  position,  from  which  the  enemy's  works  were  ir 
view.     He  was  soon  joined  by  the  advance  under  Generai  Twiggs 


BATTLE  OF   CONTRERAS. 


P75 


OBNSRA.L    FIIBOX. 


which  moved  forward,  planting  their  batteries  and  driving  in  the 
enemy's  pickets.  General  Smith's  brigade  then  proceeded  to  the 
left,  and  Colonel  Riley's  to  the  right,  dragging  their  cannon  with 
great  difficulty  over  a  surface  apparently  impassable  to  footmen. 
After  the  Americans  had  planted  a  howitzer  battery  under  the  care 
of  Captain  Magruder,  they  were  fired  upon  by  the  enemy,  who 
wounded  Lieutenant  Johnstone  mortally,  and  Callender  severely. 
So  heavy  was  this  fire,  that  the  American  batteries  were  soon  after- 
wards withdrawn.  But  at  this  time  General  Smith  engaged  the 
Mexican  infantry  outside  the  fort ;  and  at  the  same  moment,  the 
artillery  gained  a  favoun.  ;e  position,  and  recommenced  firing.  On 
both  sides,  the  cannonading  became  general,  but  that  of  the  enemy 
«t  length  obliged  the  battery  of  Captain  Magruder  to  withdraw 
General  Pierce,  with  his  brigade,  then  advanced  to  support  Smith 


%l 


STB 


CAMPAIGN  OP   GENERAL   SCOri, 


UINBRAL    8HIBLDS. 


and  Cadwalader  to  support  Colonel  Riley.  On  observing  these 
movements,  a  large  body  of  lancers  advanced  from  Churubusco, 
and  threatened  Cadvvalader's  position  ;  but  by  order  of  General  Pil- 
low, Colonel  Morgan,  with  the  fifteenth  infantry,  advanced  to  Cad- 
walader's  support;  and  General  Scott  arriving  about  the  same  time, 
detached  the  volunteers  of  General  Shields  for  the  same  purpose. 
The  left  flank  were  now  exposed  to  a  heavy  fire  of  the  enemy,  the 
troops  rapidly  pursuing  a  route  evidently  marked  for  them  by  the 
wily  foe.  To  divert  the  attention  of  the  enemy,  a  femt  attack  was 
conducted  against  Contreras,  while  General  Smith,  with  some  artil- 
lery and  rifles,  fell  back  to  Ensaldo,  a  village  bordered  on  one  side 
by  a  deep  ravine,  and  on  the  other  by  a  small  stream  of  water. 
Between  these  extended  a  high  stone  wall.  Narrow  lanes  intersected 
tach  other  in  various  directions,  cutting  up  the  village  in  sma"  poi 
liona,  which  are  covered  with  flowers,  shrubbery,  and  fruit  tree* 


BATTLE   OF   COXTRERAS. 


577 


Here  the  American  soldiers  were  posted,  secure  in  n  great  mt.asure 
from  the  fire  or  observation  of  the  enemy. 

General  Smith  new  resolved  to  attack  the  large  cavalry  force  which 
had  been  hovering  near  the  American  troops  all  day.  He  was  to  be 
assisted  by  Riley  and  Cadwalader.  But  before  the  preliminary 
arrangements  could  be  completed,  night  set  in,  rainy  as  before,  so 
that  the  Mexican  troops  could  not  be  seen.  The  attempt  was  aban- 
doned, Cadwalader  resumed  his  position  at  the  edge  of  the  village,  and 
Riley's  brigade  was  formed  inside,  together  with  the  rifles  and  in- 
fantry. In  these  positions  they  passed  the  night,  destitute  of  both 
fires  and  shelter,  although  exposed  to  a  drenching  rain.  The  other 
divisions  of  the  army,  including  even  General  Scott  and  the  higher 
officers,  were  equally  destitute  of  shelter. 

During  the  night,  General  Smith  formed  a  plan  for  capturing 
Contreras  with  the  bayonet,  and  the  necessary  orders  or  instructions 
were  communicated  to  his  command  about  midnight.  At  three 
o'clock  next  morning,  the  general's  division  began  its  march.  Im- 
mediately after.  General  Shields  arrived  with  his  volunteers,  but 
generously  declined  assuming  the  command.  His  troops  then  moved 
into  Ensaldo,  so  as  to  prevent  the  enemy  occupying  it  in  case  of 
their  being  defeated.  The  storming  party  of  Smith's  brigade  was 
led  by  Colonel  Riley,  supported  by  Generals  Cadwalader  and  Smith. 
The  intrepid  colonel  marched  along  the  bed  of  the  ravine,  until  he 
had  arrived  opposite  the  fort,  when  he  ascended  the  bank,  but  was 
still  protected  from  the  opposing  batteries  by  an  elevation  of  ground. 
Mounting  this,  he  was  within  full  sweep  of  the  Mexican  artillerists, 
who  immediately  opened.  But  calling  to  his  men  to  follow,  and 
breasting  the  withering  storm  that  fell  on  all  sides,  Riley  rushed 
down  the  slope,  followed  by  his  brigade,  and  was  soon  upon  the 
works.  Cadwalader  hurried  to  support  him,  and  General  Smith  or- 
dered a  brigade  to  face  to  the  left,  and  advance  in  line  to  attack  the 
enemy's  force  in  flank.  The  struggle  was  soon  decided.  The 
enemy  fled  on  all  sides,  and  were  attacked  '"n  their  flight,  and  forced 
to  disperse  in  different  directions.  While  hurrying  toward  the 
village  of  Ensaldo,  they  were  fired  upon  by  Shields's  command 
which  had  stealthily  left  the  village  and  concealed  itself  near  the 
line  of  retreat.  The  Americans  commenced  a  rapid  pursuit,  which 
was  continued  with  great  tfTect,  until  the  Mexican  main  body  had 
aucctaded  in  passing  through  a  narrow  defile,  when  one  of  theiv 
officers  drew  up  a  number  of  lancers  at  the  pass,  and  surrendered. 

73  30 


578 


CAMPAIGN  OF   GENERAL   SC'iTT. 


OINXBAL     PILLOW. 


■  i*3(V«;***-- 


If,  as  is  probable,  this  movement  was  designed  to  occupy  the  timed 
the  pursuers  until  the  fugitives  could  take  refuge  in  Churubusco,  it 
must  be  regarded  as  evincing  as  much  sagacity  as  any  measure 
ddopted  by  the  enemy  during  the  war. 

The  fruits  of  this  victory  were  fifteen  hundred  prisoners,  twenty- 
two  pieces  of  artillery,  large  quantities  of  ammunition  and  military 
stores,  with  a  number  of  pack-mules.  Among  the  prisoners  wsre 
several  officers  of  high  rank.  One  of  the  most  pleasing  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  action,  was  the  recapture  of  the  twc 
guns  taken  from  General  Taylor  at  Buena  Vista. 

While  the  pursuit  was  going  on,  General  Scott  arrived  at  Con- 
ireras,  and  leaving  a  small  garrison  at  that  place,  with  instrucuons 
concerning  the  wounded  and  prisoners,  he  hurried  on  the  main 
portion  of  the  army  toward  the  posts  of  San  Argel  and  San  Palin 


'iPi 


.-:  :■!*(; 


F  mm 


STORMING    OF  CHURUBU8C0. 


57'J 


Thfi  tioops  of  Generals  Twiggs,  Shields,  and  Pillow,  were  all  en 
paged  in  this  service.     They  soon  overtook  the  rear  of  the  Mexican 
forces,  with  which  a  sort  of  running  fight  took  place  until  it  had 
tnk^n  shelter  in  the  fortress  of  Churubusco,  where  a  garrison  still 
Inrger  than  that  of  Contreras  was  preparing  for  one  more  struggle. 

Churubusco  is  a  small  village,  surrounded,  at  that  time,  by  a  syi»- 
tem  of  stone  walls,  surmounted  by  a  well-defended  hacienda,  which 
was  in  like  manner  overtopped  by  a  church.  The  walls,  hacienda, 
and  church,  were  lined  with  sharp-shooters,  and  provided  with 
pieces  of  heavy  cannon.  About  four  hundred  yards  from  the  village 
a  small  stream  was  crossed  by  a  bridge,  the  head  of  which,  or  tSte 
du  pont,  forms  a  fortification  so  strong  as  to  be  considered  by  the 
Mexicans  impregnable.  As  these  works  completely  cross-fired  the 
road,  it  was  necessary  to  attack  both  at  once.  Accordingly,  Twiggs 
was  sent  against  Churubusco,  Worth  against  the  iete  du  pont,  while 
Shields  moved  across  the  meadows  in  a  direction  parallel  with  the 
main  (Acapuico)  road,  so  as  to  cut  ofT  the  enemy's  retreat. 

Worth  moved  from  San  Augustin  about  eight  a.  M.,  and  after  com- 
pelling the  garrison  of  San  Antonio  to  evacuate  that  place,  he  pushed 
rapidly  for  Churubusco.  Twiggs's  troops  were  already  engaged  at 
the  main  works,  and  as  Worth's  division  moved  toward  the  tete  du 
pont,  it  received  a  galling  fire  from  the  Mexican  guns  at  the  walls 
and  hacienda.  At  this  time,  vast  bodies  of  the  enemy  were  observed 
approaching  from  the  city,  while  long  columns  of  lancers  and  infantry 
were  stationed  at  different  points,  for  the  purpose  of  annoying  the 
assailants.  The  works  at  the  bridge  now  opened  their  fire,  filling 
the  air  with  the  reiterated  shocks  of  cannon  and  musketry,  the  up- 
roar of  shouting  thousands,  and,  at  intervals,  the  deep  groans  of  the 
dying.  Worth  now  threw  Colonel  Garland's  brigade  to  the  right, 
where  it  entered  some  corn-fields,  and  soon  dislodged  the  enemy 
from  their  concealed  position  in  that  quarter.  At  the  same  time, 
Clarke's  brigade,  with  Duncan's  battery,  moved  to  other  points 
on  the  road,  from  whence  it  moved  between  Garland's  and  the  road 
and  then  rushing  down  upon  the  enemy's  works,  it  mounted  them, 
and  cleared  the  artillery  with  the  bayonet.  So  sudden  and  vigorous 
was  this  charge  of  the  Americans,  that  instead  of  resisting,  the  Mexi- 
cans threw  down  their  arms  and  fled  precipitately  to  the  capital. 
The  captured  cannon  were  instantly  turned  upon  the  garrison  of 
')i  urubusco. 

This  position  had,  in  the  meanwhile,  been  vigorously  assaulted  by 


580 


CAMPAIGN  OF   GENERAL   SCOTT. 


Txriggs,  with  his  whole  division  ;  but  so  strong  were  the  works, and 
«o  ilettrmined  the  efTorts  of  the  enemy,  that  nfter  three  hours'  hard 
fighting,  no  impression  had  been  made.  During  all  this  time,  the 
walls  were  in  one  continuous  blaze  of  artillery  and  musketry  ;  and 
80  dense  were  the  volumes  of  smoke,  that  both  armies  were  often  en- 
tirely hidden  from  view,  and  guided  in  firing  only  by  the  flash  of 
the  opposing  batteries.  But  after  Worth's  victory  had  enabled  him 
to  direct  his  guns  upon  the  church  and  hacienda,  the  vigour  of  fh© 
defence  was  sensibly  diminished,  and  in  half  an  hour  the  garrison 
gave  way,  and  fled  with  precipitation  toward  the  capital.  'I  hey 
were  pursued  by  Colonel  Harney's  dragoons  to  within  a  few  yirds 
ctf  the  capital.  Worth  and  Twiggs  then  drew  up  their  troops  near 
the  hacienda,  to  await  orders  from  the  general-in-chief.  He  soon 
p-Tived  on  the  ground,  and  after  complimenting  the  soldiers  on  their 
success,  ordered  further  pursuit  to  be  suspended  for  the  night.  Ex- 
clusive of  the  garrison  of  Contreras,  the  enemy  lost,  on  this  memo- 
rable day,  twelve  hundred  prisoners,  fifteen  hundred  killed  or 
wounded',  including  many  able  officers — with  cannon,  equipments, 
small  arms,  and  ammunition  in  proportion.  Their  whole  army  had 
been  broken  up,  and  the  capital  laid  open  to  the  mercy  of  the  invaders. 
The  whole  loss  of  the  Americans  in  killed,  wounded  and  missing, 
was  ten  hundred  and  fifty-three.  In  this  celebrated  engagement  the 
splendid  "  Palmetto  Regiment,"  of  South  Carolina,  suffered  most 
severely,  and  their  gallant  commander.  Col.  Butler,  fell,  covered  with 
wounds  and  with  glory. 

At  this  time,  such  was  the  terror  and  confusion  among  all  classes 
within  the  city,  that  General  Scott  could  probably  have  entered  it 
without  much  additional  loss.  But  while  writing  a  summons  for  its 
surrender,  he  was  waited  upon  by  a  commission  proposing  a  truce. 
Rejecting  the  terms,  he  despatched  his  contemplated  note  to  Santa 
Anna,  omitting  the  summons.  Nothing  further  took  place  until  the 
following  day,  when  commissioners  were  appointed  by  both  com- 
manders, who,  on  the  23d,  signed  an  armistice,  preparatory  to  a 
permanent  peace,  and  exchanged  ratifications  on  the  24th.  Nego- 
tiations were  imm«"liatelv  opened  for  the  conclusion  of  a  permanent 
peace. 

In  the  fortress  of  Churubusco,  Sergeant  Riley,  with  seventy  otheis^ 
who  had  deserted  from  the  army,  either  before  the  war  or  at  different 
periods  of  its  progress,  had  been  captured,  while  fighting  bravely 
against  thei:  former  comrades.     These  were  tried  by  court-martia 


TAKING    OF  CnAPULTEPEO. 


681 


s, 
It 


during  the  armistice,  and  a  number  of  them  having  been  found  guilty 
pf  treason,  were  hung  in  the  presence  of  both  armies.  The  remainder 
in  consequence  of  having  deserted  before  the  opening  of  the  war,  had 
their  punishment  remitted  to  branding,  public  whipping,  and  impri- 
sonment  until  the  army  should  leave  Mexico. 

During  the  armistice,  Mr.  Trist,  the  commissioner  selected  by 
President  Polk  to  negotiate  a  peace,  proposed  to  the  Mexican  authori- 
ties that  the  disputed  territory  between  the  Nueces  and  Rio  Grande, 
together  with  New  Mexico  and  Upper  California,  should  be  yielded 
to  the  United  States  for  the  sum  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.  This 
was  refused  by  the  Mexican  commissioners,  who  declined  to  yield 
any  portion  of  their  territory  west  of  the  Nueces.  Mr.  Trist  then 
offered  his  ultimatum  or  final  project  on  the  subject  of  boundaries, 
nnd  the  negotiators  adjourned  to  re-assemble  on  the  6th  of  September 
No  further  communication  took  place  between  the  armies  until  that 
lay,  when  General  Scott  addressed  a  note  to  Santa  Anna,  accusing 
him  of  violating  the  terms  of  the  armistice,  by  fortifying  difl!erent 
works  in  the  city,  and  threatening  a  resumption  of  hostilities  in  forty- 
eight  hours,  unless  satisfactory  explanation  could  be  given.  To  th-« 
the  Mexican  general  replied  by  charging  the  Americans  with  having 
obstructed  the  intercourse  between  the  capital  and  surrounding 
country,  and  committed  opprobrious  deeds  in  the  more  interior  towns 
and  villages — at  the  same  time  intimating  that  General  Scott  might 
resort  to  hostilities  whenever  he  wished.  The  armistice  was  at  an 
end. 

The  7th  was  occupied  by  the  American  general  in  reconnoitering 
the  extended  line  of  works  outside  the  city.  The  southern  approaches 
to  the  capital  were  defended  by  works  of  astonishing  strength,  erected 
upon  the  wall  and  gates,  and  an  intricate  labyrinth  of  dikes,  canals, 
ravines,  ditches,  and  causeways,  outside  of  the  gates.  Further  to  the 
west,  was  the  hill  of  Chapultepec,  surmounted  by  a  strong  castle  and 
tower,  and  connected  by  heavy  masonry  works  with  the  Casa  Mata 
and  founderies  of  Molino  del  Rey.  The  reconnoissance  convinced 
(ireneral  Scott  that  an  attempt  upon  the  city  in  this  quarter  would  be 
attended  with  immense  loss  of  life,  and  probably  total  failure.  He 
therefore  resolved  to  make  a  diversion  to  the  gates  on  the  south-west 
and  west,  and  enter  the  city  in  that  quarter.  The  first  step  in  thif> 
new  movement  was  to  carry  Chapultepec  and  Molino  del  Rey  ;  and 
a  necessary  requisite  to  final  success  was  to  deceive  the  enemy  by  a 
feint  upon  the  southern  gates,  by  which  they  might  still  be  induced 
37  «<"» 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


7 


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O 


A 


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€^^^ 


V. 


1.0 


I.I 


11.25 


111 


1^  li^ 


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St   li£    12.0 


1.4 


1.6 


^^ 


0% 


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A 


7 


^ 


Ji 


582 


CAMPAIGN   OF  QBNERAL  BCUTX. 


_  ....  :-^;^^£}'-sSr;iy{^-.';J^ 


MOLIHO    BBl.    B»T— C  H  A  Ptr  LTB  P  BO    I  W    THB     DIST*NOB 


to  retain  the  greater  part  of  their  cannon  r.nd  other  munitions  in  that 
quarter  until  the  western  defences  were  carried. 

Early  on  the  8th,  General  Worth  was  detached  against  me  Molino 
del  Rey,  with  the  brigade  of  Cadwalader  in  reserve.  It  was  found 
necessary  to  isolate  the  works  around  Casa  Mata  from  those  of  Cha- 
pultepec,  an  undertakings  of  much  difficulty  and  hazard.  At  day- 
break, the  army  in  two  columns  attacked  simultaneously  the  Molino 
tnd  Casa  Mata.  The  troops  rushed  forward  upon  the  former  place, 
unshaken  by  the  glare  of  battories  vomiting  forth  showers  of  grape 
ind  canister,  until  they  had  reached  the  works  and  driven  back  the 
artillerists  with  the  bayonet.  The  field-battery  was  captured,  and 
its  guns  trailed  upon  the  retiring  masses.  A  moment  after,  they 
rallied,  and,  supported  by  numbers  of  infantry,  rushed  toward  the 
guns,  pouring  in  a  volley  of  musketry  that  struck  down  more  than 
one-half  of  the  victors.  But  after  a  vigorous  struggle,  they  were 
driven  out  and  pursued  toward  Chapultepec. 

Meanwhile,  the  2d  brigade,  under  Colonel  Mcintosh,  supporteil 
oy  Duncan's  battery,  moved  with  equal  steadiness  against  the  Casa 


SIEGE   OF  MEXICO. 


5h3 


ST 


ORUINa    OV   UOLIHO    Dai.    BXT. 


ino 

Iha- 

|ay- 

lino 
ice, 
ipe 
the 
ind 
ley 
the 
Ihan 
'ere 

Irteil 
yAsa 


Mata.  The  enemy's  fire  was  so  destructive,  that  although  the  troops 
moved  under  partial  shelter,  ii  large  proportion  of  officers,  with  num- 
bers of  assistants  and  soldiers,  were  killed  or  wounded.  But  on 
reaching  the  slope  of  the  parapet  commanding  the  citadel,  it  was 
discovered  that  the  Casa  Mata,  instead  of  being  a  simple  field-woik. 
as  was  hitherto  supposed,  was  a  strong  Spanish  fortress, surroundtt 
by  bastioned  intrenchments  and  impassable  ditches.  Dismayed  by 
this  discovery,  and  confused  by  the  loss  of  officers,  the  assailants  fell 
into  confusion,  halted,  and  then  fell  back  towar'1  Colonel  Duncan's 
position.  At  this  critical  moment,  a  large  cava  .y  and  infantry  force 
assaulted  the  American  left,  but  were  driven  back  by  the  a.rtillery,  fol- 
lowed by  a  vigorous  charge  of  Major  Sumner's  dragoons.  One-third 
of  the  latter  were  unhorsed  by  the  fire  of  Casa  Mata.  Cadwalader's 
brigade  now  advanced  to  Worth's  support,  and  the  fortress  was 
carried  with  the  bayonet.  In  accordance  with  instructions.  General 
Worth  destroyed  the  walls,  with  most  of  the  arms  and  ammunition, 
blew  up  the  works,  and  returned  to  his  head-quarters  at  Tacubaya. 

In  this  action,  the  most  destructive  to  the  Americans  which  they 
had  yet  experienced,  thcii  force  was  rather  more  than  three  thousand 


581 


CAMPAIGN  OP  QBNBRAL   SCOTT, 


two  hundred  men.  Of  these,  they  l^st  seven  hundred  and  eighty 
nine,  including  fifty-eight  officers.  The  total  force  of  the  garrison 
mia  abou'  fourteen  thousand,  and  their  loss,  exclusive  of  deserteid, 
three  thousand. 

In  order  to  carry  out  his  plan  of  deceiving  the  enemy,  General 
Bcott  placed  Twiggs,  with  Riley's  brigade,  and  Taylor's  and  Step- 
toe's  batteries,  at  the  southern  gates,  with  orders  to  bombard  that 
quarter,  as  though  in  preparation  for  a  general  attack.  The  9th,  10th 
and  1 1th,  were  occupied  in  making  careful  reconnoissances  of  the 
works  on  Chapultepec  hill,  a  service  conducted  by  the  able  engineers 
Stephens,  Beauregard,  Lee,  and  Tower.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
llth,  the  divisions  of  Twiggs,  Pillow,  and  Cluitman  were  concen* 
trated  in  view  of  the  southern  gates  ;  but  during  the  night,  the  latter 
two  generaJs,  with  their  troops,  were  silently  moved  to  Tacubaya, 
preparatory  to  the  contemplated  attack  upon  Chapultepec.  Twiggs 
still  remained  in  his  former  position.  Early  on  the  morning  of  the 
12th,  the  American  batteries  opened  upon  the  castle,  while  the  divi- 
sinns  of  Pillow  and  Cluitman  were  ordered  to  organize  parties  for 
the  o.vsnult.  The  bombardment  continued  all  day,  the  American 
guns  being  worked  with  such  precision  that  Sf/on  the  massive  walls 
rf  Chapultepec  began  to  crumble,  while  the  rocks  around  were  split 
into  thousands  of  pieces  by  the  incessant  storm  of  heavy  shot.  At 
the  same  time,  the  batteries  from  the  castle  were  in  full  blast, 
imparting  to  the  hill  the  appearance  of  a  volcano  in  violent  action. 
The  scene  attending  this  day's  bombardment  was  grand  and  sub- 
Ume,  beyond  even  that  of  Vera  Cruz. 

On  the  morning  of  the  13lh,  sufficient  impression  had  been  made 
upon  the  wal/s  to  authorize  the  commencement  of  the  attack.  It 
was  conducted  in  two  columns,  the  first  from  Pillow's  division,  uncer 
Colonel  Ransom,  the  second  from  that  of  Cluitman,  under  Major 
Twiggs  and  Captain  Casey.  The  castle  was  commanded  by  Gene- 
ral Bravo,  one  of  the  bravest  officers  in  the  Mexican  service.  The 
cannonading  of  Chapultepec  was  continued  without  intermission, 
from  dawn  until  8  a.  m.,  when  its  cessation  was  the  signal  for  the 
movement  of  the  storming  parties.  Pillow's  division  marched  through 
a  grove  filled  with  sharp-shooters,  clearing  it  as  they  advanced,  and 
halting  at  the  base  of  the  hill.  The  storming  party  were  in  advance 
with  fixed  bayonets  and  empty  muskets.  At  this  crisis.  Pillow  was 
•truck  to  the  ground  with  a  severe  wound,  and  the  command  de- 
reived  on  General  Cadwalader.     Ransom  rushed  forvrard  into  tha 


iiHui^ 


iilOEMIMa  OF  OHAPULTBPKO. 


686 


OOLONBL    RA.N80II. 


appalling  shower  of  death  hurled  down  by  the  castle,  calling  on  hit 
men  to  follow.  They  followed  him  with  loud  cheers ;  but  in  a  few 
moments  he  fell  dead,  shot  through  the  brain,  and  the  command  fell 
upon  Major  Seymour.  Undismayed  by  the  death  of  their  leader, 
and  crowds  falling  on  all  sides,  the  soldiers  clambered  up  the  steep 
ascent,  shouting  the  name  of  Ransom,  and  driving  each  other  on- 
ward. A  small  battery  outside  the  castle  was  speedily  taken,  and 
the  assailants  sprang  forward  through  showers  of  fire,  to  the  ditch. 
During  all  this  time,  the  American  batteries  were  throwing  shells 
and  shot  over  the  storming  party  into  the  fortress,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  arrival  of  reinforcements  from  the  city.  The  enemy  made 
■everal  unsuccessful  attempts  to  fire  the  mines  ;  and  soon  after,  the 
scaling-ladders  of  the  Americans  were  flung  up,  and  the  troops 
poured  in  one  united  stream  upon  the  walls.  Many  Americaas, 
during  the  first  onset,  were  hurled  to  the  ground,  and  then  ensued 
the  terrible  conflict  with  the  bayoaet.  It  was  short  and  decisive ; 
the  gnri'ison  flc>d  down  the  hill  in  heavy  masses,  their  flag  was  torn 
from  its  stedf  by  Major  Scyiuour,  am!  the  reiterated  shouts  of  the 


•>86 


OAMPAIQN   OF  QBNERAL  SCOTT. 


MAJOa    (HOW    OOLOSUL)    aB'uooa 


Americans  announceo  that  Chapultepec  had  been  gained.  Along 
with  this  party,  Quitman's  troops,  led  by  the  l.urui  >  Casey,  had  en- 
tered. These  troops  had  encountered  obstacles  ..•quai  at  least  tc 
those  of  their  comrades,  being  obliged  to  fight  aloiig  the  whole  dis- 
tance of  a  causeway,  cut  up  with  ditches  and  batteries,  and  manned 
by  great  numbers  of  the  enemy.  But  through  obstacles  apparently 
sufficient  to  appal  the  stoutest  heart,  Quitman  cheered  on  his  hardy 
followers,  ably  supported  by  General  Smith  and  the  rifles.  Twiggs 
and  Casey  both  fell  mortally  wounded.  The  troops  then  leaped 
the  causeway,  and  crossed  the  adjacent  meadows,  amid  a  tremen- 
dous fire  of  musketry  and  artillery,  and,  notwithstanding  heavy 
losses,  reached  the  fort  simultaneously  with  Seymour's  party.  A 
melancholy  slaughter  of  the  garrison  took  place,  few  of  whom 
asked  or  received  quarter.  About  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
were  taken  prisoners.     The  last  obstacle  to  the  final  assault  upon 

he  capital  had  been  removed. 
Two  great  roads  lead  from  Chapultepec  to  the  western  entrances 

f  Mexico— the  San  Cosme  causeway,  terminatfng  in  the  Sun  Coc^'d 


ATTACK   UPON  THE  OITT. 


68T 


OVNBBIL    PBBSlrOR     T.    SUITB. 


gate ;  and  the  Belen  causeway,  in  the  Belen  gate.  Immediateiv 
after  the  reduction  of  the  castle,  General  Scott  mounted  to  its  top. 
and  ordered  Worth,  with  his  two  brigades,  assisted  by  CadwnladerV, 
to  advance  along  the  San  Cosme  rond,  storm  the  gate,  and  enter  the 
city ;  while  General  Q,uitman  conducted  a  feint  upon  the  Belen 
entrance.  Both  those  causeways  were  defended  by  batteries  postni 
at  well-chosen  distances,  and  completely  sweeping  the  road.  Besid^  s 
these,  sharp-shooters  were  posted  at  small  intervals,  numerous  ditches 
were  cut  across  the  road,  at  right  angles  with  an  aqueduct,  which 
extended  along  its  whole  course,  and  every  other  obstacle  thrown  in 
the  Americans*  path. 

Immediately  after  the  capture  of  the  castle.  Worth,  with  bui  one 
brigade,  had  begun  his  march  towards  the  San  Cosme  gate,  on  ap- 
proaching which  he  found  a  large  body  of  Mexicans  posted  behind 
ditches  and  in  houses.  They  at  once  opened  a  heavy  fire  of  mus- 
icetry.    Cadwalader's  brigade  having  now  arrived,  his  howitzon 


588 


OAlIPAiaM   OF   aSNBRAL  SCOTT. 


OBHBAAI.     WOBTa. 


were  thrown  forward,  together  with  a  party  of  skirmishers  and  pioneon , 
who  speedily  opened  a  way  into  the  neighbouring  buildings,  driving  out 
or  capturing  the  enemy,  and  advancing  under  cover  towards  the  city. 
In  this  manner,  though  exposed  to  tremendous  fires,  the  division 
fought  its  way  up  to  the  gate,  where,  after  a  most  obstinate  struggle, 
the  enemy's  main  fort  was  carried,  and  the  assailants  entered  the 
city.  At  eight,  p.  m.,  Worth  halted,  posted  sentinels,  and  ordered 
his  men  into  quarters,  determining  to  renew  the  assault  on  the 
morrow. 

Meanwhile  Cluitman  had  been  pressing  along  the  Belen  causeway 
with  such  ardour  as  to  convert  his  feint  attack  into  a  real  one.  During 
(his  advanr'>  he  was  exposed  to  one  of  the  most  tremendous  fires  ever 
sustained  uy  an  American  army;  but,  notwithstanding  the  reiterated 
commands  of  the  general-in-chief  to  return,  his  troops  poured  on. 
springing  from  arch  to  arch  between  the  enemy's  volleys,  and  cap 


I 


£NTKANOB   INTO   MKXIOO. 


FtHH 


luring  one  battery  after  another  until  they  urrired  at  the  Helen  gate. 
At  tbia  formidable  post  a  sanguinary  conflict  took  place,  in  which  the 
garrison  were  defeated,  and  the  Americans  rushed  with  loud  shouts 
into  the  city.  But  directly  in  their  front  glared  another  bnttery 
flanked  on  each  side  by  cross-fires,  which  soon  compelled  the  assail' 
ants  to  take  refuge  in  the  adjacent  houses.  Here  the  fight  raged 
with  fearful  violence  until  night,  when  the  Americana  were  ordered 
under  shelter,  and  slept  upon  their  arms.  Many  valuable  lives, 
including  those  of  Captain  Drum  and  Lieutenant  Benjamin,  were 
lust  during  this  assault. 

Having  thus  secured  a  footbuld  within  the  capital.  General  Scott 
dflermined  to  carry  it  by  storm  on  the  following  morning.  But  nt 
four  o'clock,  A.  M.,  of  the  14th,  he  was  waited  upon  by  a  deputation 
from  the  authorities,  requesting  him  to  sign  a  capitulation  in  fuvoui 
of  the  citizens,  churches,  and  municipality.  The  general  replied  that 
he  would  agree  upon  no  such  terms ;  but  that  the  city  being  at  his 
mercy,  he  possessed  and  would  exorcise  the  right  of  dictating  what, 
in  his  judgment,  would  be  considered  best.  It  was  soon  discovered 
that  Santo  Anna  and  the  army  had  evacuated  the  city.  The  Ameri- 
can commander  then  declared  that  he  would  levy  a  contribution  upon 
the  citizens  for  the  expenses  of  the  army,  but  i>-A  the  personal  rights 
of  all  should  be  religiously  observed.  Orders  were  then  issued  to 
General  Quitman  to  advance  towards  the  Grand  Plaza,  and  to  Gene- 
ral Worth  to  move  as  far  as  the  Alameda,  a  green  park  some  distance 
from  the  San  Cosme  gate.  These  movements  were  executed  with 
ilacrity.  About  eight  o'clock.  General  Scott,  with  a  brilliant  staflf, 
tntered  the  city,  in  full  uniform  and  accompanied  by  the  remainder 
*f  the  army.  His  arrival  at  the  Grand  Plaza  was  hailed  by  bursts 
tf  national  music  and  the  reiterated  cheers  of  the  soldiers,  in  which 
nany  of  the  Mexicans  are  said  to  have  joined. 

Scarcely  had  the  excitement  of  this  scene  subsided,  and  the  Ame- 
ncans  begun  to  disperse,  when  a  scattering  fire  was  opened  upon  the 
army  by  several  thousand  convicts  and  others,  many  of  whom  had 
been  turned  from  prison  by  the  flying  government  for  this  very  pur- 
pose. Vigorous  eflforts  were  immediately  made  by  General  Scott  and 
the  authorities  for  the  suppression  of  these  outrages ;  but  this  was 
.Dot  accomplished  until  many  valuable  lives  had  been  lust,  and  parties 
despatched  in  all  directions  to  blow  up  all  houses  fruin  which  about 
trould  be  fired. 
Thus  was  the  famed  capital  of  tne  Montezumas  taken  by  a  handluJ 

81> 


090 


OAMPAIQN   0?  OEKRRAL   SCOTT. 


nl'  men,  lo  small  aa  to  atarlle  him  who  attempts  coinparison  witL  iha 
enemy.  The  history  of  modern  days  has  rarely  narrated  feats  equai 
lo  those  of  this  little  army  and  their  intrepid  ^<-neral.  The  numbftr 
that  marched  from  Puebia  on  tbe>7th  of  Augu/  «  atnted  by  the  com- 
tnandur  at  ten  thousand  seven  hundred  and  chirty-ui^ht  miA  and 
file.  At  Contreras  and  Churubasco,  only  eight  thousand  five  huA' 
dred  were  engaged  with  thirty  thousand  ;  at  Molinu  del  Rey,  thirty> 
two  hundred  and  fif\y  were  in  the  battle;  while  Chapulu-puc  and 
the  ca|iital  were  taken  by  less  than  six  thousand.  The  tutui  loss  in 
these  battles  was  two  thousand  seven  hundred  and  three,  of  wlium  three 
hundred  and  eighty>three  were  ofHcers.  "Thib  small  force,"  says 
the  commander,  in  his  official  despatch  to  government,  "  has  benten 
on  the  same  occasions,  in  view  of  the  capital,  the  whole  Mexican 
army  of  (at  the  beginning)  thirty  odd  thousand  men — posted  always 
in  chosen  positions,  behind  intrenchments,  or  more  formidable  de- 
fences of  nature  and  art;  killed  or  wounded  of  that  number  more 
than  seven  thousand  officers  and  men ;  taken  three  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  thirty  prisoners,  one-seventh  officers,  including  thirteen 
generals,  of  whom  three  had  been  presidents  of  this  republic ;  cap- 
tured more  than  twenty  colours  and  standards,  seventy-five  pieces 
of  ordnance,  besides  fif\y-seven  wall  pieces,  twenty  thousand  small 
arms,  an  immense  quantity  of  shot,  shells,  powder,  &c. 

"  Of  that  enemy  once  so  formidable  in  numbers,  appointments, 
artillery,  &c.,  twenty  odd  thousand  men  have  disbanded  themselves 
in  despair,  leaving,  as  is  known,  not  more  than  three  fraguients,— 
the  largesi  about  two  thousand  five  hundred, — now  wandering  in 
different  directions,  without  magazines  or  a  military  chest,  and  living 
at  free  quarters  upon  their  own  people." 

But  the  capture  of  the  capital  was  not  the  actual  close  of  the  war. 
The  Mexicans  still  persisted  with  astonishing  fortitude  in  bearing 
up  against  their  loss,  and  using  every  means  to  drive  out  the  inva- 
ders. On  the  13th  of  September,  the  garrison  of  Puebia,  numbering 
about  four  hundred  men,  under  Colonel  Childs,  were  attacked  by  a 
large  force  of  armed  citizens,  rancheros,  and  soldiers ;  and  a  bombard« 
ment  was  sustained  until  the  22d,  when  Santa  Anna  arrived  with 
large  reinforcements  from  the  capital.  Great  preparations  were  then 
made  for  assaulting  the  garrison,  which  had  retired  to  the  posts  of 
San  Jose,  Loreto,  and  Guadalupe.  On  the  26th,  Childs  wa»  sum- 
moned to  surrender,  but  refused  ;  upon  which  the  Mexican  batteries 
were  opened  with  increased  violence  upon  San  Jose,  which  now 


DEFENCE  OF  PUEOLA. 


Ml 


00  L,0»  Mh     GUILD  a. 


oecame  the  principal  point  of  attack.  This  severo  cannonade  was 
neroically  sustained  by  the  garrison,  who,  notwithstanding  the  small 
ness  of  their  number,  worked  incessantly  both  in  defending  and 
strengthening  their  position.  "  A  shower  of  bullets,"  writes  the 
colonel,  "  was  constantly  poured  from  the  streets,  the  balconies,  the 
housetops  and  churchi's,  upon  tln.'ir  devoted  headd.  Never  did  troops 
endure  more  fatigue  by  watching  night  after  night — nor  exhibit  more 
patience,  spirit,  or  giilluniry.  Not  a  post  of  danger  could  present 
itself,  but  the  gallant  fellows  were  ready  to  fill  it.  Not  a  sentinel 
could  be  shot,  but  another  was  anxious  and  ready  to  take  his  place. 
Officers  and  soldiers  vied  with  each  other  to  be  honoured  martyrs 
in  their  country's  cause." 

On  the  30th,  Santa  Anna  received  information  that  Qeneidi  L.iPe. 
hdving  marched  from  Vera  Ciuz  with  a  considerable  force,  was  ad 


592 


OAMPAIQN  OF   GENERAL  BCOTT. 


vbncing  rapidly  to  the  relief  of  the  garrison.  He  tberefuie  marched 
with  three  thousand  men  to  meet  him.  Taking  advantage  of  this 
reduction  of  the  besiegers'  numbers,  Colonel  Childs  resolved  on  a 
sortie  from  the  works  against  some  houses  and  barricades,  whose  fire 
had  been  extremely  annoying.  This  was  conducted  by  Captain 
Small  and  Lieutenant  Morgan,  who  drove  away  the  enemy  with  grea'. 
loss,  killing  seventeen,  and  burning  one  hundred  and  fifty  cotton 
bales,  of  which  the  work  was  composed.  The  bombardment  con- 
tinued until  ihe  lOlh  of  October,  when  General  Lane  arrived  with 
reinforcements,  and  the  enemy  retired.  The  siege  had  lasted  forty 
days. 

General  Lane  had  encountered  the  Mexican  forces  on  the  road 
from  Vera  Cruz.  At  the  hacienda  of  Santa  Anna  he  dispersed  a 
party  of  guerillas,  and  another  at  the  Paso  de  Ovejas.  On  approach- 
ing the  town  of  Huamantla,  he  learned  that  a  large  force  was  there  col- 
lected, with  six  pieces  of  artillery.  At  one  o'clock  the  advance  came 
in  sight  of  the  town,  and  Wf  halted  ;  while  Captain  Walker,  with 
his  mounted  men,  were  ordered  to  gallop  forward  and  enter,  should 
his  force  be  sufficient.  He  found  a  party  of  the  Mexicans  drawn  up 
in  the  plaza,  with  several  pieces  of  cannon.  Charging  vigorously, 
he  drove  off  the  enemy  after  a  severe  struggle,  and  captured  the 
pieces.  lu  the  subsequent  pursuit.  Major  Iturbide,  son  of  the  Mexi- 
can emperor,  was  captured.  Unfortunately,  the  Americans  now  dis- 
mounted, and  scattered  themselves  around  the  square.  Here  they 
were  unexpectedly  charged  by  a  body  of  lancers,  and  saved  from  de- 
feat only  by  the  skilful  manceuvring  of  their  captain.  Immediately 
after,  the  Americans  entered  the  convent  yard,  where  another  action 
ensued,  during  which  the  gallant  Walker  was  mortally  wounded. 
When  his  death  was  announced,  the  soldiers  burst  into  tears,  and 
charged  the  lancers  with  such  fury  as  to  drive  them  from  the  ground. 
Boon  after,  the  American  main  body  arrived,  and  completed  the  rout 
of  the  Mexicans.  The  latter  lost  one  hundred  and  fifty  men ;  the 
Americans  thirteen  killed,  eleven  wounded. 

Lane  remained  at  Puebla  until  the  18th  of  October,  when  he  was 
informed  that  a  body  of  the  enemy,  under  General  Rea,  was  at 
Atlixco,  thirty  miles  distant.  On  the  following  morning,  at  eleven 
o'clock,  he  set  out  fur  that  place ;  and,  after  a  forced  march  of  five 
hours'  duration,  came  in  sight  of  the  enemy's  advance  at  Santa  Isa* 
bella.  The  cavalry  were  thrown  forward  to  charge,  when  the  Mexi- 
sans  fell  back  to  a  small  hill,  and  fbught  with  great  resolution  until 


NKGOTIATIONS  FOR   PBAOQ. 


593 


ihe  arrival  of  the  Amencan  infantry,  when  they  broke  aiicl  fled  A 
running  fight  over  several  miles  ensued,  until  the  Mexican  main 
army  was  observed  posted  on  a  side  hill,  behind  rows  of  chaparral 
ft^nces.  The  cavalry  again  charged,  and  a  close  conflict  ensued, 
which  was  again  terminated  by  the  arrival  of  the  American  infantry 
and  artillery.  The  retreating  mass  was  pursued  to  the  city,  when, 
night  having  arrived,  Lane  halted  his  troops,  and  prepared  for  a 
bombardment.  This  was  conducted  by  the  bright  light  of  a  full 
moon  for  about  an  hour,  with  great  destruction  of  life  and  property 
to  the  town.  It  was  then  surrendered  by  the  city  council.  The 
American  loss  was  one  killed,  one  wounded  ;  that  of  the  enemy  more 
than  five  hundred.  After  destroying  or  appropriating  such  arms 
and  ammunition  as  could  be  found.  Lane  returned  on  the  following 
day  to  Puebla. 

On  the  15lh  of  October,  Captain  Lavalette,  with  three  vessels 
entered  the  port  of  Guymas,  and  summoned  the  town  to  surrender 
This  being  refused,  a  bombardment  was  commenced  on  the  20th. 
which,  after  continuing  more  than  an  hour,  with  much  loss  of  pro 
perty,  brought  the  inhabitants  to  terms.     Lavalette  then  issued  a 
proclamation  claiming  the  post  and  town  for  the  United  States,  and 
establishing  over  it  a  territorial  government.     The  port  of  Mazatlan 
was  captured  by  another  portion  of  the  squadron  about  the  same 
time.     Not  long  afler.  General  Lane  captured  the  town  of  Matamora. 
At  this  period  of  the  war  the  various  guerilla  bands  had  become 
exceedingly  troublesome,  frequently  cutting  ofl"  all  communication 
between  difl!erent  portions  of  the  army,  and  sometimes  capturing 
portions  of  the  specie  and  ammunition  trains. 

In  November  occurred  the  unfortunate  difliculties  between  General 
Scott  and  his  oflicers,  which  submitted  the  conduct  of  several  to  a 
military  investigation,  and  caused  the  main  command  to  devolve  upon 
General  Butler. 

Previous  to  the  recall  of  General  Scott  he  had  laid  before  the 
Mexican  authorities  [January,  1848]  the  basis  of  a  treaty,  by  which 
he  hoped  to  restore  peace  to  the  two  countries.  They  appointed 
Lewis  G.  Cuevas,  Bernardo  Conto,  and  Miguel  Atristain,  commis- 
sioners, to  confer  with  Mr.  Trist,  the  American  envoy,  at  Guadalupe 
Hidalgo.  AAer  a  somewhat  tedious  negotiation,  these  gentlemen 
ligned  a  treaty  of  "  peace,  friendship,  limits,  and  settlement,"  be- 
tween the  United  States  of  America  ami  the  Mexican  republic.  On 
the  lOth  of  March  it  was  passed,  with  some  few  alterations,  by  t**e 

76  SdS 


R94 


ADMINISTEATION   OF  JAMKS   K.   I'OLK. 


United  States  Senate,  signed  by  President  Polk,  and  transmitted 
through  Mr.  Sevier  to  the  Mexican  Congress,  then  assembled  at 
Queretaro.  That  body  agreed  to  the  alterations  on  the  25th  ol 
May ;  and  thus,  after  a  duration  of  two  years,  the  war,  of  which 
both  nations  were  heartily  tired,  was  terminated.  The  treaty  ac 
knowledges  the  Rio  Grande  as  the  boundary  of  Texas,  secures  to 
the  Americans  the  fine  harbour  of  San  Francisco,  with  the  gulf 
trade,  together  with  the  territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Upper  Cali- 
fornia, for  the  sum  of  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.  News  of  peace 
was  received  in  the  city  of  Mexico,  and  other  places,  with  the  ring- 
ing  of  bells,  the  firing  of  cannon,  and  other  demonstrations  of  joy. 
The  remainder  of  the  month,  with  part  of  June,  was  occupied  by 
the  American  commander  in  removing  the  troops  and  national  stores 
from  Mexico  to  the  United  States.  Before  the  close  of  the  lattei 
month,  the  Mexican  territory  had  been  entirely  evacuated  by  its 
former  conquerors. 

r^HE  events  of  the  Mexican  war  led  the  way  to  a 
[political  revolution  at  home,  ^n  relation  to  military 
affairs  in  Mexico,  the  course  ,)ursued  by  the  ad- 
ministration, whether  jndicious  or  not,  was  severely 
criticised  by  some  of  their  political  adversaries. 
The  government  was  even  said  to  be  jealous  of  the 
rising  popularity  of  those  great  leaders.  Generals  Taylor  and 
Scott,  and  was  accused  of  playing  with  the  former  the  part  of 
David  in  the  case  of  Uriah,  in  depriving  him  of  his  forces, 
when  Santa  Anna  was  advancing  upon  him  with  twenty 
thousand  men,  and  thus  leaving  him  exposed  to  almost  certain  de- 
struction. This  accusation  is  too  absurd  to  merit  a  serious  refuta- 
tion. The  anxiety  of  the  country  for  the  safety  of  the  brave  old 
man  and  his  little  band  of  heroes  was,  however,  intense ;  and,  from 
day  tu  day,  the  most  melancholy  tidings  were  expected.  What, 
then,  is  the  efTect  when  the  first  intelligence  of  the  glorious  victory 
of  Buena  Vista  arrives  in  the  United  States  ?  The  whole  country 
is  perfectly  electrified.  If  the  battles  of  Palo  Alto  and  Resaca  de 
la  Palma,  and  the  capture  of  Monterey,  were  sufficient  to  establish 
his  reputation,  what  wonder  that  the  people  should  now  almost  adore 
the  man  who,  with  means  so  slender,  could  accomplish  results  so 
wonderful!  "No  other  general,"  it  was  repeated,  "would  have 
dared  to  fight  the  battle,  and  no  other  could  have  won  it."  General 
Taylor  was  firmly  seated  in  the  affections  of  the  American  people, 


ADMINISTRATIOa    OF  JAMES   K.    POLK. 


595 


\nJ  enjoyed  a  popularity  little,  if  at  all  inferior  to  that  of  General 
lackson. 

N  the  7th  of  June,  1848,  while  the  country  was 
sti'.l  ringing  with  the  fame  of  Taylor's  victories,  a 
Whig  National  Convention  was  held  at  Philadel- 
phia, to  nominate  candidates  for  the  Presidency 
and  Vice-Presidency.  The  principal  names  were 
those  of  General  Taylor,  General  Scott,  and  Henry 
^Clay,  of  Kentucky.  On  the  evening  of  the  6th,  a  Taylor 
meeting  was  held  in  h:dependence-square,  and  attended  by 
nearly  fifteen  thousand  people.  Many  of  the  delegates  to  the 
National  Convention  had  already  arrived,  and  were  present 
i:  this  immense  gathering.  The  Convention  met  next  morning, 
iiid,  after  a  severe  struggle,  nominated  General  Taylor  for  the 
Presidency,  and  Millard  Fillmore,  of  New  York,  for  the  Vice-Presi- 
dency. The  nomination  was  a  wise  one,  and  was  made  at  a  fortu- 
nate moment.  The  superior  availability  of  a  successful  military 
leader,  even  long  after  his  most  brilliant  exploits,  had  been  suffi- 
ciently proved  in  the  election  of  General  Jackson,  and  in  that  of 
General  Harrison.  In  the  present  instance,  the  whigs  were  fur- 
nished wiih  a  military  chief,  and  with  a  popular  excitement  ready- 
made  to  their  hands.  The  democrats  had  held  their  National  Con- 
vention on  the  21  St  of  May,  at  Baltimore,  the  result  being  the  nom- 
niation  of  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  for  the  Presidency,  and  General 
VV.  O.  Butler,  of  Kentucky,  for  the  Vice-Presidency.  In  this  con- 
vention two  sets  of  delegates  from  two  separate  conventions  in  the 
ISiate  of  New  York  claimed  seats,  and  were  both  admitted.  This 
displeased  both  parties,  and  they  withdrew,  leaving  the  important 
rftate  of  New  York  unrepresented.  The  friends  of  Mr.  Van  Buren 
in  that  Stat) ,  claiming  that  the  action  of  the  convention  was  not 
binding  upi-  them,  assembled  at  Utica,  and  nominated  him  for  the 
l'resif>:.oy.  This  led  to  his  renominaliou  by  the  Free-Soil  National 
Convention  at  Buffalo  soon  after,  when  his  name  was  formally  as- 
sociated with  that  of  Charles  F.  Adams,  of  Massachusetts. 

But  nothing  could  withstand  the  enthusiasm  ol  the  people  for  the 
heroic  Taylor.  It  might  have  been  said  that  it  was  uncertain 
wheilier  the  General  was  a  whig  or  not,  that  the  war  was  unpopular, 
and  that  Mr.  Clay  could  not,  without  the  rankest  ingratitude,  be  de- 
prived of  the  benefit  of  the  powerful  reaction  in  favour  of  whig  prin- 
cinles — prmciples  which  he  had  long  defended  with  so  much  firm- 


bM 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   JTAMES   K.    POLK. 


'688  and  ability.  Yet,  if  any  of  the  whigs  desired  to  retrace  their 
a.eps,  it  waa  found  to  be  too  late.  They  could  not  allay  the  excite- 
ment which  they  had  so  easily  originated.  In  this  party  struggle, 
however,  the  intemperate  enthusiasm  of  some  former  political  cam- 
paigns was  not  manifeEted.  The  election  in  November  decider^  the 
contest  in  favour  of  the  whigs.  On  the  14th  o^  February,  1849,  the 
•  otes  of  the  electoral  colleges  were  counted,  when  it  appeared  that 
the  whole  number  was  two  hundred  and  ninety ;  of  which  one  hun- 
dred and  sixty-three  were  for  Taylor  and  Fillmore,  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  for  Cass  and  Butler. 

'  R.  POLK'S  message  to  the  last  Congress  which 
convened  under  his  administration,  is  a  most  ele- 
Y^&nt  and  masterly  document.  We  quote  from  it 
Uhe  following  interesting  passage  in  relation  to  the 
Mexican  war: 
"  One  of  the  most  important  results  of  the  war  into 
which  we  were  recently  forced  with  a  neighbouring  nation,  is 
the  demonstration  it  has  afforded  of  the  military  strength  oi 
our  country.  Before  the  late  war  with  Mexico,  European 
and  other  foreign  powers  entertained  imperfect  and  erroneous 
views  of  our  physical  strength  as  a  nation,  and  of  our  ability  to  pro- 
secute war,  and  especially  a  war  waged  du;  of  our  own  country 
They  saw  that  our  standing  army  on  the  pe?.ce  establishment  did 
not  exceed  ten  thousand  men.  Accustomed  themselves  to  maintain 
in  peace  large  standing  armies  for  the  protection  of  thrones  against 
their  own  subjects,  as  well  as  against  foreign  enemies,  they  had  not 
conceived  that  it  was  possible,  without  such  an  army,  well  disci- 
plined, and  of  long  service,  to  wage  war  successfully."  Again  he 
says  •  "  Our  citizen-soldiers  are  unlike  those  dra  wn  from  the  popu- 
lation of  any  other  country.  They  are  composed  indiscriminately 
of  all  professions  and  pursuits ;  of  farmers,  lawyers,  physicians, 
merchants,  manufacturers,  mechanics,  and  labourers ;  and  this,  not 
only  among  the  officers,  but  the  private  soldiers  in  the  ranks.  Our 
citizen-soldiers  are  unlike  those  of  any  other  country  in  other  re- 
spects. They  are  armed,  and  have  been  accustomed  from  their 
youth  up  to  handle  and  use  fire-arms ;  and  a  large  proportion  of 
them,  especially  in  the  western  and  newly-settled  States,  are  expert 
marksmen.  They  are  men  who  have  a  reputation  to  maintain  al 
home  by  their  good  conduct  in  the  field.  They  are  intelligent,  and 
there  i>  ta  individuality  of  chartctor  which  i»  found  in  the  ranks  4» 


ADMTOISTHATION   OF  JAMK8   K.   POLK. 


697 


no  other  arrny.  In  battle,  each  private  man,  as  well  as  every  officer, 
fights  not  oiily  for  his  country,  but  for  glory  and  distinction  among 
his  fellow-citizens  when  he  shall  return  to  civil  life." 

HE  30th  Congress  closed  its  session  on  the  4th  of 
March.  A  new  and  important  department,  called 
the  Home  Department,  had  been  created,  assuming 
certain  branches  of  business  formerly  belonging  to 
the  State  and  Treasury  Departments,  and  thus 
greatly  relieving  the  officers  at  the  head  of  these 
departments.  California,  up  to  this  time,  had  not  been  fur- 
nished with  a  provisional  government.  The  Territory  of 
Minnesota,  formed  from  portions  of  Iowa  and  Wisconsin, 
claiming  that  it  was  entitled  to  be  regarded  as  the  Territory  of 
Wisconsin,  proceeded,  after  the  admission  of  the  latter  to  the  Union, 
to  elect  a  delegate  (Hon.  H.  H.  Sibley)  to  represent  them  in  Con- 
gress. He  was  permitted  to  take  his  seat,  and  before  the  close  of 
the  session  of  1848-9,  a  bill  was  passed  establishing  the  territorial 
government  of  Minnesota,  and  defining  the  *  -jundaries  of  the  Terri- 
tory. Hon.  Alexander  Ramsay  was  appointed  Governor  of  the 
Territory,  and  the  first  assembly  met  in  the  fall  of  1849  The  prin- 
cipal settlements  in  Minnesota  are  St.  Pauls  St.  Anthony,  Still- 
water, and  Mendota.  In  1850,  the  territory  contained  a  population 
of  6,077,  and  an  area  of  83,000  square  miles. 

The  Presidential  term  of  James  K.  Polk  expired  on  the  3d  o* 
March.  Mr.  Polk's  private  character  was  unoxceptionable.  Cal- 
umny never  even  attempted  to  tarnish  his  spotless  reputation. 
Though  somewhat  reserved,  his  manners  were  plain  and  unsophis 
ticated.  Soon  after  his  arrival  at  Nashville,  he  removed  with  his 
family  to  his  new  and  elegant  mansion  at  Grundy's  Hill,  in  the  very 
heart  of  that  beautiful  city.  Here  he  employed  himself  in  improv- 
ing and  embellishing  his  house  and  grounds,  assisted  by  Mrs.  Poik, 
upon  whose  exquisite  taste  in  such  matters  he  greatly  relied.  He 
was  in  the  prime  of  life,  had  occupied  various  public  stations,  and 
had  just  retired  from  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of  his  fellow- 
citizens — the  highest  office  in  the  world.  In  June,  the  unexpected 
tidings  of  his  death  were  spread  through  the  country.  While  on 
his  way  from  New  Orleans  to  Nashville,  in  March,  1849,  he  was 
attacked  with  diarrhcea,  from  which,  however,  he  shortly  recovered. 
About  the  1st  of  June,  he  had  a  slight  attack  of  fever,  produced  by 
•jver-exerdo:;  in  arranging  the  bonks  of  k:»  library  This  was  soot 
38 


5f»S 


ADMINISTRATION    OP   JAMES    K.    POI.K. 


attend  d  with  diarrhoea,  which  with  him  had  been  a  chronic  diseriM 
for  many  years.  For  several  days  no  danger  was  apprehended ; 
but  the  disorder  soon  assumed  a  more  threatening  aspect,  and  on 
the  15th  of  June,  in  spite  of  the  skill  and  vigilance  of  his  phy^icians^ 
termincited  in  death.  In  his  last  hours,  he  professed  his  faith  in  th« 
gospel,  and  received  the  rite  of  baptism  at  the  hands  of  Rev.  Mr. 
McFarren,  of  the  Methodist  denomination. 

HATEVER  may  be  the  merit  of  this  adminis- 
I  irntion,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  was  conducted 
with  great  ability,  and  secured  to  the  United 
States  those  territorial  accessions  whose  value 
,can  hardly  be  overrated  even  by  the  wildest 
imagination.  Who  can  tell  the  influence  which 
the  discovery  of  the  golden  regions  of  California  must  exert 
upon  the  prosperity  of  our  republic,  and,  we  might  almost 
say,  upon  the  destiny  of  the  world  itself?  It  will  aid  greatly 
in  securing  a  solid  basis  for  the  currency  of  the  country. 
The  richest  mines  in  the  world,  those  of  California  and  Australia, 
have,  almost  at  the  same  time,  come  under  the  control  of  its  fwc 
most  powerful  nations — a  coincidence  which  serves  to  maintain  a 
balance  or  equality  of  wealth  and  power  between  those  nations,  thus 
affording  additional  security  for  the  peace  and  harmony  of  both.  A 
brief  description  of  the  newly-acquired  territories  will,  we  truitt, 
prove  acceptable  to  our  readers.  An  account  of  the  discovery  ol 
California,  and  a  sketch  of  its  early  history,  have  already  been  given 
in  a  former  part  of  this  work.     [See  p.  112.] 

Upper  or  New  California  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  42d  par- 
allel of  latitude,  which  divides  it  from  Oregon  ;  on  the  east,  by  the 
Sierra  Anahuac  and  the  Sierra  de  los  Mimbres,  continuations  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  ;  on  the  south,  by  Old  or  Lower  California  and 
Sonora ;  and  on  the  west,  by  the  Pacific  Ocean.  Its  extent  from 
north  to  south  is  about  700  miles,  and  from  east  to  west  from  500  to 
800  miles,  its  area  being  about  400,000  square  miles.  About  150 
miles  from  the  coast,  and  running  nearly  parallel  with  it,  is  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  a  range  of  mountains  higher  than  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. Their  more  elevated  peaks  are  white  with  perpetual  snow. 
Between  these  and  the  ocean,  and  about  fifty  miles  from  the  coast, 
Is  another  parallel  range,  called  the  Coast  Range.  The  valley  be- 
tween them  is  the  most  fertile  portion  of  the  country.  Between  the 
Sierra  Nevada  and  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  whole  regx'>n,  lies  th« 


CALTFOnNIA. 


599 


^'■'fat  Baxfn,  five  hundred  miles  in  diameter,  four  or  five  thousand 
innt  above  the  ocean,  having  the  general  character  of  a  desert,  arid 
enclosed  on  all  sides  by  motiniaina.  The  Maritime  Region,  west  Oi 
the  Sierra  Nevada,  is,  according  to  Colonel  Fremont,  the  only  part 
to  which  the  name  California  applies,  in  the  current  language  of  the 
country.  "  It  is  the  occupied  and  inhabited  part,  and  so  different 
in  character — so  divided  by  the  mountain  wall  of  the  Sierra  from 
the  Grp:it  Basin  above — as  to  constitute  a  region  to  itself,  with  a 
structure,  configuration,  soil,  climate,  and  productions  of  its  own." 
Looking  westward  frdm  the  summit  of  the  Sierra,  we  behold  the 
long,  low  valley  of  the  ,'oaquin  and  Sacramento  rivers — a  valley 
lying  along  the  hastt  of  the  Sierra,  and  bounded  on  the  west  by  the 
low  coast  range  of  mountains  which  separate  it  from  the  sea.  The 
valleys  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  form  one  valley,  but 
each  is  named  from  the  river  which  traverses  it.  The  Sacramento 
traverses  the  northern,  and  the  San  Joaquin  the  southern  valley. 
They  unite  rt  their  entrance  into  the  Suisun,  or  upper  Bay  of  San 
Francisco,  within  the  limits  of  tide  water,  and  make,  as  a  late  ex- 
cellent  writer  lemarks,  "  a  continuous  water  line"  from  one  end  of 
the  great  valley  to  the  other.  The  valley  of  the  Sacramento  is 
divided  into  upper  and  lower,  the  former  being  farther  up  the  river, 
and  some  thousands  of  feet  higher,  than  the  latter.  The  upper  is 
about  one  hundred  miles  in  length,  the  lower  about  two  hundred. 
The  former  is  heavily  timbered,  and  its  climate  and  productions 
correspond  to  its  elevation.  The  valley  of  the  San  Joaquin  is,  in 
general,  but  a  few  hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  The  Sacramento 
river  is  navigable  to  the  rapids,  two  hundred  miles  from  its  mouth. 
lAN  Francisco  Bay  has  been  celebrated  ever  since 
,  its  discovery  as  one  of  the  best  harbours  in  the  world. 
It  is  separated  from  the  sea  by  low  ranges  of  moun- 
tains, through  which  is  a  single  entrance,  resem- 
bling a  mountain  pass.  It  is  seventy-five  miles  in 
length  from  north  to  south,  or  about  thirty-seven  on 
each  side  of  the^  entrance.  The  head  of  the  bay  is  about 
forty  miles  from  the  entrance.  By  projecting  points,  it  is 
subdivided  into  three  bays,  of  which  the  northern  two  are 
called  the  San  Pablo  and  Suisun  Bays.  The  water  in  the 
bay  is  sufiUciently  deep  for  the  largest  ships  ;  and  here,  perhaps,  all 
the  vessels  of  the  world  might  ride  in  safety. 
There  are  numerous  small  lakes  in  California.     Lake  Buena 

7S 


600 


CALirOUNIA. 


Vista,  one  of  the  sources  of  the  San  Joaquin,  is  about  eightjr  milo< 
in  length  and  fifteen  in  breadth.  About  sixty  miles  north  of  thti 
Bay  of  San  Francisco,  is  a  lake  called  by  the  California's  the  La- 
guna.  It  is  about  fifty  miles  in  length.  The  valleys  in  its  vicinity 
are  highly  fertile,  romantic,  and  beautiful.  Near  this  lake  is  a 
mountain  of  pure  sulphur. 

jOLORADO,  or  Red  River,  is  the  largest  river  of 
Upper  California.     Running   nearly  1,000  miles, 
for  the  most  part  between  the  south  and  southwest, 
it  empties  .nto  :he  Gulf  of  California,  in  latitude 
about  32°  north.     It  has  several  large  tributaries, 
the  largest  and  lowest  of  which — the  Gila — enters  it  from 
^the  northeast,  a  little  above  its  mouth.     Little  is  known  of 
the  region  through  which  the  Colorado  flows.     From  the 
'  reports  of  trappers,  it  would  seem  that  the  river,  through  a 
large  portion  of  its  course,  is  hemmed  in  by  high  mountains 
and  precipices,  and  that  the  adjacent  country  is  arid,  sandy, 
and  barren. 

The  most  interesting  section  of  California  is  the  valley  of  the 
Sacramento — a  tract  already  celebrated  throughout  the  world  for  its 
placers,  or  deposits  of  gold.  Sutter's  Fort,  in  the  vicinity  of  which, 
we  believe,  the  first  known  discoveries  of  the  precious  metal  were 
made,  is  about  forty  miles  up  the  Sacramento.  The  gold  region 
lies  along  the  foot  hills  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and  reaches  upon 
these  hills  about  live  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  thirty  or  forty  in 
breadth.  The  streams  which  flow  rom  the  Sierra  into  the  San 
Joaquin  and  Sacramento  rivers,  are  from  ten  to  thirty  miles  distant 
from  each  other.  They  have  many  tributaries,  are  wild  and  rapid 
in  their  descent  from  the  mountains,  but  become  more  tranquil  upon 
entering  the  plains  below.  To  the  banks  and  bars  of  these  moun- 
tain streams,  and  the  channels  of  the  gorges  which  intersect  them, 
and  through  which  the  streams  are  forced  when  swollen  by  the 
winter  rains,  the  alluvial  deposits  of  the  metal  are  chiefly  confined. 
This,  according  to  Mr.  Colton,  seems  to  be  a  general  law  with  re- 
gard to  these  deposits  in  California.  We  are  not  aware  that  any 
geological  theory  has  been,  or  can  be,  of  any  service  to  the  gold 
hunter.  In  the  opinion  of  the  writer  just  mentioned,  the  only  law 
of  any  value  in  reference  to  alluvial  deposits,  are  the  one  just  men- 
tioned, and  the  law,  that  a  heavy  body  will  tumble  down  hill  faster 
than  a  lighter  one,  or  that  a  nut  shaken  from  a  tree  will  drop  through 


CALIFORNIA. 


601 


lem. 
the 

ined. 
1  re- 
any 
gold 
law 
men- 
astei 

rough 


the  fog  to  the  ground.  The  surface-gola  of  California  will  probably 
never  be  wholly  exhausted.  V/ill  the  gold-bearing  quartz  rocka 
fail  to  yield  the  precious  ore  ?  This  is  the  great  question  whick 
time  alone  can  fully  solve.  It  is  the  opinion  of  some  eminent  mei 
that  gold-bearing  quartz  occupies  a  broad  vein  through  the  whole 
extent  of  the  foot  range  of  the  Sierra.  Gold, 'in  the  shape  of  small, 
delicate  scales,  is  sometimes  found  in  the  slate  rocks.  One  lump 
of  gold,  perhaps  the  largest  ever  found  in  California,  weighed 
twenty-three  pounds,  was  nearly  pure,  and  of  a  cubical  figure. 

UICKSILVER  is  one  of  the  most  important  min- 
eral products  of  this  wonderful  country.  Several 
uciilities  are  already  known ;  but  the  richest  is 
Forbes's  mine,  about  sixty  miles  from  San  Josd 
At  this  mine,  with  a  few  labourers,  and  two  com 
mon  iron  kettles  for  smelting,  they  have  already 
'sold  quicksilver  to  a  very  large  amount,  and  had,  not  long 
'since,  two  hundred  tons  of  ore  awaiting  the  smelting  process. 
The  effect  of  these  rich  mines  of  quicksilver  upon  the 
wealth  and  commerce  of  the  world,  if  kept  from  the  hands 
of  monopolists,  can  hardly  be  overrated.  Mines  of  silver,  also,  are 
known  to  exist  in  the  mountains  of  the  gold  region. 

The  climate  of  the  coast  is  unpleasant,  at  least,  if  not  unhealthy. 
The  seasons  are  variable.  The  usual  period  of  rain  is  from  November 
to  April  inclusive ;  but  in  some  years  it  is  very  abundant,  while  in 
others  it  is  very  sparing,  and  several  consecutive  years  sometimes 
pass  away  with  scarcely  any  rain.  The  southern  coast  of  Upper 
California  is  hot  and  dry,  except  for  a  short  time  in  the  winter. 
The  length  of  the  wet  season  increases  as  we  proceed  northward ; 
and,  about  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  the  rains  are  nearly  constant 
from  November  to  April,  and  fogs  and  heavy  dews  moisten  the 
earth  and  nourish  vegetation  for  the  rest  of  the  year.  California  is 
subject  to  long  droughts,  two  years  often  bringing  scarcely  any 
rain ;  yet  vegetation  does  not  suffer  so  greatly  as  might  be  expected, 
because  it  is  sustained  by  the  fogs  of  the  latter  part  of  the  night, 
and  because  the  numerous  mountain  streamlets  afford  the  means  of 
natural  and  artificial  irrigation.  But  glittering  sands  and  glowing 
mines  are  not  the  only  gifts  which  Nature  has  lavished  upon  this 
delightful  land.  Yet  her  sparkling  streams  ond  verdant  vales,  bei 
golden  grain  waving  to  the  zephyrs,  her  blushing  fruits  and  beauti- 
ful flowers,  had  little  or  no  charms  for  the  great  world,  until  sh' 


602 


OALirORMfA. 


appeared  arrayed  in  a  glided  robe — but,  then,  what  a  chan^^o  i 
Emigrants  rush  from  every  civilized  nation  upon  earth.  Fifty 
thousand  eager  Viunters  for  gold,  of  every  hue  and  ianguagu,  soon 
cover  the  slopes  of  the  great  Sierra.  Even  the  inhabitant  of  the 
Celestial  Empire,  where  emigration  has  been  a  crime,  has  found 
his  way  thither.  Neither  distance,  nor  the  dangers  of  the  deep,  nor 
the  diseases  of  tropical  climates,  imr  e\<ji.  the  infirmities  of  age,  re- 
strain  the  sordid,  or  the  needy,  ci  the  ambitious  adventurer  from  tho 
dazzling  but  doubtful  enterprise.  What  wonder  that  these  eiiii- 
grants  should  soon,  like  the  people  of  Rom  lua,  find  theniHelves  a 
nation  of  men  alone  7  When  disease  shows  its  pule  face,  it  must 
not  be  relieved  by  the  tenderness  and  soothing  care  of  woman. 
The  home  of  the  heart,  which  she  alone  can  make — the  home 
where  fall  the  heavenly  dews  of  sympathy,  is  not  there.  Many 
eviN,  too,  were  incident  upon  the  great  diversity  of  character  among 
the  emigrants,  especially  before  any  regular  government  had  been 
organized  in  the  territory.  But  these  evils  are  gradually  diminish- 
ing,  and,  ere  long,  will  probably  disappear  for  ever.  Thousands, 
every  month,  are  passing  to  and  from  Cali'brnia.  Her  growth 
4eems  the  work  of  enchantment ;  yet  her  government  and  institu- 
tions  are  fast  settling  down  to  an  orderly  and  permanent  condition. 
The  population  of  California  in  185U  is  supposed  to  have  been 
180,000.  Flourishing  towns  and  cities  spring  up  as  if  by  magic. 
Such  are  Benicia,  Sacramento  City,  Sutter,  Vernon,  Boston,  New 
York,  Stockton,  Alvezo,  Stanislaus,  Sonora,  and  Crescent  City,  some 
of  which  already  give  promise  of  future  greatness.  San  Francisco 
has  suflered  greatly  from  fires.  That  3f  the  3d  of  May,  1850,  was 
peculiarly  terrific  and  destructive.  Originating  in  the  careless  act 
of  an  individual  in  a  paint  shop,  it  did  not  cease  until  the  city  was 
almost  wholly  laid  in  ashes.  Its  progress  was  most  appalling.  The 
finest  hotels,  the  most  substantial  warehouses,  tho  theatre,  the 
museum,  and  every  newspaper  establishment  but  one  fall  a  prey  to 
the  devouring  element.  Every  countenance  is  the  picture  of  horror. 
Thousands  are  turned  into  the  streets  almost  without  notice,  and 
without  saving  even  a  suit  of  clothes.  Houses  of  wood  vanish  like 
frostwork,  those  of  brick  are  "  batteries  of  flame,"  pouring  forth 
"  immense  jets  from  their  windows  and  doors,"  while  "  iron  and  zinc 
curl  up  like  the  scorched  leaves  of  the  forest."  The  loss  of  pro- 
perty is  estimated  at  from  ten  to  fifteen  millions  of  dollars.     Ten  of 


CALIFORNIA. 


eon 


twelve  liven  were  hmt,  and  aliout  twenty  persons  injured,  some  of 
tln"n  viTV  8»iverely. 

'UT  such  is  the  energy  of  its  inhabitants  that, 
almost  before  the  smoiie  of  the  ruins  has  cleared 
laway,  the  wonderful  city  begins  to  rise  like  a 
phoenix.     Ere  long,  scarcely  a  trace  of  the  destruc- 
tion remains,  and  prosperity  again  smiles  in  San 
IIICI8C0 — the  city  destined,  in  spite  of  competition,  wind, 
and  flame,  to  be  the  great  commercial  emporium  of  Cali- 
fornia. 

A  San  Francisco  journal,  of  March  5,  1850,  speaks  uf  the 
terrible  increase  of  crime,  of  all  degrees,  from  petty  tlieft  to 
luurdor,  and  ibn  pretty  general  belief  that  the  laws,  as  they  had 
been  administered,  would  afford  but  little  security  to  life  and  pro- 
perty. The  people,  therefore,  had  arisen  in  various  parts  of  the 
State,  and  constituted  a  new  court,  for  the  immediate  trial  of 
oflenders.  In  Sacramento,  an  inoffensive  man,  for  endeavouring  to 
separate  two  combatants,  was  shot  down  in  the  midst  of  a  crowd. 
The  people  at  once  avenged  the  deed  by  constituting  a  court  of  their 
own,  trying  the  murderer,  and  hanging  him.  "  Lynch  iuw,"  says 
the  journal  above  mentioned,  "  i.s  not  the  best  law  that  might  be,  but 
it  is  better  than  none  ;  and  so  far  as  benefit  is  derived  from  law, 
there  is  no  other  here."  On  the  10th  of  June,  1851,  a  similar  ex- 
hibition of  popular  vengeance  was  witnessed  at  San  Francisco. 
The  city  had  lung  been  infested  with  numerous  desperadoes,  banded 
together,  in  many  instances,  for  the  prosecution  of  their  criminal 
designs.  It  was  very  difficult  to  detect  them,  and,  even  when  they 
were  discovered,  next  to  impossible  to  secure  their  conviction  and 
adequate  punishment.  In  this  state  of  things,  many  of  the  leading 
citizens  had  formed  themselves  into  a  detective  and  protective  force, 
and  maintained  a  regular  organization  as  such.  On  the  night  in 
question,  John  Jenkins,  said  to  be  a  native  of  London,  was  caught 
in  the  commission  uf  a  heavy  robbery.  He  was  at  once  arraigned 
before  the  committee  alluded  to,  tried,  convicted,  and  sentenced  to 
be  hung.  The  sentence  was  executed  the  same  nighty  in  the  pres- 
ence of  an  excited  multitude  of  citizens ;  and  the  rising  sun  shone 
upon  the  dead  body  of  the  robber  dangling  from  the  comer  of  a 
buildii.g  on  the  public  square.  We  have  already  remarked,  in  sub- 
stance, that  a  better  state  of  things  uow  prevails  in  California 


fl04 


OAi.iroHyiA. 


ACRAMENTO  City  hab  been  once  inuiiJuted  h;; 
the  Rio  Americans.  "  It  come,"  saya  Mr.  Colton, 
"  upon  the  inhahitanta  like  a  thitC  in  the  night ;  thoy 
had  only  lime  to  jump  from  their  !>cdn ;  the  roaring 
flood  waa  at  their  heela  :  some  reacbeJ  the  shipping, 
and  aome  sprung  into  the  topH  of  the  trees. "  A  levee 
has  aince  been  huiit  to  exriude  the  water  from  the  .^ity. 

With  regard  to  the  cxttMit  of  the  newly-acquired  i.^rrilo- 
ries,  it  may  be  remarked  thai.  Oregon,  Calilornin,  Now 
Mexico,  and  Texas,  constitute  a  territory  mure  than  half  at 
large  as  that  owned  by  the  United  States  previous  to  thoir  aniuiai 
tion.  Thcae  four  tracta  contain  763,559,040  acres ;  the  othor  States 
and  territories  contain  l,3I8,126,0r>8  acres.  The  territory  of  our 
republic  ia  now  nearly  as  large  as  the  whole  of  F.urope.  The  Mis- 
sissippi, so  lately  its  frontier,  is  now  its  great  central  river.  No 
one,  we  think,  will  dispute  the  assertion  of  Mr.  Polk,  that  the  ac- 
quisition of  California  and  New  Mexico,  the  settlement  of  the  Oregon 
boundary,  and  the  annexation  of  Texas,  extending  to  the  Rio 
Grande,  are  results  which,  combined,  are  of  greater  consequence, 
and  will  add  more  to  the  strength  and  wealth  of  the  nation,  than 
any  which  have  preceded  them  since  the  adoption  of  the  Cou> 
■titutioD. 


C[1APTER   LIII. 


AOMINlSTRAflON    OF    TAYLOR. 


W^<2il["'''  '"'lUgiTiition  of  General  Taylor  would    have 
■..^■Wiw  taken  place  on  the  4th  of  March  as  usual,  but  at 
ftM'^HKrai  ili:it  (liiy  was  the  Sabbath,  it  was  deferred  until  the 
Vlt^i^J^W/T  ■hIi,  v\'h(Mi   the   new  administratiun   was   organized 
355>    wiih   highly  impressive  ceremonies.     The   Senate 
,  was  convened  at  eleven  o'clock ;    and  its  future 

lijl  I  presiding  olRcer,  Mr.  Fillmore,  delivered  a  brief  address,  from 
wA     which  we  extract  the  following  interesting  passages  : 

"  It  will  not,  1  trust,  be  deemed  inappropriate  to  congratu- 
^  late  you  upon  the  scene  now  passing  before  us.  1  allude  to 
it  in  no  partisan  aspect,  but  as  an  ever-recurring  event  contemplated 
by  the  Constitution.  Compare  the  peaceful  changes  of  chief  mag- 
istrates of  this  republic  with  the  recent  sanguuiary  revolutions  in 
Europe.  There,  the  voice  of  the  people  has  been  heard  only  amid 
the  din  of  arms  and  the  horrors  of  domestic  conflict ;  but  here,  in 
our  own  favoured  land,  under  the  guidance  of  our  Constitution,  the 
resistless  will  of  the  nation  has,  from  time  to  time,  been  peacefully 
expressed  by  the  free  suffrages  of  the  people,  and  all  have  bowed  in 
obedient  submission  to  their  decree.  The  administration  which  but 
yesterday  wielded  the  destinies  of  this  great  nation,  to-day  quietly 
yields  up  its  power,  and,  without  a  murmur,  retires  from  the  capitol. 
"  I  congratulate  you.  Senators,  and  I  congratulate  my  country, 
upon  these  oft-recurring  and  cheering  evidences  of  our  capacity  for 

8k8  606 


fine , 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   TATLOR. 


self-government.  Let  us  hope  that  the  sublime  spectacle  whicli  we 
now  witness  may  be  repeated  as  often  as  the  people  shall  desire  a 
change  of  rulers,  and  that  this  venerated  Constitiuion  and  this  glorious 
Union  may  endura  forever." 

FTER  the  president  elect,  with  the  ex-president, 
,and  committee  of  arrangements,  had  entered  the 
'senate-chamber,  a  procession  was  formed,  and,  pas- 
sing through  the  rotunda,  arrived  at  the  eastern  por- 
'tico  of  the  capitol.  Upon  a  staging  above  the  stairs 
of  the  portico,  and  in  presence  of  at  least  twenty 
thousand  people,  General  Taylor  delivered,  with  a  remarka-, 
bly  distinct  utterance,  and  with  full  and  clear  emphasis,  his 
admirable  inaugural  address — a  plain,  sensible,  well-written 
document,  which,  for  its  brevity  and  elegimce,  is  a  model 
worthy  of  all  future  imitation.  In  the  discharge  of  his 
manifold  duties,  he  said  that  his  guide  would  be  the  Constitu- 
tion, for  the  interpretation  of  which  he  should  look  to  the  decisions 
of  judicial  tribunals  established  by  its  authority,  and  to  the  practice 
of  the  government  under  the  earlier  presidents,  who  had  so  large  a 
share  in  its  formation.  He  regarded  himself  as  chosen  by  the  peo- 
ple, under  the  assurance  that  his  administration  would  be  devoted  to 
the  welfare  of  the  whole  country,  and  not  to  the  support  of  particular 
sections,  or  merely  local  interests.  He  should  recommend  to  Con- 
gross  such  constitutional  measures  as  might  be  proper  for  the  pro- 
tection of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  the  improvement 
of  rivers  and  harbours,  the  speedy  extinction  of  the  public  debt,  the 
maintenance  of  strict  accountability  on  the  part  of  all  the  ofhcera  of 
the  government,  and  the  observance  of  the  utmost  economy  in  all 
public  expenditures. 

"  In  conclusion,"  says  General  Tnylor,  i  congratulate  yci:,  my 
fellow-citizens,  upon  the  high  state  of  prosperity  to  which  the  good- 
ness of  Divine  Providence  has  conducted  our  common  country.  Let 
us  invoke  a  continuance  of  the  same  protecting  care  which  has  led 
us  from  small  beginnings  to  the  eminence  we  this  day  occupy,  an*' 
let  us  seek  to  deserve  it  by  prudence  and  moderation  in  our  councils  ; 
by  well-directed  attempts  to  assuage  the  bitterness  which  too  often 
marks  unavoidable  differences  of  opinion  ;  by  the  promulgation  and 
practice  '^♦'  just  and  liberal  principles ;  and  by  enlarged  patriotism 
which  shall  acknowledge  no  limits  but  those  of  our  own  wide-spread 
lepublic." 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  TAYLOR. 


607 


r;^  HE  oath  of  office  was  ne:  ^  administered  by  Chief 
Justice  Taney.     At  the  clode  of  the  inaugural  cere 
monies,  the  ro3i  of  artillery  resounded  from  one 
e«(i  of  the  city  to  the  oth<  r.     The  Sensite  had  been 
ftV,    '[^^K**    Ji-Jmnrioned  by  Mr.  Polk  tn  meet  upon  that  day,  and 
l''^  aid  in  the  organization  of  the  new  government.    On 

the  6th,  General  Taylor  submitted  hia  nominations  for  members 
of  the  Cabinet,  and  his  nominations  were  duly  confirmed,  viz., 
John  M.  Clayton,  of  Delaware,  Secretary  of  State  ;  William 
M.  Meredith,  of  Pennsylvania,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  , 
Thomas  Ewing,  of  Ohio,  Secretary  of  the  Flome  Department ; 
George  W.  Crawford,  of  Georgia,  Secretary  of  War  ;  William  B. 
Preston,  of  Virginia,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  ;  Reverdy  Johnson,  of 
Maryland,  Auorney  General ;  and  Jacob  CoUamer,  of  Vermont, 
Postmaster  General.  The  removals  from  office  were  fewer  than 
under  some  former  Presidents,  the  old  General  being  resolutely  op- 
posed to  such  removals,  when  designed  merely  as  proscriptions — thus 
taking  a  position  with  which  some  of  his  former  supporters  were 
very  much  dissatisfied. 

One  of  the  important  diplomatic  acts  of  General  Taylor's  adminis- 
tration, was  the  negotiation  of  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain  for  the 
construction  of  a  ship  canal  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceuns. 
Its  perpetual  freedom  is  guaranteed  to  all  nations  upon  just  and  equal 
terms.  This  measure  is  one  of  the  most  important  steps  taken  in 
the  march  of  human  improvement  during  the  present  century.  The 
conditions  of  the  treaty  exhibit  that  enlightened  and  enlarged  spirit 
of  national  philanthropy  which  does  great  honour  to  Mr.  Clayton  and 
Sir  Henry  Bulwer,  the  Briiish  minister  to  the  United  Stales.  In 
connection  with  the  miraculous  growth  of  California,  and  the  im- 
mense emigration  to  that  country,  as  well  as  in  other  relations,  what 
must  be  the  effects  of  this  treaty  upon  the  improvement  and  pros- 
perity of  the  civilized  world  ! 

During  this  year,  the  awful  fatality,  which  marked  the  progress  of 
the  Asiatic  choltra,  excited  almost  universal  consternation.  Pur- 
suing a  direction  contrary  to  that  of  1832,  it  reached  our  shores  at 
the  southwest,  and  for  a  long  time  committed  the  most  dreadful  rav- 
ages in  Louisiana,  Texas,  and  Mexico,  and  in  the  valleys  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  Ohio,  before  it  made  its  appearance  at  the  North.  In 
appalling  numbers  the  people  fell  before  the  dreadful  scourge,  the 
fatal  results  being  no  doubt  multiplied  by  the  inexperience  of  th« 


608 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   TATLOR. 


phyaiciaus  in  this  disease,  and  by  fear,  improper  diet,  and  that  want 
of  cleanliness  which  is,  in  some  measure,  unavoidable  by  the  poorer 
classes  in  all  our  cities.  Its  malignancy  at  St.  Louis,  Cincinnati, 
Louisville,  and  the  smaller  towns  upon  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio,  is 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  modern  epidemics.  In  the  latter  part 
of  November,  1848,  it  appeared  at  San  Francisco,  and  many  a 
young  man  from  the  States,  while  far  away  from  his  home  and  his 
kindred,  fell  a  victim  to  the  terrible  destroyer.  Business,  in  many 
places,  suffered  greatly  from  the  prevalence  of  the  disease.  In  a 
few  weeks  it  gradually  abated,  and  in  the  following  month  entirely 
disappeared.  On  the  14th  of  May,  it  broke  out  in  New  York  city, 
the  first  cases  occurring  at  a  place  celebrated  for  its  filth,  vice,  and 
destitution.  During  the  week  ending  on  the  2l8t  of  July,  714  per- 
sons died  of  cholera  in  the  city  of  New  York.  The  whole  number 
of  deaths  was  5017  ;  the  whole  number  of  cases  is  unknown. 

N  view  of  this  fearful  visitation,  the  President  recom- 
mended that  the  first  Fiiday  in  August  be  observed 
throughout  the  nation  as  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer 
New  York  and  the  Atlantic  cities  were  relieved  from 
the  cholera  in  the  fall ;  but  it  still  lingered  in  the 
southwest,  and,  even  in  the  fall  of  1850,  raged  more 
lor  less  severely  at  various  places  in  that  portion  of  the  Union. 
It  had  been,  for  some  time,  rumoured  that  an  armed  expeli- 
tion  against  Cuba  was  contemplated  in  the  United  States.  In 
August,  1849,  the  President  issued  a  proclamation,  warning 
the  citizens  of  the  republic  against  engaging  in  an  enterprise  "  so 
grossly  in  violation  of  our  laws  and  treaty  obligations."  What  effect 
this  proclamation  had  in  preventing  such  attempts  for  the  future, 
will  be  seen  in  a  subsequent  part  of  this  chapter. 

The  rapid  growth  and  brilliant  prospects  of  California,  her  adop- 
tion of  a  constitution  by  which  slavery  was  to  be  forever  excluded 
from  her  territory,  and  her  intended  application  for  admission  into 
the  Union,  produced  the  most  intense  excitement  in  every  section  of 
the  country.  Men  looked  forward  with  unusual  interest  to  the  meet- 
ing of  Congress.  The  anti-slavery  men  of  the  North  exulted  in  the 
present  situation  of  affairs,  thinking  it  to  indicate  a  state  of  public 
sentiment  which  would  lead  to  the  utter  extermination  of  slavery 
The  politicians  and  leading  planters  of  the  South,  fearing  perhap? 
for  the  present  safety  of  their  institutions,  resolved  to  prevent,  at  all 
hazards,  the  admission  of  California  with  her  present  boundaries  and 


ADMIN  laTKATION   OF   TArLOR. 


oof' 


ed 


tonstitution.  Another  clement  of  controversy  was  the  intertst  of 
those  speculators,  in  and  out  of  Congress,  who  owned  property  in 
California,  had  received  or  were  expecting  contracts  from  her  exist- 
ing government,  and  upon  whom  her  admission  would  confer  splen- 
did fortunes.  Another  friend  of  that  admission  was  found  in 
Colonel  T'.iomas  H.  Benton,  United  States  Senator  from  Missouri, 
whose  son-in-law.  Colonel  Fremont,  had  immense  possessions  in 
California — possessions  said  to  contain  inexhaustible  mines  of  gold, 
the  title  to  which  he  naturally  wished  to  place  upon  a  secure  foun- 
dation. Colonel  Fremont  was  also  elected  a  United  States  Senator 
from  California,  and  was  at  Washington,  with  his  colleague,  Mr. 
Gwinn,  anxiously  waiting  to  be  admitted  as  a  member  of  the  na- 
tional council. 

N  the  3d  of  December,  Congress  commenced  its 
session.  Its  members  shared  in  the  excitement 
I  which  prevailed  throughout  the  country.  Many 
[fruitless  efforts  were  made  in  the  House  to  elect  a 
(Speaker.  The  number  of  ballottings  was  sixty- 
three,  occupying  the  space  of  twenty  days.  This 
junprecedented  delay  was  occasioned  by  the  "  free  soil"  mem 
bers,  who,  though  few  in  numbers,  were  able  to  prevent 
either  of  the  great  parties  from  effecting  a  choice.  The  dem- 
ocratic candidate,  Mr.  Cobb,  however,  was  at  length  elected. 
The  message  of  General  Taylor  called  the  attention  of  Congress  to 
a  revision  of  the  tariff,  improvements  in  rivers  and  harbours,  strict 
neutrality  in  relation  to  foreign  contending  powers,  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  branch-mint  in  California,  and  also  recommended  the 
admission  of  that  territory  with  the  constitution  she  had  already 
formed. 

Early  in  the  session,  Mr.  Clay  presented  a  series  of  carefully 
digested  resolutions  designed  to  settle  amicably  all  the  questions  in 
dispute  between  the  North  and  the  South  growing  out  of  the  subject 
of  slavery.  These  resolutions  he  supported,  on  a  subsequent  day, 
bj'  one  of  the  most  powerful  and  masterly  speeches  in  the  whole 
range  of  ancient  or  modern  oratory.  He  had  no  personal  aspirations 
of  a  political  nature — he  should  soon  pass  away — he  should  soon  be 
beyond  the  reach  of  piaiso  or  censure,  but  he  wished  to  make  one 
more  effort  in  behalf  of  the  country  which  he  loved,  which  he  had 
served  so  long,  and  which  would  be  dear  to  his  heart  to  the  latest 
Lour  of  his  existence.     The  Union  itself  was  in  danger.     Many 

71 


nio 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   TAYLOR. 


persons  no  longer  thought  of  a  separation  with  Jrer.d,  or  treinMetl 
at  the  calamities  of  civil  war.  "  Sir,"  said  the  venerable  statesman. 
"  1  implore  gentlemen,  1  adjure  them,  whether  from  the  South  or  the 
North,  by  all  they  hold  dear  in  this  world — by  all  their  love  of  lib- 
erty— by  all  their  veneration  for  their  ancestors — by  all  their  grati- 
tude to  Him  who  has  bestowed  upon  them  such  unnumbered  and 
countless  blessings — by  all  the  duties  which  they  owe  to  mankind 
-and  by  all  the  duties  which  they  owe  to  themselves,  to  pause,  sol- 
emnly to  pause  at  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  before  the  fatal  and 
dangerous  leap  is  taken  into  the  yawning  abyss  below,  from  which 
none  who  ever  take  it  shall  return  in  safety."  This  speech  carried 
conviction  to  the  minds  of  all  unprejudiced  persons,  and  raised  up 
in  Congress  a  powerful  party  favourable  to  compromise,  and  com- 
posed of  wHigs  and  democrats,  of  Northerners  and  Southerners 


V       r  ■. 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   TAYLOR. 


C11 


JOHNC.     OALBOaW 

OIIN  C.  CALHOUN,  the  great  orator  and  states 
"i  man,  then  senator  from  South  Carolina,  took  a  deep 
interest  in  the  great  questions  which  were  agitating 
'the  country,  and  though  extremely  feeble  in  health, 
sometimes  took  part  in  the  discussions  of  the  Senate. 
He  was  unwell  when  he  left  home,  and  his  malady 
»wns  greatly  increased  by  his  labours  and  mental  anxiety  at 
I  Washington.  Yet  even  from  the  bed  of  sickness  he  could 
not  forbear  to  lift  up  his  warning  voice  against  measures 
which,  in  his  opinion,  would  benefit  the  North  at  the  expense 
of  the  South.  At  this  critical  and,  we  might  perhaps  say  decisive, 
period,  this  great  champion  of  Southern  interests,  the  man  whose 
station  as  an  eloquent  advocate  and  faithful  defender  of  the  rights  of 
the  South,  and  whose  place  in  the  affections  of  the  Southern  people 
can  never  again  be  filled,  was  removed  by  death  from  the  turbulent 
arena  of  political  strife,  while  yet  the  dark  cloud  of  disunion  seemed 
to  hover  over  his  beloved  country.  The  funeral  obsequies  of  this 
arreat  man,  and  the  honours  everywhere  paid  to  his  mt'aory,  demon- 


nn 


ADMINMTEATION   OF  TATLOB. 


strated  the  respect  which  all  parties  entertained  for  his  character, 
and  showed,  in  the  most  impressive  and  touching  manner,  that  his 
constituents  were  deeply  sensible  that  their  strong  pillar  had  been 
removed,  and  that  its  loss  was  indeed  irreparable. 

Mr.  Calhoun  was  bom  in  Abbeyville  district.  South  Carolina,  on 
the  18th  of  March,  1782.  He  was  of  an  Irish  family.  His  father, 
Patrick  Calhoun,  was  bom  in  Ireland,  and  at  an  early  age  came  to 
Pennsylvania,  whence  he  went  to  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  ami 
removed  to  South  Carolina  in  the  year  1756.  Mr.  Calhoun's  mother 
was  a  Miss  Caldwell,  of  Charleston,  Virginia.  His  early  means  ol 
instruction  were  limited  by  his  location  in  a  newly-sfettled  country, 
"mong  a  sparse  population,  sustained  by  emigrants  from  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania,  with  but  little  connection  with  the  lower  country 
o*"  South  Carolina.  At  the  age  of  thirteen,  he  was  put  under  the 
charge  of  his  brother-in-law,  Dr.  Waddel,  in  Columbia  county, 
Georgia  ;  but  he  had  scarcely  commenced  his  literary  course,  before 
his  father  and  sister  died.  His  teacher,  occupied  with  his  clerical 
duties,  was  a  good  deal  absent  from  home  -  on  his  second  marriage 
he  resumed  the  duties  of  his  academy.  Under  his  instruction,  young 
Calhoun  progressed  with  great  rapidity.  Before  this,  however,  he 
had  availed  himself  of  the  advantage  of  a  R.nall  library,  and  became 
deeply  interested  in  the  perusal  of  history.  In  1802,  he  became  a 
student  in  Vale  College,  and  two  years  afterwards,  graduated  with  a 
reputation  for  great  abilities,  and  with  the  lespect  and  confidence  01 
his  preceptors  and  associates.  He  afterwurds  studied  law,  and  for 
a  few  years  practised  in  the  courts  of  Souvh  Carolina.  He  served 
for  a  few  years  in  the  Legislature  of  that  State,  and  his  great  mind 
has  left  upon  her  statute-book  impressions  of  great  practical  im- 
portance to  society.  He  z\me  into  Congress  at  a  time  of  deep 
and  exciting  interest.  Ine  invincibility  of  Great  Britain  had 
almost  become  proverbial.  But  Mr.  Calhoun,  in  conjunction 
with  Henry  Clay  and  others,  among  whom  were  Cheves  and 
Lowndes,  sustained  the  war  of  1812  throughout,  and  forever  asso- 
ciated their  names  with  the  glorious  histoiy  of  that  period.  At  the 
close  of  Madison's  administration,  he  was  regarded  as  one  of  the 
pages  of  the  republic.  In  1817,  Mr.  Monroe  offered  him  a  place  in 
his  cabinet.  His  friends  feared  lest  his  bright  reputation  might  be 
tarnished  in  this  new  sphere  of  action.  Their  fears  were  groundless 
He  assumed  the  duties  of  the  War  Department,  and  what  was  com- 
plex and  confused,  he  soon  reduced  to  simplicity  and  order.     His 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   TAYLOR. 


613 


organization  of  the  department,  and  his  manner  of  discharging  its 
undefined  duties,  have  the  impress  of  originality  and  the  sanction  o( 
experience.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  Senate  as  Vice-President  on 
the  4th  of  March,  1825,  having  remained  in  the  War  Department 
more  than  seven  years.  As  the  presiding  officer  of  this  body,  he 
had  the  universal  respect  of  its  members.  Posterity  will  do  jus'ice 
to  the  part  which,  at  a  later  period,  he  acted  in  the  controversy  be- 
tween South  Carolina  and  the  federal  government.  [See  p.  526.] 
The  death  of  Mr.  Upshur  left  vacant  the  State  Department,  which, 
by  the  common  consent  of  all  parties,  Mr.  Calhoun  was  called  to 
fill.  "  Under  Calhoun's  counsel,"  says  one  of  his  eulogists,  "  Texas 
was  brought  into  the  Union  ;  his  name  is  associated  with  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  events  of  history — that  of  one  republic  being  an- 
nexed to  another  by  voluntary  consent."  His  connection  with  ine 
executive  department  of  the  federal  government  terminat^id  with  the 
administration  of  Mr.  Tyler.  While  Secretary  of  State,  he  won  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  foreign  ambassadors.  His  dispatches  were 
marked  by  clnarness,  sagacity,  and  boldness. 

v5*an,f<IV''^^?«»'^f^-  CALHOUN  was  an  acute  reasoner,  well  versed 
in  all  the  subtleties  of  logic.     Perhaps  no  man  was 
iver  belter  qualified  to  make  "  the  worse  appear  the 
^better  reason ;"   perhaps,  too,  his  Southern  views 
'  and  prejudices  were  sometimes  allowed  too  much 
influence  over  his  judgment ;  but  his  sincerity,  his 
strict  integrity,  his  love  of  truth,  and  his  pure  and  incor- 
ruptible patriotism,  were  always  conceded  even    by  his 
strongest  political  opponents.     A  statue  of  this  distinguished 
man  was  executed  by  Hiram  Powers,  the  great  American 
sculptor,  then  residing  in  Italy. 

For  months  the  resolutions  of  Mr.  Clay  occupied  the  attention  of 
the  Senate  to  the  exclusion  of  almost  all  other  subjects.  A  proposi- 
tion was  made  by  Mr.  Foote  to  refer  the  whole  matter  to  a  committee 
of  thirteen.  After  a  long  debate  this  course  was  adopted,  and  the 
committee  appointed,  of  which  Mr.  Clay  was  chairman.  On  the 
8th  of  May,  he  presented  the  report  of  the  committee,  including  the 
famous  "  Compromise  or  Omnibus  Bill,"  the  measures  proposed  in 
which  were  as  follows  : 

1 .  The  admission  of  any  new  State  or  States  formed  out  of  Texas 
to  be  postponed  until  they  shall  hereafter  present  themselves  for 
tdmission  into  the  Union,  when  it  will  be  the  duty  of  Congress 
.39  »r 


r.i4 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  TAYLOR. 


fnirly  and  raithfully  to  execute  the  compact  with  Texas  by  adiniiling 
such  ntvv  State  or  States. 

2.  Thu  admission  forthwith  of  California  into  the  Union,  with  the 
buunduries  she  has  proposed. 

3.  The  establishment  of  territorial  governments,  without  the 
Wilmot  proviso,  for  New  Mexico  and  Utah,  embracing  all  the  terri* 
•ory  recently  acquired  by  the  United  States  from  Mexico,  not  con- 
tained in  the  boundaries  of  California. 

4.  The  combination  of  these  two  last-mentioned  measures  in  the 
same  bill. 

5.  The  establishment  of  the  western  and  northern  boundaries  o( 
Texas,  and  the  exclusion  from  her  jurisdicwon  of  all  New  Mexico 
with  the  grant  to  Texas  of  a  pecuniary  equivalent ;  and  the  section 
for  that  purpose  to  be  incorporated  in  the  bill  admitting  California, 
and  establishing  territorial  governments  for  Utah  and  New  Mexico. 

6.  More  effectual  enactments  of  law  to  secure  the  prompt  delivery 
of  persons  bound  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State,  under  the  laws 
thereof,  who  escape  into  another  State. 

7.  Abstaining  from  abolishing  slavery  ;  but,  under  a  heavy  penalty, 
prohibiting  the  slave-trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

»0R  months  this  report  was  the  subject  of  a  most 
^spirited  and,  we  are  sorry  to  add,  angry  and  violent 
discussion  in  the  Senate.  Almost  every  member 
entered  the  field  of  debate.  The  dignity  of  that 
high  branch  of  the  legislature  was  sadly  lowered 
by  the  rash  retort  and  disgraceful  personal  invective 
in  which  senators  permitted  themselves  to  indulge.  But 
the  violence  of  political  controversy  was  soon  to  be  rebuked, 
and,  for  a  moment,  arrested  by  a  solemn,  unexpected,  and 
peculiarly  afflictive  dispensation  of  Providence. 
General  Taylor  had  participated  in  the  celebration  of  the  ever- 
nicmorable  4th  of  July,  and  had  suffered  greatly  from  exposure  and 
fatigue.  On  the  5th  he  was  attacked  with  a  violent  cholera  morbus, 
and  on  the  9th,  his  illness,  which  had  not  beon  regarded  as  danger- 
ous, ended  in  death.  As  no  man,  since  the  days  of  Washington, 
had  been  more  beloved  than  General  Taylor,  the  effect  of  the  news 
of  his  death,  when  borne  upon  the  lightning  wings  of  the  telegraph, 
can  better  be  imagined  than  describeu.  The  heart  of  the  nation 
almost  ceased  to  beat.  Sadness  and  gloon;  filled  every  mansion,  and 
reached  every  cottage  in  the  land.     Even  the  most  indifferent  and 


<71 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  TAYLOR. 


615 


Insensible  felt  as  if  a  father,  a  counsellor,  a  protector,  and  a  friend 
had  been  taken  from  their  side.  It  was  difficult  to  bow  submis- 
sively to  the  irreversible  decree  of  Providence.  In  every  city, 
buildings  shrouded  in  the  sable  habiliments  of  woe,  the  tolling  bell, 
the  solemn  and  plaintive  strains  of  mournful  music,  the  funeral  pro- 
cession, and  the  funeral  oration  spoke  eloquently,  but  inadequately 
of  the  deep  and  inexpressiblo  grief  which  had  filled  every  heart. 
He  who  had  been  so  long  inured  to  the  hardship's  of  a  soldifr's 
life — who,  even  in  the  winter  of  his  days,  had  safely  borne  the 
toils  and  miraculously  escaped  the  dangers  of  the  fields  of  Mexico 
who  had  never  surrendered  to  an  enemy  of  his  country — the  be- 
loved hero  and  the  beloved  President,  had  fallen  suddenly  and  unex- 
pectedly, while  enjoying  the  reward  of  his  services,  and  the 
affection  and  veneration  of  a  grateful  people.  He  had  fought  hip 
last  battle,  and  surrendered  only  where  all  must  surrender — to  a 
foe  whose  victory,  sooner  or  later,  is  inevitably  sure.  He  left 
behind,  as  a  priceless  legacy,  the  bright  example  of  a  man  who, 
to  use  his  own  dying  words,  had,  throughout  life,  "  endeavoured  to 
do  his  duty." 

ENERAL  ZACHARY  TAYLOR,  the  second  son 
of  Colonel  Richard  Taylor,  was  born  in  Orange 
*county,  Virginia,  in  November,  1784.  About  two 
hundred  years  ago,  his  ancestors  emigrated  from 
England,  and  settled  in  Eastern  Virginia.  After 
lislinguishing  himself  in  the  Revolutionary  War,  his  father, 
about  the  year  1790,  left  Virginia  for  Kentucky,  settled  on 
|the  "  dark  and  bloody  ground,"  and  for  years  endured  the 
heavy  trials  then  inseparable  from  a  border  life.  The  shrill 
war-whoop,  the  gleam  of  the  tomahawk,  the  sharp  crack  of 
the  rifle,  the  homestead  saved  by  the  courage  of  his  father,  were 
among  his  earliest  recollections.  It  was  in  scenes  like  these  that 
his  young  nerves  acquired  firmness,  and  the  foundation  of  his 
military  education  and  character  was  laid.  He  was  sent  to  school 
at  an  early  age.  The  venerable  Elisha  Ayers,  now  residing  in 
Preston,  Connecticut,  was  his  teacher ;  and  wo  have  often  heard 
him  descant  with  rapture  on  the  quick  apprehension  of  his  quondam 
pupil,  his  studious  habits,  and  the  many  other  excellences  of  his 
character. 

In  his  earlier  military  exploits,  which  were  scarcely  less  glorious 

than  those  of  his  later  campaigns,  he  displayed  all  those  remarkable 
n 


016 


ADMINIBTRATTON   OF  TAYLOR. 


traits  of  character  which  have  since  elicited  the  higheHt  admiration 
of  his  countrymen  and  of  the  world.  In  1808,  he  entered  the 
army  as  first  linutenant,  in  the  7th  regiment  of  infantry,  and  hav* 
ing  soon  distinguished  himself  in  border  sitirmishns  with  the  sav- 
ages, and  in  the  bloody  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  was  promoted  to  the 
rank  of  captain.  In  the  war  of  1812,  Captain  Taylor  was  intrusted 
with  the  defence  of  Fort  Harrison,  on  the  Wabash.  Its  works  were 
in  a  miserable  condition,  and  it  was  garrisoned  by  only  fifty  men, 
thirty  of  whom  were  disabled  by  sickness.  Yet,  with  this  feeble 
aid,  he  immediately  began  to  repair  the  fortifications.  These  were 
haruly  completed  when,  on  the  night  of  the  4th  of  September,  1812, 
an  alarm  shot  summoned  him  from  a  bed  of  fever  to  meet  the  attack 
of  a  large  force  of  the  Miami  Indiana.  The  sentinels  are  driven  in, 
a  blockhouse  is  fired  by  the  enemy,  and  a  thick  discharge  of  bullets 
and  arrows  is  poured  in  upon  the  fort.  The  bowlings  of  the  savages 
heard  in  the  darkness  of  the  night,  the  shrieks  of  women  and  chil- 
dren, the  terror  of  the  sick,  and  the  apparently  certain  destruction  of 
the  garrison,  would  have  forced  almost  any  other  leader  to  surrender 
in  despair ;  but  nothing  could  shake  the  calm  bravery,  or  disturb 
the  cool  judgment  of  the  youthful  commander.  Inspired  by  him 
with  a  portion  of  his  own  energy,  the  soldiers  extinguish  the  flames, 
and  for  six  hours  return  the  fire  of  the  Indians  until  daybreak  enables 
the  whites  to  aim  with  greater  precision  ;  soon  after  which  the  In- 
dians disperse  and  retreat  down  the  river.  One  of  his  superior 
officers,  in  a  letter  to  the  Governor  of  Kentucky,  says,  "  The  firm 
and  almost  unparalleled  defence  of  Fort  Harrison  by  Captain  Zachary 
Taylor  has  raised  him  a  fabric  of  character  not  to  be  afl[*ected  by 
eulogy."  It  procured  for  him  the  rank  of  brevet  major  in  the  Ameri- 
can army.  In  1832,  he  was  advanced  to  the  rank  of  colonel;  and, 
soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  Florida  war,  he  was  ordered  to 
that  territory.  Here,  in  constant  and  arduous  service,  he  continued 
to  distinguish  himsell ,  and  his  whole  career  was  such  as  to  increase 
the  confidence  and  admiration  of  his  countrymen.  While  in  Florida  he 
fought  with  the  Seminoles  the  ever  memorable  battle  of  Okee-Chobee 
— a  battle  remarkable  for  the  bravery  and  skill  displayed  on  both  sides. 
Seven  hundred  Indian  warriors  occupied  a  dense  hammock,  with  a 
small  but  nearly  impassable  stream  in  front,  their  flanks  being 
secured  by  swamps  that  were  altogether  impassable.  Colonel  Tay- 
lor's force  amounted  to  about  five  hundred  men,  composed  partly  o* 
raw  volunteers.     With  great  az  ;'  ton,  our  soldiers,  sinking  nearly  tc 


AHMINISTBATION   OF  TAYLOR. 


617 


th«  middle  in  mire,  cross  the  stream  under  a  most  galling  fire,  and 
a  close  and  desperate  conflict  ensues.  In  one  of  our  companies 
only  four  privates  escape  unharmed.  During  the  fight,  Colonel 
Taylor  is  constantly  passing  on  horseback  from  one  point  to  another, 
ind  within  range  of  the  Indian  rifles,  without  the  least  seeming 
regard  for  his  personal  safety.  The  whites  gained  a  complete  vic- 
tory— a  victory  which  broke  the  power  and  spirit  of  the  Seminoles 
and  gained  for  its  hero  the  thanks  of  the  President  of  the  United 
States — a  victory  whose  importance  was  still  further  acknowledged 
by  the  promotion  of  Taylor  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-general  by  brevet, 
for  "  distinguished  services  in  the  battle  of  Okee-Cbobee  in  Florida." 
The  glorious  victories  of  General  Taylor  in  the  late  war  with  Mex* 
ICO,  have  already  occupied  the  attention  of  our  readers.  In  person. 
General  Taylor  was  about  the  middle  height,  and  was  a  little  in- 
clined to  corpulency.  His  countenance  strongly  indicated  the  real 
benevolence  of  his  heart.  As  a  military  chief,  he  must  be  allowed 
to  stand  in  the  very  first  rank.  He  was  not  indifTerent  to  the  good 
opinion  of  his  countrymen,  but  he  was  not  desirous  of  political  pre- 
lerment.  At  his  inauguration,  his  appearance  was  so  unassuming 
that  many  persons  could  not,  without  difficulty,  believe  that  he  was 
the  general  whose  fame  had  filled  the  civilized  world.  What  would 
have  been  his  policy  had  he  lived,  cannot  of  course  be  known  with 
certainty  ;  there  is  every  reason,  however,  to  believe  that  it  would 
have  promoted  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  his  country. 


.  :un 


J^^>. 


fV  ** 


SM 


618 


▲PMOnSTBAllON   OF  FILLMUSK. 


BON.     MILLARD     FILLMOBI. 


FTER  proper  demonstrations  of  respect  for  the 
(Icceajed  Presidtiiit,  the  business  of  Congress  was 
again  resumed.  On  tlie  10th  of  July,  1B50,  the 
Hon.  Millard  Fillmore  took  the  oath  prescribed  by 
the  Constitution,  and  succeeded  General  Taylor  as 
President  of  the  United  States.  Mr.  Fillmore  was 
horn  on  the  7th  of  January,  1800,  at  Summer  Hill,  in  Cayuga 
County,  New  York.  He  enjoyed  only  the  advantages  of 
common  schools  until  the  age  of  fifteen,  when  he  was  ap- 
prenticed to  the  wool-carding  business,  in  Livingston  County. 
Here  he  remained  four  years,  in  the  mean  time  devouring  the  con- 
tents of  the  village  hbrary.  Judge  Waterwood,  a  sound  lawyer  and 
a  benevolent  man,  perceiving  his  talents,  prevailed  on  him  to  quit 
his  intended  occupation,  and  commence  the  study  of  law  in  his 
office.  In  1829,  and  the  two  succeeding  years,  he  was  elected  tc 
the  State  Legislature ;  and  it  was  principally  through  his  activity, 
Eeal,  and  eloquence,  that  the  laws  for  imprisonment  for  debt  were 
partially  repealed.  In  1832,  he  was  elected  to  Congress,  as  a 
member  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  In  1836,  he  greatly  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  his  report  on  the  New  Jersey  case. 

The  new  cabinet  of  Mr.  Fillmore  consisted  of  Daniel  Webster,  of 
Massachusetts,  Secretary  of  State  ;  Thomas  Corwin,  of  Ohio,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury ;  Charles  M.  Conrad,  of  Louisiana,  Secre- 
tary of  War;  William  A.  Graham,  of  North  Carolina,  Secretary  of 
the  Navy ;  Alexander  H.  H.  Stewart,  of  Virginia,  Secretary  of  the 


AnMfNIBTU.VTlON   OK    FIM.MORK. 


619 


Interior  i  Nathan  K.  Hull,  of  New  York,  PontmaHter-Goneru! ;  ami 
John  J  Crittenden,  of  Kentucky,  Attorney-Genural.  A  cuhinut  of 
great  ability,  and  one  which  commanded  the  respect  and  conlidunce 
of  the  couiiiry. 

IIP.  discussion  of  the  Compromise  Bill,  with  all  its 
violence  and  sectional  jealousies,  was  now  ron 
tinuod.  The  bill  was  brought  out  under  favoiirabin 
auspices,  and  supported  by  the  powerful  argumonts 
and  olo<)uence  of  Clay.  Webster,  Foote,  DickinNon, 
Cass,  and  many  others.  Moderate  men  and  the 
\  friends  of  the  Union  everywhere  had,  therefore,  grout  hopes 
of  its  success.  Hut  the  message  of  General  Taylor  hud  , 
merely  recommended  the  admission  of  California,  the  other 
(|uestions  being  left  to  the  future,  and  teiritorial  governments 
provided  for  New  Mexico  and  Utah,  as  they  might  be  in  a  condition 
to  demand  them.  This  message  wan  insisted  on  by  some  members 
of  the  government,  and  by  their  friends  of  tlie  press,  as  defining  the 
course  of  the  administration  ;  and  its  high  uuthority,  combined  with 
other  causes,  was  sufficient  to  defeat  the  Compromise  Hill.  Hut 
essentially  the  same  measures  in  separate  bills  were  adopted  before 
the  close  of  the  session.  On  the  2()ti»  of  August,  llie  Fugitive  Slave 
Bill  passed  both  houses.  A  bill  was  passed  providing  for  the  ad- 
justment of  the  boundary  of  Texas,  and  the  establishment  of  a  terri- 
torial government  over  New  Mexico.  Culifurnia  was  admitted  with 
a  coristiiuiion  by  which  slavery  is  forever  prohibited.  Utah,  when- 
ever admitted  into  the  Union,  was  to  be  received  with  or  without 
slavery,  as  its  own  constitution  may  prescribe  at  the  time  of  its  ad- 
mission. The  peaceful  settlement  of  the  exciting  questions  which 
had  threatened  disunion,  if  not  civil  war,  greatly  relieved  the  public 
mind  throughout  the  country.  To  complete  the  mailer,  a  bill  abolish- 
ing the  domestic  slave-trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  received 
the  sanction  of  both  houses  of  Congress.  This  session  of  Congress 
closed  on  the  30th  of  September. 

In  the  summer  of  this  year,  the  case  of  Dr.  John  White  Webster, 
a  professor  in  the  medical  college  of  Boston,  and  under  sentence  of 
death  for  the  Hiurder  of  Dr.  George  Parkmcn,  a  very  wealthy  physi- 
cian of  Boston,  excited  the  deepest  sensadon  throughout  the  coun- 
try. The  Yiiqh  standing  of  the  parties,  the  horrid  details  of  the  mur- 
der, and  the  doubts  which,  notwithstanding  the  conclusive  nature  of 
he  evidenro,  existed  in  the  minds  of  many  with  regard  to  the  guilt 


C20 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   FIIJ.MORK. 


of  the  accuser?,  rendered  the  siibjoct  one  of  absorbing  interest,  and, 
indeed,  drew  the  iitteniion  of  the  whole  civilized  world.  It  was 
difficult  to  belie '/p  that  a  man  in  Professor  Webster's  position  would 
commil  such  a  deed,  merely  to  escape  the  payment  of  a  few  hun- 
dred dollar..  But  all  doubts  were  at  length  removed  by  the  confes- 
sion of  the  prisoner  himself.  The  most  earnest  efforts  were  made 
to  obtain  a  commutation  of  punishment ;  but  they  were  unsuccessful, 
and  the  unhappy  man  was  executed  on  the  30th  of  August. 

A  more  pleasing  source  of  excitement  was  found  in  the  arrival  ol 
'enny  Lind,  the  celebrated  Swedish  songstress,  and,  probably,  in 
vocal  music,  the  greatest  artist  of  ancient  or  inodi-rn  times.  The 
fascination  of  her  manners,  and  the  goodness  of  her  heart,  no  less 
than  her  unrivalled  talents,  contributed  to  win  for  her  a  popularity 
never  before  or  since  enjoyed  by  any  musical  performer. 

NOTHER  hero  soon  followed  the  lamented  Tayloi 
in  death.  On  the  19th  of  November,  Col.  Richard 
M.  Johnson,  former  Vice-President  of  the  United 
States,  died  at  his  residence,  in  Scott  County, 
Kentucky,  in  the  65th  year  of  his  age.  His  gallant 
achievements  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames  have 
his  name  among  those  of  our  greatest  heroes. 
Harrison,  who  commanded  the  American  forces  in 
this  battle,  found  his  most  efficient  aid  in  the  bravery  of 
Colonel  Johnson,  who,  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  dashed 
through  the  enemy's  lines,  throwing  them  into  complete  disorder ; 
when,  an  attack  being  also  made  in  the  rear,  the  enemy  were  com- 
pelled to  surrender.  The  famous  Tecuniseh  fell  by  the  hands  ot 
Coionei  Johnson  himself.  VVmle  a  member  ot  Congress,  he  ac- 
quired a  great  reputation  by  his  celebrated  Sunday  Mail  Report 
against  the  suspension  of  the  Sunday  mails.  The  people  of  many 
parts  of  New  England  will  remember  with  pleasure  the  visit  of  Col. 
Johnson  in  1843. 

The  Fugitive  Slave  Law,  whose  passage  has  been  already  men- 
tioned, met  with  severe  opposition  in  the  free  States,  and  attempts 
to  enforce  it  sometimes  led  to  scenes  of  popular  tumult  and  commo- 
Mon.  On  its  Hrst  passage,  the  law  had  created  great  excitement  at 
the  North,  and  was  by  many  persons  declared  to  be  unconstitutional, 
as  it  seemed  to  contravene  the  right  of  habeas  corpus,  and  deny  to 
the  fugitive  any  thing  like  a  fair  and  impartial  trial.  The  opinion 
01*  the  Attorney-General,  Mr.  Crittenden,  that  the  law  did  not  con- 


enrolled 
CJeneral 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   FILLMORR. 


GCl 


len- 
|mpts 

imo- 
Int  at 
|onal, 

ly  to 
linioD 

con* 


tradict  the  right  of  habeas  corpus,  was  nut  sufBcient  to  silence  the 
opposition  of  the  Northern  abolitionists. 

The  first  application  of  the  law  was  in  the  case  of  James  Hamlet. 
He  was  arrested  on  the  27ih  of  September,  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
examined  before  the  United  States  Commissioner,  and  was  delivered 
over  to  his  claimant. 

iiffl<  N  Detroit,  the  arrest  of  a  negro,  as  an  alleged  fugi- 
tive slave,  created  so  much  excitement,  with  ilireala 
of  violent  rfscue,  that  the  military  were  Cilled  out, 
and,  with  loaded  arms,  «i8r  irted  the  fugitive  from  the 
prison  to  the  court-room.  The  matter  *v;,.s  finally 
compromised  by  the  purchase  of  the  slave,  by  pub- 
'lic  subscription,  for  the  sum  of  $50u.  This  case  occurred 
in  the  early  part  of  October,  ..ad  about  the  middle  of  the 
month  occurred  the  famous  case  of  the  Crafts  in  Bos- 
ton. William  and  Ellen  Crafts,  reputed  fugitive  slaves, 
resided  in  the  city  of  Boston.  William  H.  Hughes  and  John 
Knight,  as  agents  for  the  owner  of  the  fugitives,  visited  Boston  for 
the  purpose  of  claiming  them.  After  much  delay,  they  procured  the 
issue  of  a  warrant  to  arrest  the  slaves,  but  were  themselves  arrested 
as  kidnappers,  put  under  heavy  bonds,  surrounded  and  hissed  by  the 
populace,  again  arrested  for  violation  of  law,  and  finally  compelled 
to  leave  without  effecting  the  object  of  their  mission.  The  fugi- 
tives, who  had  been  in  concealment,  afterwards  left  the  country  foi 
England. 

On  the  23d  of  December,  Henry  Long  was  arrested  in  the  city  o( 
New  York.  The  event  caused  much  excitement,  but  no  attempt 
was  made  to  resist  the  law.  On  the  8th  of  January,  1851,  Judge 
ludson,  of  the  United  States  District  Court,  delivered  his  opinion  ol 
the  case  before  a  densely  crowded  audience,  and  ordered  the  sur- 
render of  the  fugitive  to  his  claimant. 

On  the  15th  of  February,  a  slave,  named  Shadrach,  was  arrested 
in  Boston.  The  consequinces  were  a  scene  of  great  popular  tumult, 
and  the  subsequent  rescue  of  the  prisoner  by  the  mob.  The  claim- 
ant was  John  De  Bree,  of  Norfolk,  purser  in  the  United  States  Navy. 
His  attorney  secured  the  arrest  of  Shadrach,  and  had  him  brought 
up  for  examination.  A  delay,  on  the  ground  of  want  of  preparation, 
being  asked  by  the  counsel  for  the  prisoner,  and  granted  by  the 
Commissioner,  the  court-room  is  partially  deserted.  A  company, 
principally  of  coloured  persons,  rush  in,  rescue  the  slave  from  the 


?99 


APMINI8TR.ITI0N   OF   FILLMORE. 


hands  of  the  marsh  il  and  hia  assistants,  and  bear  him  away  in  tii 
umph.  A  powOTful  sensation  was  produced  throughout  the  country 
The  attention  of  government  was  aroused,  and  the  President  com- 
municated a  message  to  Congress  in  relation  to  the  subject.  Mean- 
whih>,  the  fugiliv?  effnctod  his  escape.  Several  persons  were  ar- 
re?:ted  and  tried  for  aiding  in  a  conspiracy  to  dofeat  the  execution  of 
the  law. 

In  the  case  of  Sims,  ari.^stea  in  Boston  on  the  3d  of  April,  tho 
law  was  successfully  enforced.  An  effort  to  take  the  prisoner  from 
the  United  States  Marshal,  and  bring  him  before  the  State  court  for 
having  inflicted,  with  a  knife,  a  severe  wound  upon  the  officer  who 
first  arrested  him,  was  overruled,  and  the  fugitive  was  finally  sent 
home  to  his  master. 

N  the  2d  of  December,  1850,  Congress  assembled, 
and  the  first  annual  message  from  President  Fill- 
more was  communicated  to  both  houses  on  the 
same  day.  The  accompanying  «epor'  of  the  Sec- 
rotarv  ot  the  Treasury  shov.eJ  tha',  '.ha  reco5pti» 
Mito  the  Treasury  exceeded  tha  t)xp!;n'.fi*.i".*8  oy 
^more  than  four  millions  of  dollars,  and  that  iht  puolic  debt  had 
been  reduced  to  about  $495,277.  Among  the  important  acts 
of  the  session  was  the  passage  of  the  Reform  Postage  Bill. 
It  was  passed  on  the  last  day  of  the  session.  Although  the 
rates  of  postage  are  still  higher  than  many  of  the  friends  of  reform 
wished  them  to  be,  the  reduction  is  considerable,  and  will,  by  in- 
creasing the  facilities  for  correspondence,  undoubtedly  be  of  great 
service  to  the  country.  In  connection  with  the  Reform  Postage 
Law,  a  new  silver  coin,  of  the  value  of  three  cents,  was  authorized 
to  be  issued  from  the  Mint.  The  larifl"  was  amended  at  this  session 
by  the  passage  of  a  new  Appraisement  Bill,  providing:  1st,  That 
imported  articles  shall  be  appraised  at  their  market  value  at  the 
period  of  expoitation  ;  2d,  That  to  this  value  shall  be  added  all  costs 
and  charges,  excepting  insurance,  and  including  the  charge  of  com- 
mission ;  and  3d,  That  these  charges  shall  be  made  as  the  true  value 
at  the  port  where  the  same  shall  be  entered.  This  established  the 
principle  of  a  '•  home  valuation,"  for  which  the  friends  of  a  higb 
tariff  have  long  contended.  The  session  terminated  on  the  4th  of 
March. 

Early  in  May,  the  Erie  Railroad  was  openod.  It  extends  from 
Piermont,  on  the  Hudson,.  24  miles  above  the  city  of  New  York,  to 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   FILLMOKB. 


623 


Dunkirk,  on  Lake  Erie,  a  distance  of  436  miles.  This  road — the 
greatest  work  ever  undertaken  by  private  enterprise — connects  the 
Ocean  with  the  Far  West,  passing  through  the  most  populous  and 
wealthy  State  of  the  Union,  and,  like  some  mighty  artery  for  the 
circulation  of  the  life-blood,  conveying  the  products  of  the  West, 
and  the  manufactures  and  importations  of  'he  East ;  while  countless 
thousands  avail  themselves  of  an  easy  and  pleasant  mode  of  travel- 
ling through  one  of  the  most  interesting  portions  of  the  country. 
The  occasion  of  its  completion  and  opening  was  graced  by  the  pre- 
sence of  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Nation  an''  se»cral  members  of 
the  Cabinet.  Along  the  entire  route,  the  people  turn  out  in  masses 
to  honour  their  distinguished  visitors  and  the  great  event  which 
called  them  hither  ;  and  speeches  and  celebrations  are  vm  t'^pt  oI 
the  day.  The  entire  cost  of  this  road  was  about  $24,000,000.  The 
T  rail  is  used  through  its  whole  length.  It  employs  ovpr  lOO  en- 
gines, and  nearly  400  men. 

N  the  early  part  of  this  year,  the  attention  of  the 
civilized  world  was  «trongly  drawn  to  the  Great 
Exhibition  of  the  Industry  of  All  Nations,  or  the 
"  World's  Fair,"  at  London ;  an  exhibition  planned, 
we  believe,  by  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Albert, 
and  one  which  will  confer  lasting  honour  upon  his 
'name,  as  marking  the  commencement  of  a  new  era  in  the 
progress  of  the  human  race.  Although  the  American  de- 
partment at  this  exhibition  was  necessarily  inferior  in  some 
respects  to  those  of  some  other  nations,  yet,  in  some  of  those 
irts  generally  regarded  as  useful  rather  than  ornamental,  the  inven- 
tive genius  of  our  people  shone  with  pre-eminent  lustre.  The  vic- 
tory obtained  by  the  yachf,  America,  in  a  trial  of  speed,  created  a 
great  sensation  in  both  hemispheres,  and  aroused  the  attention  of  the 
English  to  our  decided  superiority  in  the  art  of  shipbuilding,  if  not 
in  that  of  seamanship.  An  American,  Mr.  Hobbs,  also  gain  d  great 
celebrity  by  exhibiting  a  lock  which,  for  the  purpose  of  securing 
property       as  found  decidedly  superior  to  every  other. 

Let  us  now  recur  to  the  contemplated  invasion  of  Cuba.  Not- 
withstanding the  proclamation  of  the  President,  an  expedition  for 
the  purpose  just  mentioned  left  New  Orleans  on  the  25th  of  April, 
1850,  and  on  the  22d  of  the  succeeding  month.  It  consisted  ol 
from  five  to  seven  hundred  men,  under  the  command  of  General 
Narcissus  Lopez,  an  exiled  Cuban  of  some  note,  and  considerabl* 


02 1 


ADMINI8TEATI0N   OF   FILLMORE. 


military  experience.  The  ostensible  object  of  this  movement  was  a 
voyjige  to  California,  and  many,  it  is  said,  enlisted  under  this  assur* 
dnce.  The  business  was  conducted  with  a  secrecy,  which  pre- 
vented the  knowledge  of  the  American  government,  and  eluded  the 
vigilance  of  the  Spanish  consuls. 

N  the  l!>th  of  May,  just  before  daylight,  General 
Lopez  landed  his  forces  at  Cardenas,  a  small  town 
in  the  northeastern  portion  of  the  island.  A  com* 
'  bat  ensues  between  the  invaders  and  the  garrison, 
and  results  in  the  defeat  of  the  latter.  The  Gov- 
ernor is  taken  prisoner,  the  palace  plundered,  and 
jthe  public  money  seized.  But  this  triumph  is  of  short  dura- 
*iuii.  About  daylight,  a  body  of  Spnnish  troops  appear,  march- 
ing upon  the  town,  when  the  invaders  demand  to  be  recon- 
dnrted  to  their  vessels,  in  which  they  make  the  best  of  their 
way  towards  the  coast  of  the  United  States,  reaching  Key  West  just 
in  time  to  escape  a  Spanish  war-steamer  sent  to  pursue  them.  Some 
of  the  party  being  left  behind,  are  captured  and  sent  to  Havana. 
The  rest  scatter  themselves  about  Key  West,  and  beg  their  way 
home,  while  Lopez  himself  reaches  Savannah  and  Now  Orleans  in 
safety,  in  spite  of  attempts  to  detain  him  on  a  criminal  charge,  made 
at  the  instigation  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  but  failing  from  want  of 
Evidence  or  proper  jurisdiction,  or  for  some  other  reason.  About 
the  same  time,  the  Susan  Loud  and  another  vessel  were  captured 
ofT  the  coast  of  Cuba,  with  one  hundred  men,  collected  for  the  inva- 
sion of  the  island,  but  who  subsequently  declared  that  they  embarked 
under  false  pretences,  and  supposed  they  were  wning  to  California. 
After  much  negotiation,  it  being  clearly  seen  that  our  government 
had  done  all  in  its  power  to  suppress  the  expedition,  the  prisoners 
were  sent  home,  and  a  good  understanding  once  more  established 
with  the  Spanish  authorities.  General  Quitman,  one  of  the  heroes 
of  the  Mexican  war,  and  General  Henderson,  were  protecuted,  at 
the  instance  of  the  government,  as  secret  abettors  of  the  expedition. 
The  trials  ended  in  the  early  part  of  1851,  when,  for  want  of  suffi- 
cient evidence,  the  defendants  were  acquitted.  Active  measures 
being  taken  by  the  government,  the  operations  of  the  invaders  were 
checked  for  a  season.  ' 

Late  in  July,  the  news  arrived  that  a  portion  of  the  people  of  Cuba 
had  taken  up  arms  for  the  purpose  of  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  Spain 
and  achieving  the  political  independence  of  the  island.     On  the  2d. 


ADMINISTBATION   OF  FILLMOBB. 


625 


%  pronunciamento  had  been  issued  by  the  revolutionists,  whose  head« 
quarters  were  in  the  vicinity  of  Principe,  which,  with  some  smaller 
towns,  was  said  to  have  declared  for  freedom.  In  several  skirmishes 
the  insurgents  seem  to  have  been  the  victors.  Meanwhile,  an  ex- 
pedition from  the  United  States,  under  Lopez,  was  fitted  out  to  aid 
tho  revolutionary  party.  On  the  night  of  the  11th  of  August,  the 
General,  with  about  480  men,  effected  a  landing  at  Playtas,  about 
twenty  leagues  from  Havana.  Leaving  Colonel  Crittenden  at  this 
point  with  about  100  men  in  rharge  of  the  stores,  he  proceeded  with 
the  remainder  of  his  force  to  the  town  of  Las  P'  sas.  The  inhabi- 
tants fled  as  he  approached,  neither  joining  h?s  standard  ntr  giving 
him  aid  or  encouragem»int  of  any  kind.  The  day  after  landing.  Col. 
Crittenden  was  attackpd  by  the  Spanish  troops,  and,  after  struggling 
as  long  as  possible,  was  compelled  by  siiperior  force  to  retire  from 
the  field.  Finding  that  neither  Loj,ez,  who  was  only  three  miles 
ofT,  nor  any  of  the  inhabitants  came  to  their  aid,  they  resolviid  to 
return  to  the  United  States.  They  piocured  small  boats,  and  had 
just  got  to  sea  when  they  were  followed,  and  about  fiity  o"  them  were 
captured  on  the  15th  by  the  Spanish  war-steamer  Habanero.  They 
were  carried  to  Havana  on  the  16th,  and  on  the  17th  were  shot  by 
order  of  the  government.  Among  the  unfortunate  victims  were 
several  Americans  of  distinction.  It  was  at  first  reported  that  they 
were  not  tried,  but  shot  immediately,  and  that  their  bodies  were 
shockingly  mutilated,  and  every  possible  indignity  offered  to  their 
remains  by  the  Cuban  populace.  But  these  statements  were  after 
wards  contradicted.  It  was  said  that  they  were  properly  tried  and 
condemned,  and  that  after  their  execution  thev  were  decently  in- 
terred. Some  of  them,  among  whom  was  Colonel  Crittenden,  wrote 
letters  to  their  friends  at  home,  all  of  which  agreed  that  they  had 
been  grossly  deceived  as  to  the  state  of  popular  feeling  in  Cuba. 
When  the  news  of  the  execution  of  the  fifty  men  reached  the  United 
States,  great  excitement  and  indignation  prevailed,  large  meetings 
were  held  in  various  cities,  and  the  conduct  of  the  Spanish  authori- 
ties in  this  brutal  transaction  was  condemned  without  measure 
When  the  intelligence  reached  New  Orleans,  with  the  report  of  the 
insults  heaped  upon  the  dead  bodies,  the  popidar  agitation  was  over- 
whelming. The  residence  of  the  Spanish  Consul  and  the  shops  of 
the  Spaniards  are  attacked,  and  the  o0ice  of  a  Spanish  newspaper 
was  destroyed. 


40 


sa 


626 


ADMINISTRATION  OF   PILLMORll!. 


r^  HE  remaining  portion  of  the  forces  under  Lopea 
wns  finally  doomed  to  a  similar  defeat.  On  the 
13ih,  they  were  attacked  by  a  large  body  of  Spanish 
troops  at  Las  Posas.  The  action  was  severe,  and 
the  Spaniards  were  repulsed.  Lopez  lost  about 
fifty  men,  but  retained  possession  of  the  place. 
But  he  soon  perceived  that  his  hopes  of  aid  from  the  Cubans 
were  groundless,  and  that  he  could  not  maintain  himself 
against  the  Spanish  troops,  and  he  determined,  therefore, 
^i-  to  conceal  himself  among  the  mountains.  On  the  way 
thither  several  battles  were  fought  with  Spanish  detachm«'nts,  the  in- 
vaders suffering  sevrr'  ly  in  rach,  and  inflicting  losses  more  or  less 
serious  on  their  opponents.  Among  the  Spaniards  who  fell  was 
General  Enna,  a  distinguished  officer,  who  was  buried  at  Havana 
with  military  honours.  While  the  remaining  troops  of  Lopez  were 
breakfasting  at  Martitorena,  on  the  24th,  they  were  surprised  by  an 
overwhelming  Spanish  force,  and  completely  dispersed.  From  that 
time,  if  we  can  trust  the  Spanish  accounts,  they  are  zealously  hunted 
down  by  all  classes ;  the  peasants  pursue  them  with  dogs,  the  negroes 
aid  in  their  capture,  and  every  part  of  the  population  display  the 
most  active  and  devoted  loyalty  to  the  Spanish  government.  On 
the  28i.h,  Lopez,  with  only  six  followers,  wao  endeavouring  to  con- 
ceal himself,  and  escape  to  the  sea-coast ;  but  on  the  29th  he  was 
captured  in  the  Pinos  de  Rangel,  by  a  guide  named  Jose  Antonio 
Castaneda,  with  fifteen  peasants.  He  was  conveyed  by  night  to 
Havana,  where  orders  were  immediately  given  for  his  execution. 
It  took  place  at  seven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  Septem- 
ber. He  perished  by  the  garote  vil,  an  instrument  consisting  of  an 
iron  chair,  with  a  back,  upon  which,  at  a  point  even  with  the  head 
of  the  sitter,  are  iron  clasps  fitting  the  sides  of  the  head,  and  a  clasp 
to  pass  round  the  throat.  Behind  is  a  long  iron  bar  attached  to  a 
screw,  which,  by  a  single  turn  from  the  executioner,  draws  the  throat 
and  side  pieces  tight,  and  at  the  same  time  sends  an  iron  rod  into 
the  spinal  marrow,  causing  instantaneous  death.  In  the  present  in- 
stance, the  machine  was  placed  upon  a  scaffold,  about  ten  feet  high 
in  the  centre  of  a  large  square,  surrounded  by  troops.  Lopez  be- 
haved throughout  like  a  brave  man.  He  walked,  surrounded  by  a 
guard,  to  the  steps  of  the  scaffold  as  coolly  as  if  he  were  at  the 
head  of  his  troops.  He  was  dressed  in  a  long  white  gown,  and  a 
white  cap.     His  wrists  were  tied  before,  and  above  his  elbows  be 


AnMINWTRATION   OF   FILLMORE. 


627 


in- 


a 


hind,  with  cords,  which  were  held  by  soldiers.  He  ascended  the 
steps  with  two  friends.  He  faced  round,  looked  upon  the  soldiers 
and  the  immense  throng  outside  of  the  square  ;  then  turned  rou'id 
and  knelt  in  prayer  for  about  a  minute.  He  then  rose,  turned  to  the 
front,  and  in  a  clear,  manly  voice,  loud  enough  to  be  heard  by  the 
thousands  present,  (it  being  as  still  as  night,)  spoke  as  follows : 
'■'  Countrymen :  I  most  solemnly,  in  this  last  awful  moment  of  my 
life,  ask  your  pardon  for  any  injury  I  have  caused  you.  It  was  not 
my  wish  to  injure  any  one  ;  my  object  was  your  freedom  and  happi- 
ness." Here  he  was  interrupted  by  the  commanding  officer  in  front. 
He  concluded  by  saying:  "  My  intention  was  good,  and  my  hope  is 
in  God."  He  then  bowed,  turned  round,  and  took  his  seat  appa« 
rently  with  as  much  coolness  as  if  taking  a  chair  in  a  room  with  his 
friends.  He  placed  his  head  back,  between  the  iron  grasps,  and  the 
negro  adjusted  the  throat  clasp,  and  tied  his  feet  to  bolts  on  each 
side  of  the  seat.  During  this  preparation,  Lopez  conversed  with  his 
friends.  The  executioner  takes  his  place  at  the  iron  bar  behind. 
Lopez  kisses  the  cross  handed  him  by  his  friend,  the  negro  gives 
one  turn  of  the  wrench,  and  Lopez  dies  instantly  without  a  struggle. 
The  military  return  to  the  city,  the  band  playing  a  quick  step,  and 
the  thousands  disperse  with  little  or  no  noise.  About  150  prisoners 
remained  in  the  hands  of  the  colonial  government,  and  were  sent  to 
Spain  to  be  incarcerated.  By  the  interposition  of  our  government, 
tiiey  were  released  in  a  few  months,  and  perfect  harmony  with  Spain 
was  restored. 

BOUT  this  time  scenes  of  great  excitement  were 
passing  in  California.  Two  men — Whitaker  and 
McKenzie — were  in  prison  at  San  Francisco  await- 
ing their  trial.  Fearing  that  justice  might  not  be 
done  them,  the  self-appointed  Vigilance  Committee 
broke  in  the  prison  doors,  took  the  men  out  on  Sun- 
day, during  divine  service,  and  hanged  them  in  front  of  the 
luilding.  An  immense  crowd  of  people  approved  and  en- 
couraged thf^  proceedings,  and  the  authorities  made  very  slight 
resistance  to  the  mob.  At  Sacramento,  three  men,  convicted 
of  highway  robbery,  had  been  sentenced  to  he  hanged.  Robinsoa 
one  of  them,  was  respited  by  the  Governor  for  a  month.  The  day 
for  the  execution  of  the  other  two  arrives.  The  sheriff  orders  Gib- 
son and  Thompson  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  directs  Robinson 
to  be  taken  to  a  prison-ship,  in  which  he  could  be  secured.     The 


C28 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   FILLMORB. 


crowd  refuse  to  allow  '.his,  and  retain  him  in  custody.  The  t*o 
others  are  executed  by  the  sheriff,  who  immediately  leaves  the 
gr>und.  Robinson  is  then  brought  forward,  and,  after  proper  reli- 
gious exercises,  is  also  hanged.  These  transactions  created  much 
excitement  in  California;  but  it  soon  subsided,  it  being  generally 
granted  that  justice  had  been  attained,  although  by  irregular  means. 
IJBLIC  interest  was  excited,  in  the  early  part  of 
October,  by  the  safe  return  of  the  Advance  and 
Rescue,  two  small  brigs,  the  former  of  140  tons, 
the  latter  of  90  tons,  sent  out  by  Mr.  Henry  Grin- 
nell,  a  wealthy  merchant  of  New  York  city,  in  search 
t'of  Sir  John  Franklin  and  his  companions.  Unsuccessful 
with  regard  to  its  main  object,  the  expedition  was  yet  not 
wholly  fruitless,  as  discoveries  were  made  which  served 
to  revive  hope  with  regard  to  the  missing  adventurers. 
The  brigs  entered  Wellington  Sound  on  the  26th  of 
August,  1850,  and  were  joined  by  Captain  Penny,  who 
commanded  the  vessel  sent  out  by  Lady  Franklin.  The  perse- 
verance of  this  self-sacrificing  and  devoted  woman  has  touched  the 
hearts  of  millions,  and  is  worthy  of  everlasting  remembrance  and  ad- 
miration. On  the  27th,  the  navigators  saw  in  a  cove  on  the  shore 
of  Beechy  Island,  or  Beechy  Cape,  on  the  east  side  of  the  entrance 
of  Wellington  Channel,  indubitable  evidence  that  Sir  John  Franklin's 
companions  were  there  in  April,  1846.  There  they  found  articles 
that  had  belonged  to  the  Erebus  and  Terror,  the  ships  under  the 
command  of  Sir  John.  There  lay,  bleached  to  the  whiteness  of  the 
surrounding  snow,  a  piece  of  canvas,  having  the  name  of  the  Terror 
marked  on  it  with  iniestructible  charcoal.  It  was  very  faint,  yet 
perfectly  legible.  They  also  found  tin  canisters  for  packing  meat, 
an  anvil  block,  remnants  of  clothing,  and  other  articles.  But  the 
most  instructive,  yet  at  the  same  time  the  most  melancholy  traces 
of  the  lost  ones,  were  three  graves  in  a  little  sheltered  cove,  each 
with  a  board  at  the  head,  bearing  the  uame  of  the  sleeper  below, 
with  the  date  of  his  death.  These  dates  were  January  1st,  1846, 
January  4th,  1846,  and  April  3d,  1846.  The  graves  were  in  lati- 
tude about  74°  north.  There  was  evidence  that  the  survivors  had 
gone  northward,  for  sledge  tracks  in  that  direction  were  distinctly 
visible.  On  the  13th  of  December,  1850,  the  vessels  started  to 
return,  but  were  frozen  in  near  the  mouth  of  Wellington  Channel. 
For  nearly  nine  luonlhs  they  wore  threaieaed  viiib.  destruction  from 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   FnXMORE. 


629 


Oie  crushing  of  the  ice  around  them,  and  were  borne  along  by  th«« 
southeant  drift,  until,  on  the  10th  of  June,  they  emerged  into  the 
open  sea,  in  latitude  65°  30',  and  1060  miles  from  the  spot  where 
they  were  first  fixed  in  ice — a  drift  which,  for  extent  and  duration,  \» 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  Arctic  navigation.  The  officers  and 
men  of  the  American  vessels,  after  this  season  of  fearful  peril,  re- 
turned without  the  loss  of  a  single  life,  and  in  excellent  health.  The 
officers  thought  it  far  from  impossible  that  Sir  John  Franklin  might 
be  still  alive,  hemmed  in  by  ice  at  some  point  which  they  were  un< 
able  to  reach.  They  agreed  in  the  opinion  that  a  steamer  should 
accompany  any  expedition  which  should  hereafter  be  sent  upon  the 
same  mission. 

lONGRESS  assembled  on  the  Ist  of  December; 
and,  on  the  following  day,  the  message  of  the 
President  was  communicated  to  both  Houses. 
Among  other  subjects  alluded  to  in  this  document, 
was  the  expected  arrival  of  the  Hungarian  ex-gov- 
ernor, Louis  Kossuth,  to  convey  whom  from  Tur 
^key,  the  United  States  steam-frigate  Mississippi  had  been 
commissioned  by  a  vote  of  Congress.  The  history  of  Kos- 
suth's efi'orts  and  sacrifices  in  behalf  of  his  country's  freedom, 
and  the  story  of  his  sufferings  while  an  exile  and  prisoner 
in  a  strange  land,  are  doubtless  familiar  to  many  of  ouj  rea- 
ders. It  was  natural  that  the  American  people,  so  fond  of  liberty, 
should  look  forward  to  the  advent  of  the  patriot  and  hero  with  no 
ordinary  anticipations.  In  consequence  of  a  change  of  arrange- 
ments. Governor  Kossuth  sailed  from  Gibralter  to  England  in 
another  vessel,  and  after  passing  a  month  amid  the  hospitalities  of 
the  English,  re-embarked  in  a  steamship,  and  arrived  at  New  York 
on  the  morning  of  the  5th  of  December.  The  whole  population  o 
th«»  city  seems  carried  away  with  enthusiasm  and  excitement.  The 
roar  of  cannon,  and  the  huzzas  of  immense  multitudes,  honor  his  dis- 
embarkation at  Castle  Garden  ;  and  the  subsequent  military  and  civic 
parade  through  the  great  thoroughfare  of  the  metropolis,  amid  decora- 
tions of  surpassing  magnificence,  exceeded  any  former  demonstra- 
tion of  respect  for  lofty  patriotism  and  heroic  virtues.  Numerous 
banquets  were  afterwards  given  in  honour  of  the  city's  distinguished 
guest,  and,  on  each  of  these  occasions,  Kossuth — perhaps  the  great- 
est of  living  orators — poured  forth  those  magnificoiit  strains  of 
flowing  eloquence  which,  arm  in  i.^  mere  pcosal,  *wtkfi  ver. 
40  Sst 


630 


ADMINWTKATION    OF   FILLMOBK. 


powering  emotions  of  deii^ht  and  admiration.  Remaining  a  short 
time  at  Now  York,  Kossuth  repaired  to  Washington,  and  was  for- 
mally introduced  to  Congress  and  the  President.  He  afterwards  vis- 
ited Marrittburg,  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  and  the  principal  cities  oi 
the  West,  receiving  everywhere  proofs  of  the  warmest  sympathy 
and  respect  of  the  people.  Since  his  arrival,  and  the  delivery  ol  his 
stirring  appeals  in  behalf  of  his  down-trodden  country,  the  question 
whether,  in  cases  like  that  of  Hungary,  our  government  should  inter- 
fere with  the  efforts  of  the  despots  to  prevent  the  attainment  of  lib- 
erty, has  been  discussed  with  the  deepest  interest,  but  has  not  yet 
been  settled  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties.  Upon  the  whole,  how- 
ever, the  neutral  policy  recommended  by  Washington  has  been  pur- 
sued by  the  government ;  yet  large  contributions  of  money  and  arms 
were  placed  at  the  disposal  of  Kossuth  by  individuals  or  companies 
acting  in  the  capacity  of  private  citizens.  After  remaining  in  thr 
United  Slates  several  months,  Kossuth  returned  to  England. 

N  the  29lh  of  July,  1852,  the  Hon.  Henry  Clay  died 
at  Washington,  in  the  76th  year  of  his  age.    He  was 
iit  the  time  a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate 
|from  the  State  of  Kentucky.     The  intelligence  that 
)  the  great  statesman,  the  incomparable  orator,  and  the 
incorruptible  patriot  was  no  more,  was  everywhere 
followed  by  demonstrations  of  unaffected  grief,  and  tokens  of 
the  deepest  respect  for  the  memory  of  one  who,  by  his  tal- 
ents, his  zeal,  and  his  long  and  active  services,  had  contrib- 
uted so  much  to  the   peace  and  prosperity  of  his  country. 
It  was  I'elt  that  the  nation  had  lost  one  of  its  ablest  men. 

Mr.  Clay  was  born  on  the  12th  of  April,  1777,  in  a  portion  ol 
Hanover  county,  Virginia,  familiarly  known  as  the  "Slashes."  He 
was  the  fifth  son  of  a  Baptist  clergyman,  who  is  said  to  have 
preached  with  great  acceptance  in  the  district  above  mentioned. 
His  father  dying  when  he  had  attained  his  fifth  year,  he  was  left  to 
the  care  of  his  mother,  a  woman  of  strong  intellect,  and  every  way 
qualified  to  superintend  his  education.  But  the  means  afforded  for 
this  purpose  were  very  limited,  and  even  these  he  did  not  enjoy 
without  interruption.  The  narrow  circumstances  of  the  family  made 
it  necessary  for  him  to  devote  much  time  to  manual  employments. 
"  He  was  no  stranger,"  says  his  biographer,  "  to  the  uses  of  the 
plough,  the  spade,  and  the  hoe."  By  his  frequent  visits  to  a  neigh- 
bouiing  gristmill, on  Pamunkey river, he  acquired  «he  title  "Mill-boy 


APMlNISTKA-nON   OF  PIIXMORK. 


681 


BBHRT      OLAT. 


of  the  Slashes."  In  1792,  his  mother  was  married  to  Mr.  Henry 
Watkins,  and  removed  to  Woodford  county,  Kentucky,  with  all  her 
children,  except  Henry  and  his  eldest  brother.  At  the  age  of  four 
teen,  we  find  him  in  a  small  drug  store,  kept  by  Richard  Denny,  in 
Richmond,  Virginia.  Soon  after  this,  he  entered  the  office  of 
Peter  Tinsley,  clerk  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery. 

The  venerable  Chancellor  Wythe,  a  gentleman  of  great  worth 
and  profound  learning,  attracted  by  his  habits  and  appearance,  gave 
him  the  benefit  of  his  instructions,  and  made  him  his  amanuensis. 
In  1796,  he  left  the  office  of  Mr.  Tinsley,  and  went  to  reside  with 
Bobert  Brooke,  Esq.,  attorney-general  of  Virginia.  He  now,  with 
great  success,  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  to  prosecute  tho 
study  of  law  to  greater  advantage  than  before.  Near  the  close  of 
1797,  he  was  licensed  to  practice  at  the  bar  by  the  judges  of  tho 
Virginia  Court  of  Appeals.  His  talents,  acquirements,  and  elo- 
quence soon  placed  him  in  the  first  rank  as  an  advocate,  and  pro- 
tured  for  him  continual  professional  emplo}rment.  By  the  quaUtiei 
71 


632 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   FILLMORU. 


of  his  mind  and  heart,  he  was  well  fitted  to  conduct  criminal  cases , 
and  it  is  justly  regarded  as  a  remarkable  fact  that,  although  many  ol 
these  were  intrusted  to  his  care,  he  was  never  m  a  single  instaucf 
defeated.  One  remarkable  example  may  be  cited  in  proof  of  hi. 
wonderful  abilities.  Two  Germans,  fath«3r  and  son,  were  indicted 
for  murder,  and  were  tried  in  Harrison  county.  The  act  of  killing 
was  proved  by  clear  and  strong  evidence  ;  and  it  was  nut  only  con* 
sidered  a  case  of  murder,  but  a  very  aggravated  one.  The  trial 
continued  five  days,  at  the  close  of  which  he  addressed  the  jury  in 
the  most  eloquent  and  impassioned  mannt  r.  They  were  so  touched 
by  his  pathetic  appeals  that  they  gave  a  verdict  of  maiiaiaughter 
only.  After  another  hard  day's  struggle,  he  procured  an  arrest  of 
judgment,  by  which  his  clients  were  set  at  liberty.  They  expressed 
their  gratitude  to  their  deliverer  in  the  most  glowing  terms  ;  but  an 
old  ill-favoured  woman,  the  wife  of  one  of  them,  and  mother  of  the 
other,  returned  her  thanks  in  a  dilTerent  manner.  Throwing  her 
arms  around  Mr.  Clay's  neck,  she  repeatetlly  kissed  him  in  the 
presence  of  the  court  and  spectators.  "  Ke:<pecting  her  feelings," 
says  one  of  his  best  biographers,  "  he  did  not  attempt  to  repulse  her, 
but  submitted  to  her  caresses  with  such  grace  and  dignity  as  to 
elicit  outbursts  of  applause." 

'HE  career  of  Mr.  Clay  as  a  politician  commenced  as 
far  back  as  1797.  His  early  eflbrts  in  this  new  field 
sufTiciently  evince  his  philanthropy  and  patriotism. 
His  mind  was  of  a  strong  cast,  and,  accuHtomed  from 
early  years  to  do  its  own  thinking,  it  made  him  a 
man  of  unbending  opinions.  Uo  never  expressed 
himself  on  any  great  question  until  he  had  I'ully  discussed 
the  subject  in  all  its  bearings  in  his  own  mind,  and  his  con- 
clusions were  unalterable.  Kind  in  heart,  courteous  in  his 
manners,  eloquent  in  debate,  beloved  at  his  domestic  fireside, 
and  honored  in  the  national  counsels,  he  became  one  of  i^e  greatest  of 
American  statesmen. 

The  odious  Alien  and  Sedition  Laws,  enacted  in  lV98  and  1799, 
found  in  him  one  of  their  most  formidable  opponents.  On  one 
occasiOL,  the  people  had  assembled  in  a  grove  near  Lexington  to 
listen  to  a  debate  between  the  friends  and  enemies  of  these  laws. 
They  were  first  addressed  by  Mr.  George  Nicholas,  ait  opponent  of 


ADUINIHTKATION   OF    F1I.IJCORK. 


688 


ine  lawH,  in  a  vigorous,  logical,  and  eflectire  speech,  by  which  the 
people  weru  wound  up  to  the  highest  degree  of  enthuMiasm.  The 
speech  of  Mr.  Clay,  who  followed  him,  seems  to  have  been  a  mos< 
wonderful  example  of  all  the  higher  attributes  of  eloquence.  Mr. 
VVilliam  Murray  next  addressed  the  people  in  favour  of  the  laws  ;  but 
without  effect,  so  clearly  had  their  evil  tendency  been  exposed  by 
Mr.  Clay.  He  w«)uld  not  have  been  allowed  to  proceed,  had  not 
the  speakers  before  him  urgently  asked  for  permission.  When 
another  reply  wau  attempted,  the  people  could  he  restrained  no  lon> 
ger.  They  rush  furiously  towards  the  place  occupied  b)  the  speaker 
who  is  compelled  to  retreat  in  haste  to  save  himself  from  personal 
violence.  Seizing  Clay  and  Nicholas,  they  bear  them  upon  their 
shoulders  to  a  carriage,  and,  with  enthusiastic  cheers,  draw  them 
through  the  streets  of  Lexington. 

H.  CLAY'S  love  of  liberty  was  again  evinced,  at 
a  later  period,  by  his  elForttt  in  behalf  of  struggling 
ireece,  and  still  later  by  the  interest  which  he 
Uook  ill  the  cause  of  Sou^h  American  independence. 
A  bill  prohibiting  "  our  citizens  to  sell  vessels  ol 
war  to  subjects  of  a  foreign  power,"  was  opposed 
by  him  because,  however  disguised,  it  would  be  understood 
by  the  world  as  a  law  to  discountenance  any  aid  being 
given  to  the  South  American  patriots.  His  speeches  were 
oftua  read  at  the  head  of  the  South  American  armies,  and 
always  served  to  increase  the  zeal  and  courage  of  the  sol- 
diers. 

About  'he  beginning  of  the  year  1810,  his  attention  was  turned  to 
the  subject  of  domestic  manufactures.  From  that  time,  he  continued 
to  advocate  the  doctrine  that  encouragement  and  protection  should 
be  extended  by  the  general  government  to  American  industry,  and 
if  not  the  sole  framer,  was  ever  regarded  as  the  father,  and  as  the 
ablest  champion  of  what  is  called  the  American  System. 

The  Eleventh  Congress  commenced  its  session  on  the  3d  of  De- 
cember, 1810.  When  the  subject  of  rechartering  the  United  States 
Bank  was  brought  forward  for  discussion,  Mr.  Clay  was  opposed  tc 
a  recharter  of  that  institution.  The  dangerous  tendency,  as  well  aa 
unconstitutionality  of  the  measure,  were  shown  by  him  in  the  mos 
lucid  and  convincing  manner.  His  powerful  arguments  prerailed, 
»nd  the  charter  was  noi  renewed 


C34 


ADMINI8TKATI0N   OF   FILLMORK. 


S  the  aggressions  of  Great  Britain  upon  our  cnm 
merce,  and  her  impressment  of  our  seamen  into  hei 
service  on  suspicion  that  they  were  British  subjects, 
could  no  longer  be  endured  wilh  either  safety  ol 
honour,  Mr.  Clay  strongly  advocated  a  declaration 
of  war  against  that  power.  The  declaration  was 
made  on  the  18th  of  June,  1812.  His  speech  on  the  bill  to 
increase  the  army,  delivered  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
January  8,  1813,  showed  his  wonderful  control  over  the  feel- 
ings of  his  audience.  A  correct  idea  of  its  effect  cannot  be 
obtained  by  merely  reading  it.  The  pathetic  effect  of  that  part 
which  relates  to  the  imprisonment  of  American  seamen,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  describe.  Men  of  both  political  parties,  the  friends  and  the 
foes  of  the  orator,  forgot  their  antipathies,  and  wept  together.  He 
concluded  by  saying,  *'  We  are  told  that  England  is  a  proud  and 
lofty  nation,  which,  disdaining  to  wait  for  danger,  meets  ii  halt 
way.  Haughty  as  she  is,  we  once  triumphed  over  her,  and  if  we 
do  not  listen  to  the  counsels  of  timidity  and  despair,  we  shall  again 
prevail  In  such  a  cause,  with  the  aid  of  Providence,  we  must 
come  out  crowned  with  success  ;  but  if  we  fail,  let  us  fail  like  men, 
lash  ourselves  to  our  gallant  tars,  and  expire  together  in  one  com- 
mon struggle,  fighting  for  free  trade  and  seamans'  rights." 

The  question  of  the  admission  of  Missouri  to  the  Union — a  ques- 
tion embarrassed  by  the  subject  of  slavery,  created,  in  and  out  oi 
Congress,  an  excitement  perhaps  unequalled  in  the  political  history 
of  the  country.  The  distracting  question  was  finally  settled,  and 
the  excitement  allayed,  principally  by  the  skill  and  untiring  exer 
tions  of  Henry  Clay.  His  services  in  settling  the  fearful  contro 
versy  between  South  Carolina  and  the  federal  government,  have 
already  been  treated  of  in  a  former  chapter.     [See  p.  527.] 

The  personal  appearance  of  Mr.  Clay  is  said  to  have  been  im- 
•>osing,  yet  highly  prepossessing.  He  was  tall,  somewhat  thin, 
out  very  muscular.  His  carriage  was  easy  and  graceful,  and  his 
manners  dignified,  cordial,  and  kind,  without  the  slightest  appear- 
ance of  haughtiness.  His  open  and  expressive  countenance  mir- 
rored faithfully  the  feelings  of  his  soul.  His  eyes  were  small,  and 
of  a  blue  or  dark  gray  colour.  His  forehead  was  broad  and  high. 
His  mouth  was  large,  but  strongly  indicative  of  talent  and  energy. 
The  tones  of  his  voice  were  deep  and  silvery,  and  its  modulatioo 
was  exquisite     As  an  orator,  his  claim  to  the  highest  rank  is  ua 


ADMINISTBA'nON   OF  FILLMORE. 


636 


questionable.  His  control  over  his  auditory,  and  his  power  of  en- 
chaining their  attention,  were  truly  astonishing.  His  delivery  was 
a  perfect  model  of  elocution.  A  gentleman  who  witnessed  one  oJ 
his  great  efforts,  says,  *'  Every  muscle  o(  the  orator's  face  was  at 
work;  his  whole  body  seemed  agitated,  as  if  ench  part  were  instinct 
with  a  separate  life  ;  and  his  small  white  hand,  with  its  blue  veins 
apparently  distended  almost  to  bursting,  moved  gracefully,  but  with 
all  the  energy  of  rapid  and  vehement  gesture.  The  appearance  ot 
the  speaker  seemed  that  of  a  pure  intellect,  wrought  up  to  its  mighti- 
est energies,  and  brightly  glowing  through  the  thin  and  transparent 
veil  of  flesh  that  enrobed  it."  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  Mr. 
Clay's  political  views,  it  is  evident  that  benevolence,  sincerity,  and 
patriotism,  were  prominent  features  of  his  character. 

F  all  those  great  statesmen  and  brilliant  orators 
who,  for  the  last  twenty  years,  have  taken  the  lead 
I  in  our  national  legislature,  there  were  three  to  whom 
[common  consent,  it  would  seem,  has  a.ssigned  a 
.pre-eminence  above  all  others.  Two  of  these  had 
now  passed  away ;  the  third,  and  perhaps  the 
(greatest,  was  soon  to  follow  his  distinguished  associates.  The 
country  was  soon  to  lose  the  mightiest  intellect  that  had  ever 
watched  over  its  interests  and  destinies.  On  Sunday  morn- 
ing, October  24,  1852,  Daniel  Webster  died  at  his  residence 
in  Marshfield,  Massachusetts,  in  the  7 lit  year  of  his  age.  Retir- 
ing to  his  favourite  country-seat,  in  order  to  recover  his  energies, 
which  had  been  depressed  by  official  labour  and  temporary  indispo- 
sition, he  was  soon  violently  attacked  with  disease  which,  after  a 
brief  course,  terminated  in  death.  At  the  time  of  his  decease,  he 
was  a  member  of  the  Cabinet,  in  which  he  occupied  the  position  of 
Secretary  of  State. 

The  family  of  Daniel  Webster  was  of  Scottish  origin,  but  passed 
some  time  in  England  before  the  final  emigration.  Thomas  Web- 
ster was  settled  at  Hampton,  on  the  coast  of  New  Hampshire,  as 
far  back  as  1636.  Noah  Webster,  the  learned  philologist  and  lexi- 
cographer, was  of  a  collateral  branch  of  the  family.  Ebenezer  Web- 
ster, the  father  of  the  orator,  was  a  man  of  imposing  appearance,  and  is 
described  as  erect,  six  feet  in  height,  and  broad  and  full  in  the  chest, 
with  a  military  air  acquired  from  his  long  service  in  the  wars.  Early 
m  life,  he  enlisted  as  a  common  soldier  in  a  company  of  rangers. 
Tlie  service  <  of  the  rangers,  it  is  well  known,  were  of  great  import* 

8h 


au6 


ADMLNI8TUATION   OF   FILLMOKB. 


n  A  <)  I  B  L      WBBSTHB 


ance  in  the  French  and  Indian  wars.  He  followed  Sir  Jeffrey  Am- 
herst in  the  invasion  of  Canada,  gained  the  good  will  of  his  superioi 
officers  by  his  fidelity  and  bravery,  and  was  advanced  to  the  rank  ol 
captain  before  the  termination  of  the  war.  After  the  close  of  the 
contest,  Colonel  Stevens,  with  some  of  his  neighbours,  procured  of 
Benning  Wentworth,  the  royal  governor  of  New  Hampshire,  a  grant 
of  the  town  of  Salisbury.  Captain  Webster  was  one  of  iho  settlers 
of  the  newly-granted  township,  and  received  an  allotment  in  its  nor 
them  portion.  Soon  after  his  settlement  in  Salisbury,  he  raariied 
Abigail  Eastman,  his  second  wife,  and  the  mother  of  Ezekiel  and 
Daniel  Webster,  the  only  sons  by  his  second  marriage.  He  built  a 
frame  house  near  the  log  cabin  which,  it  seems,  he  had  previously 
inhabited.  In  this  house,  Daniel  Webster  wjis  born  on  the  18th  of 
January,  1782.  In  the  Revolutionary  War,  not  yet  fully  terminated, 
Captain  Webster  had  served  with  distinction.  He  was  at  the  battle 
of  White  Plains,  acted  as  major  under  Stark  at  Bennington,  and 
contributed  his  share  to  the  success  of  the  American  commander. 
Mr.  Webster's  early  opportunities  for  acquiring  an  education  were 


ADMIMISTBATION   OF   FILLMORE. 


637 


very  limited.  The  district  school  of  those  days,  when  compared 
with  those  of  the  present  time,  was  very  defective.  His  first  master 
was  Thomas  Chase,  his  second  was  James  Tappan,  who,  it  would 
seem  from  a  letter  of  Mr.  Webster,  was  living  in  Gloucester,  Mass., 
as  late  as  the  early  part  of  1851.  '  Some  benefit  was  derived  from  a 
small  library  founded  in  Salisbury  by  his  father,  in  conjunction  with 
the  clergyman,  and  Mr.  Thomson,  the  lawyer  of  the  place.  In 
May,  1796,  he  entered  the  Academy  at  Exeter.  The  strength  ol 
his  mental  powers  was  even  then  apparent  to  an  attentive  observer. 
On  entering  the  Academy,  he  was  placed  in  the  lowest  class,  con- 
sisting of  a  few  boys  of  no  great  brightness  of  intellect.  At  the  end 
of  a  month,  after  morning  recitations,  "  Webster,"  says  Mr.  Emery, 
their  instructor,  •'  you  will  pas^  into  the  other  room  and  join  a  higher 
class ;"  adding,  "  Boys,  you  will  take  your  final  leave  of  Webster, 
you  will  never  see  him  again." 

In  February,  1797,  he  was  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  Wood,  minister  in  the  neighbouring  town  of  Boscawen.  On 
their  way  to  Mr.  Wood's,  his  father  first  disclosed  to  him  his  intention 
of  sending  him  to  college.  '*  I  remember,"  says  Mr.  Webster,  "  the 
very  hill  which  we  were  ascending,  through  deep  snows,  in  a  New 
England  sleigh,  when  my  father  made  known  this  purpose  to  me. 
I  could  not  speak.  How  could  he,  I  thought,  with  so  large  a  family, 
and  in  such  narrow  circumstances,  think  of  incurring  so  great  an  ex- 
pense for  me.  A  warm  glow  ran  all  over  me,  and  I  laid  my  head 
on  my  father's  shoulder  and  wept." 

E  completed  his  preparation  for  college  with  Mr. 
Wood.  Here,  too,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  his 
knowledge  of  the  ancient  classics,  especially  the 
lioman — a  knowledge  which  he  greatly  increased 
I  in  college,  and  preserved,  during  his  active  life, 
by  constant  recurrence  to  the  great  models  of  an- 
'tiquity.  Ho  entered  Dartmouth  College  in  1797.  In 
1801,  he  commenced  the  study  of  law  with  Mr.  Thomp- 
son, the  next-door  neighbour  of  his  father.  He  remained 
until  it  became  necessary  to  do  something  to  obtain  a 
little  money.  In  this  emergency,  application  was  made  to  him  to 
take  charge  of  an  academy  at  Fryeburgh,  in  Maine.  In  September, 
1802,  he  returned  to  the  office  of  Mr.  Thompson.  In  July,  1804, 
he  resided  in  Boston,  and  before  commencing  the  practice  of  law, 
pursued  his  studies  for  six  or  eight  months  m  the  office  of  the  Hoa 


638 


ADMINI8TBATI0N  OF  FILLMOER. 


Christopher  Gore,  an  eminent  lawyer  and  statesman,  distinguisliet! 
for  his  sound  judgment,  practical  good  sense,  and  rare  intellectual 
qualities.  This  golden  opportunity  was  not  thrown  away  upon  Mr. 
Webster. 

When  about  to  be  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Suffolk  Court  oi 
Common  Pleas,  he  was  offered  the  vacant  clerkship  in  the  Court  oi 
Common  Pleas  in  the  county  of  Hillsborough,  N.H.  The  fees  of  the 
office  were  about  $1500  a  year.  They  would  have  afforded  a  cer- 
tain support  in  place  of  a  doubtful  prospect,  and  would  have  enabled 
him  at  once  to  bring  comfort  into  his  father's  family.  He  was  will- 
ing to  sacrifice  his  hopes  of  future  eminence  to  the  welfare  of  those 
so  dear ;  but  Mr.  Gore,  unwilling  to  consent  to  such  a  loss,  suc- 
ceeded in  persuading  him  to  refuse  the  office.  In  the  spring  of 
1805,  young  Webster  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  in  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  Suffolk  county,  Massachusetts.  His 
father  was  now  associate  judge  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in 
Hillsborough  county.  New  Hampshire.  Judge  Webster  lived  but  a 
year  after  this — long  enough,  however,  to  hear  his  son's  first  argu  ■ 
ment  in  court,  and  to  be  gratified  by  the  cheering  indications  of  his 
future  success.  After  practising  a  short  time  at  Buscawen,  our 
young  lawyer  removed  to  Portsmouth,  where  he  continued  the  busi- 
ness of  his  profession  for  nine  years.  During  this  period,  he  de- 
voted himself,  without  remission,  to  the  study  and  practice  of  law. 
He  seems  to  have  risen  almost  immediately  to  the  head  of  his  pro- 
fession in  that  part  of  the  country. 

N  November,  1812,  he  was  elected  to-  Congress, 
and  took  his  seat  at  the  first  session  of  the  Thirteenth 
Congress — an  extra  session  called  in  May,  1813. 
Here  he  rose  at  once  to  an  equality  with  the  most 
distinguished  members.  His  first  speech,  delivered 
on  the  10th  of  June,  1813,  took  the  House  by  sur- 
Men  left  their  seats  in  order  to  see  the  speaker  face 
to  face,  and  sat  down,  or  stood  on  the  floor,  fronting  him. 
AU  listen,  in  almost  breathless  silence,  to  the  whole  speech, 
which,  being  over,  many  persons,  among  whom  are  some 
who  widely  dissent  from  his  views,  warmly  compliment  and  con- 
gratulate the  orator. 

The  project  for  a  Bank  of  the  United  States — a  project  introduced 
about  this  time  into  the  House,  was  opposed  by  Mr.  Webster,  Cal- 
houn, and  Lowndes,  mainly  on  the  ground  that,  to  enable  the  bank 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   FILIMOEB. 


639 


lo  exist  under  the  conditions  specified,  it  was  relieved  from  the 
necessity  of  redeeming  its  notes  in  specie ;  in  other  words,  it  was 
an  arrangement  to  issue  an  irredeemable  paper  currency.  During 
the  greater  part  of  the  year  1816,  Mr.  Webster  was  busily  engaged 
in  the  practice  of  law.  Though  he  had  his  share  of  employment  in 
New  Hampshire,  it  did  not  furnish  an  adequate  support  for  his  in- 
creasing family.  The  destruction  of  his  house,  furniture,  and 
library,  with  many  of  his  manuscripts,  by  the  great  fire  at  Portsmouth, 
in  December,  1813,  rendered  his  exertions  necessary  in  order  to 
meet  his  increasing  expenses.  In  the  Fourteenth  Congress,  he  was 
instrumental  in  procuring  the  passage  of  a  resolution  which  restored 
o  a  sound  basis  the  currency  of  the  country. 

That  Mr.  Webster  is  entitled  to  rank  with  the  greatest  orators 
either  of  ancient  or  modern  times,  will  never  be  successfully  dis- 
puted. His  speech  in  reply  to  Mr.  Hayne,  delivered  in  the  Senate 
chamber  of  the  United  States,  January  26,  1830,  is  generally  con- 
sidered as  his  greatest  efi'ort.  The  accounts  which  writers  have 
given  of  the  eloquence  of  Demosthenes,  Cicero,  Sheridan,  Phillips, 
Henry,  and  Ames,  were  stripped  of  their  seeming  extravagance  ; 
and  the  wonderful  and  soul-subduing  efl"ects  of  their  oratory  were 
again  renewed.  "  Of  the  efl^ectiveness  of  Mr.  Webster's  manner  in 
many  parts,"  says  Mr.  Everett,  "  it  is  impossible  to  give  any  one 
not  present  the  faintest  idea.  It  has  been  my  fortune  to  hear  some 
of  the  ablest  speeches  of  the  greatest  living  orators  on  both  sides  of 
the  water,  but  I  must  confess  1  never  heard  any  thing  which  so  com- 
pletely realized  my  conception  of  whiit  Demosthenes  was  when  he 
delivered  the  Oration  for  the  Crown." 

S  he  went  through  the  magnificent  peroration,  his 

countenance  glowed  as  if  he  were  inspired.     His 

voice,  exerted  to  its  utmost  power,  penetrates  every 

recess  of  the  Senate,  and  even  the  ante-rooms  and 

stairways,  as   he   pronounces,  in  deepest  tones   of 

pathos,  these  words  of  solemn  significance  :  "  When 

my  eyes  shall  be  turned  to  behold,  for  the  last  time,  the  sun 

in  heaven,  may  I  not  see  him  shining  upon  the  broken  and 

dishonoured  fragments  of  a  once  glorious  Union  ;  on  States 

dissevered,  discordant,  belligerent ;  on  a  land  rent  with  civil 

feuds,  or  drenched,  it  may  be,  in  frafernal  blood !      Let  their  last 

feeble  and  lingering  glance  rather  behold  the  gorgeous  ensign  of  the 

republic,  now  known  ani  honoured  throughout  the  earth,  still  full 

41  8b2 


640 


ADMraiSTRATION   OF  FILLMORE. 


high  advanced,  its  arms  and  trophies  streaming  in  their  original  Iiim* 
tre,  no;  a  stripe  erased  or  polluted,  nor  a  single  star  obscured,  bearing 
for  its  motto  no  such  miserable  interrogatory  as,  '  What  is  all  this 
worth  V  nor  those  other  words  of  delusion  and  folly,  •  Liberty  first 
and  Union  afterwards  ;'  but  everywhere,  spread  all  over  in  charac- 
ters of  living  light,  blazing  on  all  its  ample  folds,  as  they  float  over 
the  sea  and  over  the  land,  and  in  every  wind  under  the  whole 
heavens,  that  other  sentiment,  dear  to  every  American  heart — Lib- 
erty AND  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable!" 

The  lact  words  of  the  lamented  Webster  are  contained  in  the 
exclamation,  "  I  still  live  !"  In  their  noblest  sense,  how  emphatic 
are  these  words  !  how  forcible,  how  eloquent,  how  impressive,  and 
how  true  !  Yes,  indeed,  he  still  lives,  the  mightiest  of  our  mighty 
intellects  !-  -lives  in  the  glowing  words  of  his  own  immortal  pages 
— lives,  and  will  live,  in  the  gratitude  and  admiration  of  mankind  to 
the  latest  generations !  Clay,  Calhoun,  Webster — immortal  and 
glorious  triumvirate  !  worthy  of  being  named  with  Chatham,  Cicero, 
and  Demosthenes — your  eloquent  voices  are  hushed  in  death  ;  but 
the  memory  and  benefits  of  your  services  and  patriotism  "  still  live," 
bnd,  let  us  hope,  will  live  forever 


'"    ■■  1. 


RON.     rSANKLIN    FIIBOI. 


/'■:•   I'    " 


CIIAPTEK  LIY.    ,.. 

'-  ■  i 

ADMINISTRATION   OF   FRAlfKLIN   PIERCE.  ;   J 

HE  approaching  expiration  of  Mr.  Fillmore's  term 
of  service  turned  the  attention  of  the  people  to  the 
election  of  his  successor,  and  induced  a  preparation 
for  one  of  those  periodical  exercises  of  popular 
power  which  form  the  distinguishing  features  of 
this  free  and  happy  republic.  The  first  nomination 
of  a  candidate  was  made  by  the  democratic  party,  assembled 
in  national  convention  at  Baltimore,  in  June,  18.52.  It  was 
with  great  difficulty,  and  after  a  protracted  session,  that  a 
candidate  could  be  agreed  upon,  in  consequence  of  the  num- 
ber of  prominent  statesmen  whose  names  were  presented,  and  whose 
pretensions  were  adhered  to  with  great  tenacity  by  their  respective 
supporters.  Among  them  were  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  William 
L.  Marcy,  of  New  York,  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  Stephen 
A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  General  Butler,  of  Kentucky,  and  General 
Houston,  of  Texas — all  men  of  great  ability  and  experience,  and  of 
undoubted  fidelity  to  the  party ;  men,  too,  some  of  whom  had  con- 
ferred  distinguished  honor  on  the  American  name  abroad  by  their 
brilliant  diplomacy,  and  at  home  had  acquired  a  high  national  repu- 

641 


64S 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   PIKRCK. 


tation  by  their  civil  and  militar}'  services.  Being  unable  to  iiniftr 
\i\H)n  either  of  these,  it  was  finally  found  advisable  to  take  up  a  new 
name,  and.  on  the  forty-ninth  ballot,  a  very  nearly  unanimous  selec- 
tion was  made  in  the  person  of  General  Franklin  Pierce,  of  New 
Hampshire — the  ballots  being  283  for  Pierce,  1  for  Marcy,  2  for 
Buchanan,  and  2  for  Cass.  With  much  greater  facility,  Col.  Wm. 
R.  Kino,  of  Alabama,  formerly  U.  S.  Senator  from  that  State,  and 
at  the  time  Acting-President  of  the  U.  S.  Senate,  was  selected  as 
the  candidate  for  Vice-President. 

r^  HE  Whig  Convention  followed  shortly  after,  in  the 
same  month,  in  Baltimore,  and  experienced  similar 
difficulty  in  arriving  at  a  choice  of  a  candidate. 
The  wishes  of  a  large  majority  of  the  party  were 
very  nearly  divided  between  a  re-nomination  of  Mr 
Fillmore  and  the  selection  of  Gen.  Winfield  Scott ; 
while  a  small  portion  of  the  delegates  favoured  the  nomination 
of  Mr.  Webster.     On  the  fifty-third  ballot,  the  choice,  by  a 
small  majority  of  votes,  fell  upon  General  Scott  ;  and  Wm. 
A.  Graham,  of  North  Carolina,  was  nominated  for  the  Vice 
Presidency. 

The  Free-Soil  party  put  forth,  as  their  presidential  candidate,  the 
Hon.  John  P.  Hale,  of  New  Hampshire,  and  the  ultra  Anti-Slavery 
party  also  organized  under  distinct  leaders. 

Thus  marshalled,  the  various  parties  engaged  in  the  political  con- 
test. After  an  animated  canvass,  the  election  was  held  simultane- 
ously in  every  State  of  the  Union,  on  Tuesday,  the  2d  day  of  No- 
vember, and  resulted  in  favour  of  the  democratic  candidates.  The 
electoral  college  consisted  of  296  members,  of  which254were  for 
Franklin  Pierce,  and  42  for  Winfield  Scott.  By  States,  Gen.  Pierce 
leceived  the  votes  of  27  States,  and  Gen.  Scott  of  4.  No  more  de- 
cisive election  has  been  held  in  this  country  of  late  years.  The 
second  election  of  Gen.  Jackson,  in  1832,  and  the  election  of  Gen. 
Harrison,  in  1840,  are  the  nearest  approaches  to  it  in  point  of  unani- 
mity 

Not  long  before  his  inauguration,  the  family  of  the  President  elect 
was  called  upon  to  submit  to  a  most  awful  and  heart-rending  dispen- 
sation of  Providence.  By  one  of  those  fearful  railroad  accidents,  of 
late  quite  too  common  in  this  country,  they  were  summoned  to  weep 
over  the  remains  of  a  beloved  son,  a  youth  of  the  most  promising 
talents,  aal,  for  many  reasons,  an  object  of  particular  aflfection.     The 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   PIKRCE. 


OiS 


people  throughout  the  Union,  and  others  elsewhere,  were  decpiv 
affected  by  this  event,  and  shared  sincerely  in  the  sorrows  of  the 
afflicted  family. 

'  T  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  attempt  an  analysis  of 
the  differences  which  existed  between  the  two  lead- 
ing parties  of  the  country  at  this  time,  or  of  the 
causes  which  led  to  the  political  result  just  recorded. 
Really,  there  would  seem  to  have  been  few  ques- 
tions at  issue  leading  to  partisan  division  or  calling 
'for  partisan  support.  On  the  question  of  the  compromise 
measures,  so  called,  including  the  Fugitive  Slave  Law, 
intended  as  a  settlement  of  the  late  sectional  disputes 
which  agitated  the  country,  both  parties  were  agreed,  and  so 
distinctly  set  forth  in  their  respective  resolutions,  or  "  platforms," 
adopted  in  convention.  Indeed,  adherence  to  these  measures  was 
considered  a  sine  qua  non  of  successful  political  action,  and  no  can- 
didate could  have  received  a  nomination  from  either  party  who  was 
Known  to  be  opposed  to  them.  The  Bank  and  Tariff"  issues,  the 
former  long  "  obsolete,"  and  the  latter  practically  useless,  as  public 
opinion  ran,  no  longer  entered  into  the  canvass ;  or  the  latter,  if  at 
all,  to  a  very  limit  id  degree.  On  the  subject  of  Internal  Improve- 
ments, the  old  party  landmarks  were  still  perceptible,  it  is  true ;  but 
there  was  little  or  no  t^fFoit  to  make  political  capital  out  of  this  ques- 
tion. Even  on  the  score  of  military  popularity,  which  heretofore  is 
supposed  to  have  exercisod  a  preponderating  influence  in  favour  ol 
particular  carididates,  both  parlies  were  very  nearly  matched — each 
candidate  being  possessed  of  a  military  reputation  ;  the  advantage 
indeed  be'ng  with  the  candidate  of  the  party  which  was  destined  to 
defeat,  whose  military  laurels  had  been  long  worn,  having  been  won 
in  many  a  hard-fought  battle  and  brilliant  achieveii'eiit  in  the  service 
of  his  country.  The  election,  in  its  result,  ecems  rather  to  have 
been  determined  by  other  causes  than  these.  Popular  dissatisfac- 
tion with  the  policy  of  the  existing  whig  administration  in  regard  to 
the  foreign  relations  of  the  country — prejudice  created  by  an  alleged 
prodigality  in  the  use  of  the  public  funds,  and  indiscretion  in  the 
allowance  of  doubtful  claims — together  with  that  periodical  desire 
of  change  which  to  a  marked  degree  affects  the  popular  mind,  and 
characterizes  our  national  elections  ;  these,  with  other  causes  even 
less  directly  rela  ed  to  the  usual  political  issues,  appear  to  have  led 
In  the  success  of  the  democratic  party.     Whatever  of  justice  there 


$44 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   PIEROB. 


may  have  been  in  th«  above  specified  charges,  as  a  whole  it  cannot 
he  denied  that  President  Fillmore  secured  to  himself  a  large  share 
ot'  popular  respect,  and  retired  from  office  having  earned  the  reputa- 
tion of  a  discreet  and  able  executive  chief. 
^-v  -  ft^  '^"tRANKLIN  PIERCE,  thus  virtually  President- 
l>elect  of  the  United  States,  was  born,  of  revolution- 
'ary  ancestors,  in  the  town  of  Hillsborough,  New 
Flampshire,  on  the  23d  day  of  November,  1804: 
he  was  therefore  48  years  of  age  at  the  time  of  his 
election.  Having  served  his  native  State  with 
fidelity  and  reputation  in  various  capacities,  he  was  in  the 
summer  of  1833  elected  to  Congress,  taking  his  seat  in  the 
house  in  December  of  the  same  year.  In  1837,  he  was 
elected  to  the  U.  S.  Senate.  His  congressional  career,  though 
comparatively  brief,  reflected  credit  upon  his  talents  as  a  statesman 
and  orator.  In  the  important  discussions  which  occupied  the  atten- 
tion  of  Congress  during  this  period,  we  find  him  taking  a  conspicu- 
ous part,  and  rendering  an  undeviating  support  to  the  measures  of 
the  party  with  which  he  was  identified.  He  resigned  his  seat  in 
the  Senate  before  the  expiration  of  the  term  for  which  he  was 
elected,  preferring  the  quietude  of  domestic  and  professional  life  to 
the  turbulent  arena  of  national  politics  at  Washington.  He  also,  for 
the  same  cause,  refused  the  office  of  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  which  was  proffered  him  by  President  Polk.  The  break- 
ing out  of  the  Me.xican  War  found  him  at  home  engaged  in  the  avo- 
cation.s  of  a  private  citizen.  When  the  call  for  volunteers  was 
made,  he  immediately  enlisted  for  the  war,  taking  the  field  with  the 
rank  of  brigadier-general,  in  connection  with  the  Ninth,  or  New 
England  Regiment,  which  during  the  contest  so  signalized  itself 
for  its  gallant  deeds.  At  the  close  of  hostilities  he  resigned  his 
commission,  and  returned  to  his  former  privacy  in  New  Hampshire. 
The  official  reports  of  the  war  all  bear  honourable  testimony  to  the 
bravery  and  active  military  services  of  General  Pierce ;  and  it  is 
not  to  be  doubted  that  a  recollection  of  his  patriotic  conduct  in  de- 
voting himself  to  the  service  "of  his  country  in  this  emergency  con- 
tributed materially  to  the  creation  of  that  popularity  by  which  he 
was  eventually  enabled  to  attain  to  the  highest  office  in  the  gift  of 
he  people. 

Mr.  Kino,  the  successful  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  on 
he  same  ticket  with  Mr.   Pierce,  had  long  acquired  a  national 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   PIERCE. 


645 


3H 


reputntion,  having  been  more  than  thirty  years  in  the  public  servico 
and  for  many  years  the  presiding  officer  of  the  U.  S.  Senate. 

On  the  9th  of  February,  1853,  the  votes  of  the  Electoral  College 
were  counted  and  declared  in  ('ongress,  and  the  election  of  the 
successful  ciMididiites  officially  announced  ;  and  on  the  ensuing  4th 
of  March  Mr.  Pierce  was  publicly  inaugurated  in  Washington,  and 
took  the  oath  of  office  as  President  of  the  United  States. 

His  inaugural  address  on  the  occasion  was  anxiously  looked  for, 
and  received  with  general  satisfaction  by  the  people.  So  judicious 
and  unexceptionable  were  its  sentiments,  and  so  truly  Americar  was 
it  in  character,  that  it  met  wiih  nearly  universal  commendation  from 
the  press  of  all  parties.  It  fully  realized  in  its  pledges  and  doctrines 
the  expectations  of  the  party  instrumental  in  elevating  him  to  power, 
and  by  its  just  and  discreet  tone  conciliated,  in  a  marked  dej'ree, 
the  favour  ol  the  opposition. 

HIS  important  "paper,  foreshadowing  as  it  doeu  the 
general  policy  of  President  Pierce's  administration, 
and  presenting  the  views  and  intentions  of  the  gov- 
ernment in  relation  to  some  of  the  most  important 
subjects  connected  with  the  welfare  of  the  country, 
at  an  interesting  juncture  of  its  history,  demands 
that  we  bestow  upon  it  more  than  a  cursory  notice.  We 
shall,  therefore,  proceed  to  speak  of  it  in  detail. 

With  an  expression  of  thanks  for  the  manifestation  of  the 
nation's  confidence  in  his  elevation  to  a  position  of  so  great 
responsibility — one  not  sought,  but  accepted  in  obedience  to  the 
popular  will — he  proceeds  to  speak  of  the  country's  unparalleled 
progression  in  territory,  population,  and  wealth.  The  stars  upon  our 
banner  have  become  nearly  three-fold  their  original  number,  our 
densely  populated  possessions  akirt  the  shores  of  the  two  great 
oceans,  and  yet,  he  adds,  this  vast  increase  of  people  and  territory 
has  not  only  shown  itself  compatible  with  the  harmonious  action  of 
the  States  and  the  federal  government  in  their  respective  constitu 
tional  spheres,  but  has  afforded  an  additional  guarantee  of  the 
strength  and  integrity  of  both.  This  noble  result  is  to  be  attributed 
to  the  wisdom  and  energy  of  the  early  founders  of  the  republic 
They  possessed  a  calm  faith,  springing  from  a  clear  view  of  the 
sources  of  power,  in  a  government  constituted  like  ours.  They 
proved  themselves  equal  to  the  solution  of  the  great  problem,  to 
understand  which  their  minds  had  been  illuininated  by  the  dawning 
41 


n4C 


ADMINtSIRATIUN   OF    riEROC. 


lights  of  the  revolution.  The  object  sought  was  not  a  thing  dreamol 
of;  it  was  a  thing  realized.  They  had  exhibited  not  only  the  powei 
.o  achieve,  but  what  all  history  aflirins  to  be  so  much  more  unusual 
the  capncity  to  maintain.  The  oppressed  throughout  the  world 
from  that  duy  to  the  present,  have  turned  their  eyes  hitherward,  ni)l 
to  Hnd  those  lights  extinguished,  or  to  fear  lest  they  should  wane, 
but  to  he  constantly  cheered  by  their  steady  and  increasing  radi 
ance.  In  this  our  country  has,  in  the  President's  judgment,  thus  fai 
fulfilled  its  highest  duty  to  suffering  humanity,  It  has  spoken,  and 
will  continue  to  speak,  not  only  by  its  words  but  by  its  acts,  the  lan- 
guage of  sympathy  and  encouragement  to  those  who  earnestly  listen 
to  its  tones,  which  pronounce  for  the  largest  rational  liberty.  Hut 
pre-eminently  the  power  of  our  advocacy  reposes  in  our  example  , 
though  it  should  be  remembered  that  no  example  can  be  powerful 
for  lasting  good,  whatever  apparent  advantages  may  bo  gained,  which 
is  not  based  upon  eternal  principles  of  right  and  justice. 

N  view  of  the  past  experience  of  the  country,  show- 
ing that  its  extension  has  not  militated  with  its 
well-being,  but,  on  the  contrary,  has  hut  added  to 
its  strength  and  prosperity,  the  President  declares 
that  the  policy  of  his  administration  will  not  be  con- 
trolled by  any  timid  forobodings  of  evil  from  a  still 
'farther  expansion.  And  evidently  havinj,'  in  his  eye  the  ac- 
quisition of  Cuba,  proceeds  to  remark  :  "  Indeed,  it  is  not  to 
be  disguised  that  our  attitude  as  a  nation,  and  our  position  on 
the  globe,  render  the  acquisition  of  certain  possessions  not 
within  our  jurisdiction,  eminently  important  for  our  protection,  if  not, 
in  the  future,  essential  for  the  preservation  of  the  rights  of  commerce 
and  the  peace  of  the  world.  Should  they  be  obtained,  it  will  be 
through  no  grasping  spirit,  but  with  a  view  to  obvious  national  in- 
terest and  security,  and  in  a  manner  entirely  consistent  with  the 
strictest  observance  of  national  faith.  We  have  nothing  in  our  his- 
tory or  position  to  invite  aggression  ;  we  have  every  thing  to  beckon 
us  to  the  cultivation  of  the  relations  of  peace  and  amity  with  all 
nations.  Purposes,  therefore,  at  once  just  and  pacific,  will  be  sig- 
nificantly marked  in  the  conduct  of  our  foreign  affairs. "  He  declares 
further,  that  no  act  within  the  legitimate  scope  of  his  constitutional 
control  will  be  tolerated,  on  the  part  of  any  portion  of  our  citizens, 
which  cannot  challenge  a  ready  justification  before  the  tribunal  of 
he  civilized  world ;  and  adds,  that  an  administration  would  be  un 


APMINISTRA  rtON   OK    riRUOR. 


647 


worthy  of  confidence  at  home,  or  respect  abroad,  nhould  it  ceaite  to 
be  influenced  by  the  conviction,  thnt  no  apparent  advantage  can  be 
purchased  at  a  price  so  dear  uh  that  or  national  wrong  or  dishonour. 
These  observations,  so  diutinctly  and  signiticantly  mtuUi,  display  (he 
intentions  of  the  administration  in  regard  to  the  mode  in  which  the 
ooquisition  of  Cuba  shall  he  made,  should,  during  its  term  of  ofhce, 
such  an  acquisition  ever  be  practicable.  They  preclude  the  idea  of 
force  and  unjust  seizure,  or  the  supposition  that  any  armed  expedi* 
tion  from  this  country,  havini;  in  view  the  conquest  and  subsequent 
•nnexation  of  Cuba,  would  meet  with  greater  tolerance  than  under 
an  administration  more  profeMNfdly  conservative.  The  vague  fears 
which  may  have  been  appn^hended  upon  this  subject,  consequent 
upon  the  triumph  of  the  party  avowedly  the  last  friends  of  territorial 
extension,  and  particularly  of  Cuban  annexation,  have,  therefore,  by 
the  declarations  of  President  Pierce'N  Inaugural,  been  thoroughly 
dispelled.  Cuba,  if  ever  she  becomes  affiliated  with  this  country, 
mu8t  become  so  under  circumstances  perfectly  consistent  with  our 
national  faith  and  honour. 

II E  policy  of  this  country,  in  the  opinion  of  Presi- 
dent  Pierce,  should  be  eminently  peaceful,  and, 
with  the  neighbouring  nations  upon  our  continent, 
we  should  cultivate  kindly  and  fraternal  relations 
If  we  should   open   new  channels  of  trade,   and 
create  additional  facilities  for  friendly  intercourse, 
the  benefits  realized  will  be  open  to  all.     With  the  politics  ol 
Europe  we  have  no  connection,  except  as  they  appeal  to  our 
sympathies  in  the  cause  of  human  freedom  and  universal  ad- 
^  vancement ;  but  the  vast  interests  of  commerce  are  common  to 
all  mankind. 

The  President  proceeds  to  lay  down  the  ground  in  regard  to 
another  important  subject  affecting  the  rights  and  interests  of  Ameri* 
can  citizens,  viz. :  the  degree  of  protection  to  be  extended  over  them 
by  the  government,  in  whatever  part  of  the  world  they  may  happen 
to  be.  This  question,  important  at  all  times,  has,  in  consequence  of 
recent  events,  been  made  to  assume  an  unusual  interest.  Shall  the 
American  citizen,  like  the  Roman  of  old,  feel  that  his  citizenship 
shall  be  a  broad  and  sufficient  shield,  protecting  him  from  injustice 
and  wrong  wherever  he  may  go  ?  that  his  rights  shall  be  respected, 
»nd  his  life  and  liberty  be  safe,  in  any  part  of  the  civilized  world  ? 
The  answer  is.  Yes     the  honour  of  the  country  demands  that  this 

81  SI 


648 


ADMINISTRAnON   OF   PIERCK. 


doctrine  be  distinctly  understood,  and  strictly  enforced.  The  deci- 
sive language  which  follows  relating  to  this  point,  elicited  the  wann 
approval  of  the  whole  country,  and  constituted  one  of  the  most  bril- 
liant passages  of  the  President's  Inaugural :  "  The  rights  which 
belong  to  us  as  a  nation  are  not  alone  to  be  regarded,  but  those 
which  pertain  to  every  citizen  in  his  individual  capacity,  at  home 
and  abroad,  must  be  sacredly  maintained.  So  long  as  he  can  dis- 
cern every  star  in  its  place  upon  that  ensign,  without  wealth  to  pur- 
chase for  him  preferment  or  title  to  secure  for  him  place,  it  will  be 
his  privilege,  and  must  be  his  acknowledged  right,  to  stand  unabashed 
even  in  the  presence  of  princes,  with  a  proud  consciousness  that  he 
is  himself  one  of  a  nation  of  sovereigns,  and  that  he  cannot,  in  a 
legitimate  pursuit,  wander  so  far  from  home,  that  the  agent  whom 
he  shall  leave  behind  in  the  place  which  I  now  occupy,  will  not  see 
that  no  rude  hand  of  power,  or  tyrannical  passion,  is  laid  upon  him 
with  impunity.  He  must  realize,  that  upon  every  sea  and  on  every 
soil  where  our  enterprise  may  rightfully  seek  the  protection  of  our 
flag,  American  citizenship  is  an  inviolable  panoply  for  the  security 
of  American  rights." 

'PON  another  subject  of  equal  importance,  and 
which  has  at  diflerent  periods  called  forth  an  ex- 
pression of  the  sentiments  of  the  American  people, 
[namely,  the  doctrine  first  laid  down  by  Mr.  Monroe, 
in  opposition  to  European  colonization  upon  this 
continent,  the  President  declares,  that  "  it  can 
I  hardly  be  necessary  to  reaffirm  a  principle  which  should  now 
*be  regarded  as  fundamental.  The  rights,  security,  and  repose 
of  this  confederacy,  reject  the  idea  of  interference  or  coloniza- 
tion on  this  side  of  the  ocean  by  any  foreign  power,  beyond 
present  jurisdiction,  as  utterly  inadmissible."  The  late  events  con- 
nected with  British  interference  in  portions  of  Central  America,  and 
the  attempt  to  set  up  a  sort  of  protectorate  over  the  Mosquito  coun- 
try, so  called,  seem  to  have  revived  public  interest  in  this  question, 
and  to  have  suggested  the  emphatic  language  of  the  President.  The 
subject  has  given  rise  to  very  important  debates  in  Congress,  to 
which  we  may  have  occasion  to  refer  in  future  pages. 

Pass'.g  from  the  foreign  to  the  domestic  policy  of  the  country, 
the  views  of  the  Inaugural  are  worthy  of  consideration.  Upon  the 
subject  of  the  bestowal  of  Executive  patronage,  the  doctrine  held  is, 
that  while  it    annot  be  reasonably  expected  that  the  adnunistration 


HISSI«6-0««IIIIf'  '"ill 
ADVANCE      AND      REROUE      PtlFTIKG. 


-^■■) 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   PIBEOB. 


649 


will  be  so  regardless  of  its  responsibility,  and  of  the  obvious  ele- 
ments of  success,  as  to  retain  persons  known  to  be  opposed  to  it  in 
positions  which  require  not  only  severe  labor,  but  cordial  co-opera- 
tion, yet  no  appointments  shall  be  made  which  do  not  contemplate 
an  efficient  discharge  of  duty  and  the  best  interests  of  the  country. 
Against  the  dangers  of  an  undue  concentration  of  power  in  the  general 
government,  the  President  is  also  very  explicit.  The  great  scheme 
of  our  constitutional  liberty  re.sts  upon  a  proper  distribution  of  power 
between  the  State  and  federal  authorities ;  and  experience  has 
shown  that  the  harmony  and  happiness  of  our  people  must  depend 
upon  a  just  discrimination  between  the  separate  rights  and  responsi- 
bilities of  the  States,  and  our  common  rights  and  obligations  under 
the  general  government.  If  the  federal  government  will  confine 
itself  to  the  exercise  of  powers  clearly  granted  by  the  constitution, 
it  can  hardly  happen  that  its  action  upon  any  question  should  en- 
danger the  institutions  of  the  States,  or  interfere  with  their  right  to 
manage  mailers  strictly  domestic  according  to  the  will  of  their  own 
people. 

flE  President  proceeds  to  express  his  entire  devo- 
tion to  the  Union,  which,  as  it  has  been  the  source, 
under  Providence,  of  our  prosperity  to  this  time  so 
it  is  the  surest  pledge  of  a  continuance  of  the  bless- 
I^..Vi^^'-rB>-<*'  '"^^  ^^''  ''*^'®  «"j*'yed,  and  which  we  are  sacredly 
^1^'^  bound  to  transmit  undiminished  to  our  children. 

To  every  theory  of  society  or  government,  whether  the  otT- 
spring  of  feverish  ambition  or  of  morbid  enthusiasm,  calculated 
to  dissolve  the  bonds  of  law  and  affection  which  unite  us,  he 
shall  interpose  a  ready  and  stern  resistance.  He  believes 
that  involuntary  servitude,  as  it  exists  in  different  States  of  this  con- 
federacy is  recognized  by  the  Constitution ;  that  it  stands  like  any 
other  admitted  right,  and  that  the  States  where  it  exists  are  entitled 
to  efficient  remedies  to  enforce  the  constitutional  remedies.  He 
holds,  therefore,  that  the  measures  of  1850,  commonly  called  the 
"  compromise  measures,"  are  strictly  constitutional,  and  to  be  un- 
hesitatingly carried  into  effect ;  and  that  the  laws  to  enforce  them 
should  be  respected  and  obeyed,  not  with  a  reluctance  encouraged 
by  abstract  opinions  as  to  their  propriety  in  a  different  state  of 
society,  but  cl  serfully,  and  according  to  the  decisions  of  the  tu- 
bunal  to  which  their  exposition  belongs.  Thus  warning  against  dis- 
union, and  appt  %ling  to  the  moderatioa  and  sense  of  justice  of  all 


*650  ADMINIBTBATION   OF   I'lEROB. 

classes  of  our  citizens,  the  Inaugural  closes  with  the  hope,  most  eKV 
quently  expressed,  that  the  kind  Providence  which  smiled  upon  oui 
fathers,  may  enable  their  children  to  preserve  the  blessings  they 
have  inherited. 

The  President,  on  the  7th  of  March,  submitted  the  names  of  th« 
persons  constituting  his  cabinet  to  the  Senate,  assembled  in  extra 
Bession,  which  immediately  confirmed  the  nominations,  as  follows : 

For  Secretary  of  State, Wm.  L.  Mabot,  of  New  York. 

"  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, Jambs  GuTHaiB,  of  Kentucky. 

"  Secretary  of  the  Interior, Robert  McClelland,  of  Michigan. 

"  Secretary  of  War, Jefferson  Davis,  of  Missisaippi. 

•  Secretary  of  the  Navy Jameh  C.  Dobbin,  of  North  Carolina. 

*"  Postmaster-General, James  Campbell,  of  Pennsylvania. 

"  Attorney-Qeueral Caleb  Cushino,  of  Massachusetts. 

These  are  all  gentlemen  of  ability  and  experience  in  statesmanship, 
Mr.  Marcy  was  a  member  of  President  Polk's  cabinet,  holding  the 
position  of  Secretaiy  of  War,  and  distinguishing  himself  in  his 
management  of  that  department  during  the  combat  with  Mexico. 
He  was  also,  formerly,  Governor  of  the  State  of  New  York.  Mr. 
Guthrie  is  a  distinguished  lawyer,  and  experienced  as  a  politican 
Mr.  McClelland  was  former  Governor  of  Michigan,  and  has  served 
in  Congress.  General  Davis  took  an  active  part  'n  the  Mexican 
War,  and  has  also  been  a  member  of  Congress.  Mr.  Dobbin  was  a 
member  of  the  29th  Congress.  Mr.  Campbell  was  a  leading  politi 
cian  and  Attorney-General  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania.  Gen 
Cushing  is  distinguished  for  his  diplomacy  as  Chinese  Comrais 
sioner,  and  his  services  during  the  Mexican  War. 

Of  the  subsequent  appointments  by  the  President  during  the  yeai, 
the  following  list  embraces  the  more  important  foreign  officials : 


MINISTERS    PLENIPOTENTIARY. 

James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania,  to  Great  Britain. 

Thomas  H.  Seymoub,  of  Connecticut,  to  Russia, 

John  Y.  Mason,  of  Virginia,  to  France. 

James  Gadbuen,  of  South  Carolina,  to  Mexica 

PiERBE  A.  Soul4  of  Louisiana,  to  Spain. 

Petbb  D.  Vboom,  of  New  Jersey,  to  Prussia, 

Solon  Bobland,  of  Arkansas,  to  Central  America 

Wm.  Tbousdale,  of  Tennessee,  to  BraziL 

Bamusl  Medabt,  of  Ohio,  to  ChilL 

John  R.  Clat,  of  Kentucky,  to  Pera 

Thxouobb  S.  Fay,  Minister  Resident  in  SwitzerlauL 


V       *. 


▲DMINISTBATION   OF  FIEBOB. 


m 


CHAROft    d'affaires. 
J.  J.  Seibbls,  of  Ala.,  for  Belgium. 
AuausTB  Belhont,  of  New  Yoik,  for  Netherlands 
RiOHAao  K.  Mbadk,  of  Virginia,  for  Sardinia. 
Robert  Dale  Owen,  of  Indiana,  for  tiie  Two  Sicilies. 
Henry  R.  Jackson,  of  Georgia,  for  Austria. 
Henry  Bedinoer,  of  Virginia,  for  Denmark. 
Wu.  H.  BissELL,  of  Illinois,  fur  Buenos  Ayres. 
Jambs  S.  Orben,  of  Mobile,  for  New  Grenada. 
Shblton  F.  Leake,  of  Virginia,  for  Sandwich  Islands. 


MONG  the  last  acts  of  the  previous  session  o 
Congress  was  the  adoption  of  a  resolution  empower- 
ing the  President  to  employ  engineers  to  make  ex- 
plorations of  the  most  practicable  route  for  a  rail- 
road connecting  the  Stales  with  the  Pacific  shores, 
and  appropriating  the  sum  of  $150,000  fur  the  sur- 
vey. Accordingly,  four  expeditions  were  fitted  out  in  the 
course  of  the  year,  under  experienced  officers,  having  in 
view  this  important  object.  Two  other  e.vpeditions  were 
also  dispatched  during  the  same  period,  by  water,  having 
other,  but  also  important  objects  in  view.  The  first  sailed  from 
New  York  on  the  Slst  of  May,  under  the  command  of  Dr.  Kane,  in 
continuation  of  the  search  for  Sir  John  Franklin ;  and  the  othei 
sailed  a  few  days  later  from  Norfolk,  under  the  command  of  Captain 
Ringgold,  having  for  its  object  an  exploration  of  the  routes  pursued 
by  American  vessels  trading  between  San  Francisco  and  China,  and 
of  the  whaling  grounds  in  the  North  Pacific. 

The  return  of  Santa  Anna  to  power  in  the  neighbouring  republic 
of  Mexico,  in  March,  and  his  supposed  feelings  of  hostility  to  the 
United  States,  taken  in  connection  with  the  breaking  out  of  a  diffi- 
culty between  the  American  Governor  of  New  Mexico,  Gen.  Lane, 
and  the  Governor  of  the  Mexican  State  of  Chihuahua,  for  a  time 
gave  indications  of  another  rupture  between  the  two  nations.  It 
appears  that  a  tract  of  country,  known  as  the  Mesilla  Valley,  about 
175  miles  by  40  in  extent,  and  situate  on  the  borders  of  New  Mexico, 
though  mutually  claimed  under  the  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo  by 
both  the  United  States  and  Mexico,  had  been  assigned  by  the  join 
Boundary  Commission  to  the  latter  country.  This  tract  was,  how 
ever,  forcibly  taken  possession  of  by  General  Lane  on  the  13th  of 
March,  "  to  be  held  provisionally,"  as  he  declared,  "  until  the  ques 

8l8 


652 


ADMIN181  RATION   OF   PIEKCK. 


tion  oi  boundary  shall  be  determined  between  the  United  Slates  aiij 
Mexico."     The  measure  was  resisted  by  the  Governor  of  Chiliua 
hua,  and  tlie  territory  claimed  as  belonging  to  that  State.     The 
question  has  occupied  the  attention  of  both  governments  concerned 
in  its  puacol'ul  adjudication. 

N  the  18th  of  April,  1853,  the  Hon.  William  R. 
King,  Vice-President  of  the  United  States,  died  at 
I  Cahawha,  in  Alabama  On  the  meeting  of  Con- 
gress, in  December  of  the  previous  year,  though  in 
feeble  health,  he  assumed  his  post  as  presiding 
officer  of  the  Senate,  a  position  he  had  filled  dur- 
)Uig  the  previous  administration.  Increasing  illness,  how- 
ever, compelled  him  to  resign  office,  and  in  a  letter  dated 
December  20th,  his  intention  was  communicated  to  the  Senate. 
He  soon  after  set  sail  for  the  West  Indies,  in  the  hope  of 
improving  his  health.  By  "pecial  resolution  of  Congress,  he  was 
permitted  to  take  the  oath  of  office  as  Vice-President  of  the  United 
Slates  during  his  absence  ;  a  ceremony  which  was  performed  on  the 
•1th  of  March,  near  Matanzas,  in  Cuba,  where  he  at  the  time  was 
sojourning.  '  Finding  himself  fast  failing  in  health,  in  April  he  took 
passage  in  a  United  States  vessel,  and  arrived  at  Mobile  on  the  12th 
of  the  month,  where  he  was  received  with  deep  respect  and  mourn- 
ful interest  by  his  fellow-citizens.  Journeying  on  to  Cahawba,  he 
was  forced  to  his  bed,  and  died  the  next  day,  surrounded  by  his 
family  and  friends.  The  intelligence  was  heard  with  profound  re- 
gret throughout  the  country,  and  various  official  and  spontaneous 
manifestations  of  public  sorrow  followed  in  honour  of  the  deceased. 
A  brief  biographical  sketch  of  this  distinguished  statesman  will  not 
be  deemed  inappropriate.  William  Rufus  King  was  born  in  Samp- 
son County,  North  Carolin;i,  on  the  7th  of  April,  1786;  he  was 
therefore  67  years  of  age  when  he  died.  After  representing  the 
Wilmington  distr.ct,  in  North  Carolina,  several  terms  in  the  lowei 
house  of  Cimgress,  he  changed  his  residence  to  Alabama,  then  a 
Territory.  When  Alabama  came  in  as  a  State,  in  1819,  Mr.  King 
was  elected  one  of  her  U.  S.  Senators — a  position  he  has  continued 
o  fill  most  of  the  time  since,  with  distinction  and  much  personal 
popularity.  In  1844,  he  accepted  the  post  of  Minister  to  France, 
proffered  by  Mr.  Tyler,  whence  he  was  recalled,  at  his  own  re- 
4uest,  in  1846,  having  distinguished  his  mission  by  the  success  ot 
his  negotiations  with  the  French  government,  which  had  contem- 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   PIEROB. 


653 


plated  uniting  with  Great  Britain  in  a  protest  against  the  annexation 
of  Texas  to  the  Union.  Upon  the  elevation  of  Mr.  Fillmore  to  the 
presidency,  in  1850,  Mr.  King,  again  in  the  Senate  from  Alabama, 
was  chosen  President  pro.  tern,  of  that  body — a  position  he  had  held 
3n  several  occasions  before.  His  nomination  and  election  to  the 
vice-presidency,  as  the  candidate  of  the  democratic  party,  in  1852, 
was  the  last  and  highest  honour  to  which  he  attained  ;  and  it  seemed 
a  matter  of  deep  regret  that  he  could  not  have  lived  to  enjoy  a  posi- 
tion so  meetly  the  reward  of  a  long  life  devoted  to  the  interests  of 
his  country.  Mr.  King  is  the  third  Vice-President  who  has  died  in 
oifice.  The  two  others  were  George  Clinton,  who  died  in  April, 
1812,  and  Elbridge  Gerry,  who  died  in  November,  1814. 

[i^  H  E  Great  Exhibition  of  the  World's  Industry  at 
Loriiion,  in  1851,  led  to  the  determination  among  a 
number  of  the  prominent  citizens  of  New  York  to 
<>et  up  a  similar  enterprise  in  this  country ;  and  a 
company  for  that  purpose  was  organized,  under  a 
charter  from  the  State  of  New  York,  granted  in 
March,  1852.  Measures  were  then  immediately  taken  to  en- 
list the  people  of  the  various  States  in  the  undertaking,  and 
also  to  procure  the  co-operation  of  foreign  countries,  by  for- 
warding for  exhibition  specimens  of  the  industry  of  their  re- 
spective nations.  The  enterprise  was  of  a  purely  private  character, 
unlike  the  British  Exhibition,  which  was  national  in  its  character, 
and  supported  by  the  influence  and  resources  of  the  government. 
The  only  aid  which  the  American  enterprise  has  received  from  our 
government,  is  the  permission  to  regard  their  building  as  a  bonded 
warehouse,  wherein  the  foreign  articles  may  be  introduced  duty  tree 
while  on  exhibition.  The  undertaking,  from  its  inception,  was 
Drosecuted  with  vigour,  and,  despite  a  variety  of  obstacles  to  be 
overcome,  the  edifice  for  the  designed  object  was  in  readiness 
for  use,  and  the  Exhibition  itself  inaugurated  on  the  14th  of  July, 
1853. 

On  that  day,  the  American  "  Crystal  Palace"  was  opened  with 
appropriate  ceremonies,  in  the  presence  of  8,000  persons  assembled 
on  the  interesting  occasion.  The  President  of  the  United  States, 
with  a  portion  of  his  cabinet,  honoured  '^e  inauguration  with  his 
presence.  The  exercises  were  imprt.,o.ve,  and  consisted  of  the 
reading  of  prayer  by  Bishop  Wainwright,  of  New  York,  addresses 
^V  the  President  of  the  Association,  Theodore  Sedgwick,  Esq.,  and 


654 


ADMINISTRATION  OF   PIERCE. 


the  Prcsideut  of  the  United  States,  and  singing  by  the  New  Vurk 
Sacred  Uarnoonic  Society. 

In  its  main  features  this  building,  though  inferior  in  size  to  that  of 
the  World's  Exhibition  in  London,  was  universally  confessed  to  be  its 
superior  in  architectural  beauty  and  general  effect.  It  was,  with  the 
exception  of  the  floor,  entirely  constructed  of  iron  and  glass,  and  in 
the  form  of  a  Greek  cross,  surmounted  by  a  dome  at  the  intersection. 
Each  diameter  of  the  cross  was  365  feet  long,  and  each  arm  of  the 
cross,  on  the  ground  plan,  149  feet  broad.  On  entering  the  building, 
the  observer's  eye  was  greeted  by  the  vista  of  an  arched  nave,  41  feet 
wide,  67  feet  high,  and  365  long;  and,  on  approaching  the  centre,  he 
found  himself  under  a  dome  100  feet  in  diameter  and  118  feet  high. 
The  building  contained  on  the  ground  floor  111,000  square  feet  of 
space,  and  in  its  galleries,  which  were  54  feet  wide,  62,000  square  feet 
mere,  making  a  total  area  of  173,000  square  feet,  or  about  four  acres 
surface  for  the  purposes  of  exhibition.  The  iron  used  in  the  work 
was  estimated  at  about  1,250  tons ;  the  glass  at  39,000  square  feet. 

The  great  increase  of  the  means  of  intercommunication  by  rail- 
roads, and  the  consequent  public  and  private  advantage  accruing 
therefrom  to  the  country,  have  been  in  a  measure  counterbalanced  by 
the  largo  number  of  appalling  disasters  which  have  occurred,  through 
unforeseen  accident  or  the  carelessness  of  the  managers  of  the  roads. 
A  collision  took  place  on  the  23d  of  April,  near  Chicago,  between  the 
trains  of  the  Central  Michigan  and  Northern  Indiana  Railroads,  by 
which  twenty  persons  were  killed,  and  a  large  number  seriously  in- 
jured. On  the  2d  of  August  an  accident  occurred  on  the  Belvidere 
and  Delaware  Railroad,  by  the  cars  running  off  the  track.  Ten  per- 
sons were  killed  outright,  and  a  large  number  wounded.  A  little  later 
in  the  month  a  collision  occurred  between  the  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia trains,  near  Amboy,  by  which  nearly  thirty  persons  were  in- 
jured, and  several  killed.  On  the  12th  of  the  month  a  shocking  dis- 
aster occurred  on  the  Providence  and  Worcester  Railroad.  A  train 
containing  a  large  pleasure  party  came  in  collision  with  another,  and 
some  fifteen  persons  were  killed,  and  a  large  number  injured.  But 
the  most  appalling  accident  of  this  nature  occurred  on  the  6th  of  May, 
at  Norwalk,  in  Connecticut,  on  the  New  York  and  New  Haven  Rail 
road.  The  drawbridge  at  Norwalk  had  been  raised  to  permit  a 
steamer  to  pass,  and  the  locomotive,  baggage  car,  and  two  passenger 
cars  of  the  train  from  New  York  were  precipitated  into  the  river  be- 
low, a  distance  of  some  twenty  feet,  and  all  the  passengers  buried  be- 
neath the  water,  near  y  all  of  whom  were  instantly  killed  or  drowned 


iDillNlSTKATION  OF   PIERCH.  656 

ocforo  assistance  could  reach  thcin.  It  appeared  from  the  subsequent 
evidence  taken  before  a  jury  of  inquest,  that  the  draw  of  the  bridge 
was  open,  and  that  the  proper  signal  was  given  by  the  keeper  of  the 
bridge ;  but  the  engineer  did  not  observe  the  signal,  and  proceeded 
with  the  train,  realizing  the  fatal  result  that  followed.  More  than  fifty 
lives  were  lost,  and  as  many  more  injured.  The  legislature  of  Connec- 
ticut, being  in  session  at  the  time  of  the  disaster,  appointed  a  special 
committee  to  investigate  the  subject,  and  to  report  a  more  stringent 
public  enactment  for  the  regulation  of  railroads.  A  law  of  this  nature 
was  passed ;  and  public  attention  having  been  generally  aroused  to  the 
subject,  similar  action  has  been  taken  by  the  legislatures  of  othei 
States.  The  following  is  believed  to  be  a  nearly  accurate  estimate  of 
the  number  of  railroad  accidents  which  occurred  in  the  United  States 
in  1853. 

Afont/u.                             Nwmb»r  qf  AooidenU.  KiUtd.  WoundM. 

January 12  25  40 

February 6  6  11 

March 14  :•*  62 

April 4  26  64 

May 8  64  49 

June 6  6  19 

July 11  8  22 

August 6  29  76 

Total  to  August  12, 66  117  333 

During  the  summer  of  1854  the  yellow  fever  visited  the  southern 
portion  of  the  Union,  more  especially  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  and  in 
'66  it  concentrated  its  deadly  power  in  and  around  the  cities  of  Ports- 
mouth and  Norfolk,  Virginia. 

Its  fatality  exceeded  that  caused  by  the  Asiatic  cholera,  when  that 
terrible  visitant  swept  over  the  country.  In  its  virulence,  it  was  nevet 
exceeded,  particularly  in  the  above-named  cities,  where,  in  the  height 
of  its  fury,  the  deaths  were  from  200  to  300  per  day. 

Thousands  wlio  had  passed  unscathed  through  the  epidemic  in  other 
seasons,  took  alarm  and  fled.  But,  notwithstanding  the  desertion  of 
the  population,  the  whole  number  of  deaths  in  New  Orleans  was 
about  9000  1  and  the  burials  in  Portsmouth  and  Norfolk  could  not 
have  been  less. 

Priest  and  people,  physician  and  patient,  nurse  and  sick,  weire 
throw.!  into  one  common  grave.  The  formalities  of  burial  were  laid 
aside  and  scarcely  were  the  semblances  of  respect  maintained. 

This  lamentable  state  of  things  excited  the  sympathies  of  the  nation, 
and  the  contributions  for  the  relief  of  the  sick  and  dying,  and  for  th« 


G56 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  PIERCE. 


Lolplcsa  and  orphan  children,  were  large  and  cheerful.  Although  the 
law  of  8olf-preaervation  blockaded  the  avenues  of  departure,  yet  thoU' 
sands  found  tbemaolves  welcomed  to  the  hospitalities  and  comforts  of 
the  benevolent  and  generous-minded,  who,  braving  the  dangers  of  tha 
contagion,  allayed  their  fears,  and  supplied  them  with  the  necessaries 
of  life.  Among  those  who  volunteered  their  lives  and  property  in  this 
angelic  mission,  there  were  many  instances  of  almost  superhuman  en- 
durance and  philanthropy.  Around  their  memories  cluster  not  only 
the  gratitude  of  the  saved,  but  the  responsive  approval  of  the  good 
everywhere. 

The  leading  events  in  the  United  States  in  1854,  were  the  final  set- 
tlement of  the  Erie  riots,  the  mission  of  Bedini,  the  Pope's  Nuncio, 
the  burning  of  the  Great  Republic,  and  the  wreck  of  the  steamer  San 
Francisco,  with  500  United  States  troops  on  board,  150  of  whom  were 
rescued  by  the  ships  Three  Bells,  Kilby,  and  Antarctic ;  also,  the  con- 
cession ^f  Morse's  telegraph  patent,  and  the  horrible  loss  of  the  Col- 
lins steamship  Arctic,  by  collihion  with  the  French  steamer  Vesta,  40 
ailes  from  Cape  Race,  with  the  loss  of  325  lives. 

The  leading  events  in  1855,  were  the  Burlington  and  Gasconade 
Bridge  Railroad  disasters,  and  the  return  of  Dr.  Kane  and  his  party, 
Oct.  11th.  His  reception  was  enthusiastic,  and  well  calculated  to  ca- 
courage  future  navigators.  The  news  of  their  arrival  spread  on  light- 
ning wings,  and  made  the  heart  of  the  nation  beat  with  gratitude.  The 
fate  of  Dr.  Franklin  is  still  veiled  in  mystery,  although  there  is  little 
doubt  that  he  perished  a  martyr  to  the  progressive  spirit  of  the  age. 

Among  the  acts  of  Congress  in  1854  and  '66,  the  most  important 
were,  the  bill  for  the  increase  of  the  naval  force  by  six  first-class  steam 
frigates,  the  award  of  $100,000  to  the  officers  and  crews  of  the  ships 
that  relieved  the  San  Francisco,  the  passage  of  the  Nebraska  and 
Kansas  Bill,  organizing  those  Territories,  the  Homestead  and  French 
Spoliation  Bills,  both  of  which  were  vetood  by  the  President.  Prob- 
ably no  topic  of  public  interest  ever  received  more  attention  than  the 
Nebraska  and  Kansas  question. 

In  the  succeeding  year,  serious  difficulties  took  place  in  Kansas,  in 
consequence  of  antagonistic  uttenipts  at  adopting  a  State  constitution; 
and  the  attention  of  Congress  was  engrossed  with  the  exciting  subject. 

The  President  and  Cabinet  issued  a  proclamation  against  the  filli- 
busters  in  California,  negotiated  with  Mexico  for  the  settlement  of 
boundaries,  the  right  of  transfer,  and  secured  a  large  area  of  territory, 
concluded  the  treaty  with  Japan,  settled  the  Reciprocity  treaty  with 
Canada,  and  agreed  with  Russia  on  "  Free  ships,  free  goods."     Immo< 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  FIEBCK. 


657 


diiitcly  connected  with  the  afTairs  of  goven^ment,  waa  the  riofitmction  of 
Grcytowii^  on  the  llHh  of  July,  in  conRoquenco  of  the  unrcdresaod  in- 
juricfl  and  inHulta  by  its  inhabitants  to  citiztna  of  this  country. 

Early  in  tho  year  1 863,  the  question  of  KuKsian  right  to  the  exclusive 
control  of  the  Turkish  dominions,  made  war  between  Turkey  and  Rus- 
iia  seem  inevitable.  While  the  dispute  was  raging,  intclligonco  reached 
this  country  that  the  oflBcers  of  an  Austrian  vessel  of  war,  in  tho  Sul- 
tan's dominions,  had  seized  Martin  Kosztn,  a  Hungarian  refugee,  who 
visited  this  country  with  M.  Kossiitb,  and  had  taken  the  initiatory 
stops  to  become  a  citizen  of  the  United  States.  Capt.  Ingraham,  of 
tho  U.  S.  sloop-of-war  St.  Louis,  promptly  causod  his  release  from  the 
Austrian  control,  which,  by  the  subsequent  acts  of  our  government, 
resulted  in  Koszta's  restoration  to  liberty,  and  ficrmission  to  return  to 
this  country. 

The  diflicultics  between  the  United  States  nnd  Great  Britain,  end- 
ing in  the  dismissal  of  the  British  Consuls  at  Pliiladelphia  and  New 
York  for  enlisting  recruits  for  the  Crimea,  is  a  sufficient  apology  for  in- 
truding here  a  brief  sketch  of  the  Russian  War. 

Notwithstanding  the  intervention  of  the  V/estcrn  Powers,  the  diffi- 
culty broke  out  in  open  war,  and  Russia  took  possession  of  the  Turkish 
provinces  on  the  Danube. 

England  and  France  took  the  part  of  the  Sultan,  and  a  formal  dec 
laration  of  war  was  made  March  28,  18f  4.     A  powerful  allied  fleet 
was  dispatched  to  the  Baltic,  and  an  expedition  planned  against  the 
Crimea.  .  ••'    ' '  >  . 

The  allied  armies  landed  Sept.  14,  a*.  Enpatoria,  and  on  their  way 
to  Sebastopol,  engaged  in  the  deadly  struggle  of  the  Alma.  Success 
followed,  and  the  Allies,  taking  posscision  of  Balaklava,  besieged  the 
stronghold,  which  was  so  bravely  defended,  that  the  siege  was  pro- 
tracted and  bloody  beyond  the  record  of  military  prowess.  Sanguinary 
engagements  took  place  frequently,  and  sometimes  entire  regiments 
were  cut  in  pieces.  On  the  6th  of  November  occurrod  the  terrible 
encounter  at  Inkerman,  with  the  loss  of  3,000  English,  2,000  French 
and  10,000  Russians. 

The  reverses  of  the  Allies,  the  general  bad  management  of  the  ex- 
pedition, and  the  great  difficulty  in  transporting  the  necessaries  for  the 
army,  from  Balaklava,  to  the  troops,  produced  among  the  besiegers  a 
wasting  fatigue,  privation,  and  exposure,  and  created  such  a  strong 
public  excitement  at  home  against  the  policy  of  the  War  Department, 
that  the  ministry  were  compelled  to  resign,  and  a  new  cabinet  was 
formed,  under  I^ord  Palm'jrston  as  Premier.    Although  fears  had  been 


B58 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  PIERCE. 


entertained  for  the  health  of  the  Csar,  the  newi  of  hiii  death,  March  2(1, 
1865,  catno  like  an  oloctriu  iihock  to  the  empire  and  the  continent. 
Alexander  Hticcccdcd  him,  not  only  in  hid  place,  but  alno  in  hin  policy 
The  8i<;ge  of  the  Crimea  continued,  and  on  the  22d  and  23d  March, 
the  RuHnians  made  a  terrible  Bally,  with  a  great  Iom  to  the  Allien. 
The  allied  force  constantly  incroaHcd,  and  the  troops  awaited  ordem 
for  a  general  assault.  On  the  23d  of  May,  the  French  carried  on  a 
severe  fight  with  nearly  the  entire  garrison  of  Scbastopol.  On  the 
following  (lay,  the  allied  squadron  entered  the  Strnits  of  Kcrtch,  and 
destroyed  every  thing  within  their  reach.  June  6,  the  bombardment 
of  the  city  was  commenced,  and  on  the  18th,  the  combined  forces  as- 
sailed the  Ucdan  and  Mamelon  successfully.  Thoy  were,  however, 
compelled  to  retire,  with  a  terrible  loss.  On  the  lOth  of  August  was 
fought  the  battle  of  Traktir  Bridge,  with  a  loss  of  20  officers  and 
6,000  men. 

The  bombardment  continued  with  short  intervals  from  the  1st  of 
July  till  about  noon  of  Sept.  8,  when  a  general  assault  on  the  Mala- 
kotf,  by  the  French,  and  on  the  Redan  by  the  English,  was  made  with 
triumphant  success.  The  accompanying  engraving  represents  *he 
doomed  city  on  the  morning  of  its  destruction.  This  waa  followed  by 
the  battle  of  Kars  and  Balder.  Meanwhile,  diplomacy  was  at  work, 
and  soon  thereafter  peace  was  concluded.  Immediate  preparations 
were  made  for  the  removal  of  the  troops  and  materiel  of  war,  and  the 
definite  evacuation  of  the  Crimea  took  place  July  5th.  Thus  closed 
one  of  the  most  warlike  contests  of  the  present  century. 

One  of  the  acts  of  Congress,  before  adjourning  on  the  4th  of  March, 
1865,  was  the  conferring  upon  General  Scott  the  title  of  Lieutenant- 
General.  This  unusual  honor  was,  we  need  not  remark,  well  deserved, 
and  met  with  a  general  popular  response  of  approbation. 

The  closing  efforts  of  the  administration  of  General  Pierce  were  di- 
rected to  a  variety  of  topics  connected  with  our  foreign  relations. 
These  were  under  the  able  management  of  the  Hon.  William  L.  Marcy, 
Secretary  of  State,  whose  death,  not  long  after  his  retirement  from 
oflBce,  created  a  profound  regret  throughout  the  country.  Of  domes- 
tic matters,  the  difficulties  in  Kansas  occupied  almost  exclusive  atten- 
tion, both  in  and  out  of  Congress,  which  at  its  ensuing  session,  in 
1866-66,  was  engaged  in  very  earnest  and  protracted  discussions  of 
the  subject  These  discussions  were  continued  at  the  session  assem- 
bling in  the  fall.  Meantime,  the  Presidential  election  had  in  a  meas- 
ure supplanted  all  other  topics,  and  the  various  political  parties  were 
engrossed  in  active  preparations  for  that  important  event. 


aOV.    JA1IE8    BnOBANAN. 


CHAPTER  LV. 


APMINI8TEATION  OF   BDOIIANAN. 


'TIE  presidential  election  in  the  faii  of  1856,  resulted 
in  the  election  of  James  Buchanan,  of  Pennsylvania, 
for  President,  and  John  C.  Brcckcnridge,  of  Ken- 
tucky, for  Vice-President.  The  competitors  for  the 
Presidency  were  Mr.  Buchanan,  run  by  the  Demo- 
cratic party.  Colonel  John  C.  Fremont,  by  the  Re- 
publican party,  and  ex-President  Fillmore,  by  the  American 
party ;  and  the  electoral  vote  was,  for  the  successful  candidate 
174,  for  Fremont  114,  for  Fillmore  8. 
The  new  administration  came  into  power  the  4th  of  March, 
1857,  with  the  following  Cabinet : — Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  Secretary 
of  State ;  Howell  Cobb,  of  Georgia,  Secretary  of  Treasury  ;  John  B. 
Floyd,  of  Virginia,  Secretary  of  War ;  Isaac  Touc  y,  of  Connecticut, 
Secretary  of  the  Navy ;  Jacob  Thompson,  of  Mississippi,  Secretary  of 
Interior;  Judge  Black,  of  Pennsylvania,  Attorney-General;  and  Aaron 
V.  Brown,  of  Tennessee,  Postmaster-General.  The  inaugural  address 
of  Mr.  Buchanan  was  well  calculated  to  inspire  confidence  in  the 
minds  of  the  American  people,  in  regard  to  the  wisdom  and  justice  of 
his  administration ;  it  was  not,  however,  until  the  presentation  of  his 
rega  ar  message  to  Congress,  on  its  convening  in  the  following  De- 
cember, that  a  full  exposition  of  his  views  could  be  obtained  on  the 
Sfrcat  questio  na  of  public  interest  occupying  the  attention  of  the  na- 


660 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  BUCHANAN. 


tion.  Of  the  moat  prominent  measures  of  his  administration,  wo  shall 
briefly  speak  in  this  chapter. 

Before  tlie  assemblage  of  Congress  in  1857,  the  country  was  visited 
by  an  extensive  and  powerfiilly-felt  financial  revulsion.  Its  effects  were 
experienced  in  every  department  of  business  ;  nor  was  the  trouble  con- 
fined to  our  own  country,  but  throughout  the  commercial  world  a  mon- 
etary panic  almost  simultaneously  seized  upon  the  public  mind.  Trade 
was  destroyed,  manufactures  stopped,  the  banks  throughout  the  coun- 
try suspended  specie  payments,  and  universal  gloom  and  stagnation  of 
business  ensued.  An  important  share  of  the  President's  introductory 
message  was  devoted  to  a  consideration  of  this  state  of  things,  and  to 
a  suggestion  of  measures  for  its  relief.  Nothing  definite,  however,  was 
Hone  by  Congress  upon  the  subject ;  and  after  a  few  months,  there  ap. 
pearing  to  be  no  adequate  cause  for  the  panic,  the  public  distrust  began 
gradually  to  disappear..  Renewed  confidence  and  energy,  in  the  suc- 
ceeding year,  resulted  in  a  restoration  of  the  general  prosperity  of  the 
country,  the  financial  depression  necessitating,  however,  in  the  mean 
time,  on  the  part  of  the  government,  measures  of  greater  economy  ii 
the  national  expenditures. 

The  question  of  Kansas  was,  happily,  disposed  of  during  the  year 
1858.  This  exciting  topic,  involving  the  slavery  and  antislavery  issue, 
had  engrossed  the  attention  of  the  country  for  two  or  three  years  pre- 
vious, creating,  not  only  in  the  territory  itself,  but  throughout  the 
Union,  the  most  embittered  state  of  feeling.  It  was  the  cause  of  la- 
mentable scenes  of  violence  among  the  contending  factions  in  Kansas, 
and  of  a  political  rancor  among  parties  in  the  nation  seldom,  if  ever, 
before  known.  During  the  administration  of  Mr.  Pierce,  the  diflS- 
culty  had  assumed  an  alarming  magnitude,  and  it  fell  as  «».  bequest  to 
the  administration  of  Mr.  Buchanan.  Governor  after  g  mor  was 
sent  tp  the  territory,  in  the  hope  of  allaying  the  angry  passions  of  its 
divided  inhabitants  and  of  restoring  peace  and  order.  Each  faction, 
with  a  State  Constitution  in  its  hands,  was  appealing  to  Congress  for 
recognition  and  support.  Investigating  committees  were  commissioned 
to  repair  to  that  territory,  and  make  report  to  Congress  of  the  true 
condition  of  things.  In  the  midst  of  the  prevailing  violence  and  gen- 
eral disregard  of  law,  the  military  force  of  tht  j/overnment  had  to  be 
called  into  exercise.  Wliile  the  right  of  popular  sovereignty  seemed 
to  be  with  the  supporters  of  the  Topeka  constitution,  the  party  up- 
holding and  presenting  the  Lecompton  constitution  were,  in  the  judg- 
ment of  others,  acting  according  to  the  strict  interpretation  of  the 
law.    Both  constitutions  were  at  different  times  presented  to  Congress ; 


,1]  I  fiill  111 


ADMINISTRATION  OP  BUCHANAN. 


661 


and  both  were  finally  rejected ;  or,  rather,  an  act,  called  the  English 
compromise,  was  passed,  on  the  4th  of  May,  1868,  submitting  the  Le- 
compton  constitution  to  a  direct  vote  of  the  people  of  Kansas,  and 
thus  insuring  its  defeat  before  the  popular  tribunal,  in  the  ensuing  Au- 
gust. The  same  act  provided  that,  in  case  of  the  rejection  of  the  Le- 
compton  constitution,  the  people  of  the  territory  should  at  a  future 
period,  when  sufficiently  numerous  and  peaceably  organized,  proceed  to 
the  formation  of  a  State  constitution,  with  a  view  to  admission  into 
the  Union.  - 

Another  popular  disturbance,  calling  for  the  interposition  of  the 
executive,  was  the  difficulty  with  the  Mormons  in  Utah,  under  the 
domination  of  Brigliam  Young.  Young  had  been  appointed  the  first 
governor  of  the  territory,  in  1850,  and,  to  his  secular  power  added 
that  of  spiritual  ruler  of  the  Mormon  population.  Whatever  conflicted 
with  the  peculiar  views  and  interests  of  this  man  and  his  fanatical  con- 
federates was  sure  to  be  opposed,  and  the  result  was,  that  the  judicial 
and  executive  officers  of  the  government  were  obliged  to  leave  the  ter- 
ritory, where  they  were  exposed  to  constant  insult  and  threatened 
harm.  President  Buchanan  therefore  felt  it  his  duty,  in  185Y,  to  ap- 
point a  new  governor,  and  other  federal  officers  for  Utah,  and  these 
were  sent  into  the  territory,  with  a  military  force  for  their  protection 
and  the  restoration  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Constitution  and  laws. 
This  action  was  met,  on  the  part  of  Young,  with  a  proclamation  an- 
nouncing his  intention  of  resisting  the  entrance  of  the  United  States 
troops  into  the  territory ;  orders  were  issued  for  that  purpose,  and  for 
destroying  the  supply  trains  of  the  army,  and  placing  every  impedi- 
ment in  its  way.  The  entire  Mormon  population  were  exhorted  to  take 
up  arms  against  the  government,  and  the  most  violent  threats  of  re- 
sistance were  universal.  Seventy-five  wagons  loaded  with  provisions 
and  tents  for  the  troops  were  seized  and  burned  by  the  Mormons ; 
forts  Bridger  and  Supply  were  destroyed ;  and  the  army  was  com- 
pelled to  winter,  under  circumstances  of  great  privation,  before  reach- 
ing its  place  of  destination.  This  intelligence  led  to  energetic  action 
on  the  part  of  Congress.  New  supplies  were  voted,  and  two  volunteer 
regiments  authorized.  These,  however,  were  not  eventually  required, 
although  the  determination  of  the  government,  thus  manifested,  to  put 
down  the  rebellion  at  all  hazards,  doubtless  led  to  its  peaceable  settle- 
ment soon  afterwards.  In  the  meantime,  the  President  was  disposed 
to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  eff^usion  of  blood,  and  in  the  spring  of  1858 
sent  two  commissioners  to  Utah,  with  a  proclamation  addressed  to  its 
mhabitants,  representing  the  guilt  and  danger  of  their  conduct,  and 
42 


562 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  BUCHANAN. 


offering  thorn  a  free  pardon  for  their  late  treasonable  acts,  if  they  would 
promise  submission.  This  measure  was  crowned  with  success.  The 
Mormons,  now  aware  of  their  critical  position,  and  their  leaders  cowed 
by  the  imminent  danger  at  hand,  were  quite  willing  to  embrace  such 
easy  terms  of  reconciliation.  Governor  Gumming  was  received  as  the 
iiuccessor  of  Young,  and  pence  again  restored  to  the  territory.  A  por- 
tion of  the  army  was  subsequently  sent  to  Oregon,  to  suppress  Indian 
hostilities  in  that  quarter ;  and  the  remainder  retained  in  the  vicinity 
of  Salt  Lake  City.  Early  in  1859,  rumors  of  new  troubles  in  Utah 
were  received ;  and  the  opinion  is  entertained  that  Mormon  difficulties 
will  never  wholly  cease  until  this  singular  and  perverse  people  leave 
the  United  States  territories  entirely,  and  emigrate  to  other  parts. 

Turning  to  the  foreign  affairs  of  the  country,  we  find  the  old  ques- 
tion of  the  right  of  search,  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  again  brought 
into  active  discussion.  During  the  early  pajt  of  1858,  a  large  number 
of  our  merchant  vessels,  sailing  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cuba,  were 
overhauled  by  British  cruisers,  boarded,  and  searched,  under  the  pre- 
tence that  they  were  suspected  of  being  engaged  in  the  slave-trade. 
The  indignation  of  the  American  people,  and  of  Congress,  which  was 
in  session,  was  immediately  aroused  at  these  insulting  and  illegal  acts. 
The  attention  of  the  British  government  was  called  to  the  subject,  and 
the  hope  expressed  that  the  course  pursued  by  its  naval  officers  would 
be  at  once  disavowed.  To  arrest  these  proceedings  a  naval  force  was 
dispatched  by  the  President  to  the  neighborhood  of  their  transaction; 
and  Congress,  taking  the  matter  up  with  earnestness,  proceeded  to  re 
solve,  that  American  ships  at  sea,  under  the  American  flag,  remain  un- 
der the  jurisdiction  of  the  country  to  which  they  belong,  and  there- 
fore that  any  visitation  or  molestation  is  an  infractioL  of  the  sovereignty 
of  the  United  States;  that  these  aggressions  demand  such  an  unequivo- 
cal explanation  from  Great  Britain  as  shall  prevent  their  recurrence 
forever  in  future ;  and  that  Congress  approves  of  the  action  of  the 
Executive,  and  is  prepared  to  adopt  such  legislation  as  circumstances 
may  require.  Fortunately,  the  difficulty  was  settled  without  a  resort 
to  force.  The  proceedings  of  the  cruisers  were  peremptorily  stopped 
by  the  British  government,  their  past  acts  disavowed,  and  the  princi- 
ples set  forth  by  our  government  acknowledged  to  be  just  and  proper. 
The  President,  in  noticing  this  subject  in  his  Message  of  1858,  re- 
marked that  the  British  government,  while  abandoning  the  claim  of 
the  right  of  search,  at  the  same  time  proposed  to  the  United  States 
that  some  mode  should  be  adopted,  by  mutual  arrangement  between 
the  two  countries,  for  verifying  the  nationality  of  vessels  suspected  on 


ADMINISTRATION  OF   BUCHANAN. 


668 


good  grounds  of  carrying  false  colors.  To  tbis  it  was  replied,  that  we 
were  ready  to  receive  any  proposals  which  they  may  feel  disposed  to 
offer,  having  this  object  in  view,  and  to  consider  them  in  an  amicable 
spirit. 

In  the  previous  year  (1867)  hostilities  had  taken  place  in  China,  on 
the  part  of  the  British  and  French  acting  against  Canton,  and  minis 
ters  had  been  sent  by  those  governments  for  the  purpose  of  negotia- 
ting treaties  with  the  Chinese.  Our  own  government  also  sent  thither 
an  able  commissioner,  who,  while  instructed  to  occupy  neutral  ground  in 
regard  to  the  difficulties  then  pending,  was  directed  to  co-operate  with 
the  British  and  French,  in  ail  peaceful  measures  to  secure  by  treaty 
those  just  concessions  of  foreign  commerce  which  the  nations  of  the 
world  had  a  right  to  demand.  Russia  also  occupied  at  the  time  a 
similar  position  of  neutrality  and  peaceful  intention.  The  result  was 
the  successful  negotiation  of  a  treaty  by  Mr.  Reed,  our  commissioner, 
with  the  Chinese,  on  the  13th  of  Jun*,  1858,  establishing  the  most 
friendly  relations,  and  greatly  extending  the  advantages  of  commerce 
with  that  country. 

Through  the  efforts  of  our  consul  at  Japan,  a  new  and  enlarged 
treaty  was  also  concluded  with  that  power,  in  1858.  From  being  an 
isolated  and  comparatively  unknown  country,  as  it  was  previous  to  the 
famous  expedition  in  1852,  under  Commodore  Perry,  Japan  has  now 
become  one  of  the  family  of  commercial  nations.  The  mention  of  the 
name  of  Perry  leads  us  to  make  a  record  in  these  pages  of  the  death 
of  this  distinguished  naval  officer.  Commodore  Matthew  Colbreath 
Perry  died  in  the  city  of  New  York,  on  the  4th  of  March,  1858,  aged 
sixty-three  years.  He  was  one  of  the  ablest  of  our  naval  command- 
ers, and  particularly  distinguished  himself  as  flag  officer  of  the  Gulf 
squadron  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  in  connection  with  the  Japan  ex- 
pedition, as  before  stated,  the  remarkable  success  of  which  was  at- 
tributed to  his  energetic  and  able  management. 

The  death  of  another  eminent  character  occurred  the  following 
month.  The  Hon.  Thomas  Hart  Benton  died  in  Washington  on  the 
10th  of  April,  1858,  at  the  age  of  seventy-six.  Colonel  Benton  was 
one  among  the  eminent  statesmen  that  have  attracted  the  attention 
and  directed  the  legislation  of  the  country  for  the  last  half-century. ,  He 
was  the  contemporary  of  Clay,  Webster  and  Calhoun,  and  but  a  short 
time  before  his  death  completed  and  gave  to  the  world,  in  his 
"  Thirty  Years'  View,"  a  full  and  admirable  history  of  events  in  Con- 
crress  during  the  long  period  of  his  connection  with  that  body. 

Further  to  illustrate  the  obituary  history  of  the  period,  we  may 


ADMINISTBATION  OF  BUCHANAN. 


""^  .  ,    1     <c„nr  \n  the  MexicRTi  war, 

_,o„  the  .cat.  of  that  ^^^^;^:,  ^1,  on  the  Ht. 
General  John  A.  Quitman,  v. hich  too^  P  ^^Hin  KoBZta, 

;f  ,uly.l858;  and  of  tl^«  f-^-^fXa  inth!  ^ 

(Ihos;  rescue  from  Austrian  powr  .  noUc  ^^^. 

n  the  early  part  of  May;  f  ^^^^^^f  ^he  Hon.  Louis  McLane, 
ord  of  mortality  «^'"^'^^'^^\ '^.VTreasury  under   General  Jackson 
he   celebrated   Secretary  <>f  f^«  J^^  ,\e  repeated  candidate  of 
and  of  James  G.  Bimey,  well  known  .^^  ^^  g^.p^^si- 

Xe  antislavery  party  for  ^^f  jr^l  5«' -™^^^' ^'' ™"NX 
dent  Monroe  -re,  on  th^e^2d^oU^^^^^^    ^^^^  ^^^  ^^^,^,  ,,„,e  1831, 

Td^"  :vW  for  -^-:rproce^^  .  place  on  record 
Resuming  our  ordinary  -"^^;;';;:i,Lblo  enterprise,  the  laymg 
the  leading  facts  connected  wrth  that  re  ^^  ^^^  ^^^^  ^^^, 

of  the  Atlantic  Telegraph  Cable-  J-^e  .  ^^^^^^^  ^,,  „ade  in 

•      Ide  in  1857,  and  proved  '^"^"'^.'^'^^^^;^:  '      ,f  rt,e  cable  took  place. 
Junt  1858,  when  three  ---e  pa^.n^^^    ^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^.^ 

and  the  vessels  returned  *«  poj^^  ^^       ^^^^  United  States  were  com- 
sail  to  resume  the  work.    England  «  ^^,^  ,f  Congress,  the 

Tned  in  the  undertaking,  the  ^^tt-J"^^^^^^^^^^  i,  the  laying.     On 

I.  and  magnificent  -^^^  waS^^  -  -^-«"^"'  ^"'  "     d 
Jhe  29th  of  the  month  tne  c^^^^  ^  ^       j^.a^d,  the  American  end 
5th  of  August  the  ends  -«'«    "Xfouldland,  and  the  BnUsh  end 
by  the  Niagara,  at  Tri^^^^y'  f  l^^^^d-the  two  termim  distant 

have  appeared  in^^^'"^^"^^^^"       ,,  be  defective,  requiring  that  the 
^  The  cable  proved  shortly  after  to  be       ^_^^^^^^^^^^ 

^ork  should  be  done  o^cr  again ,  but  i^  ^^^^  transatlantic  tele- 

;  be  tested,  and  to  establish  the^^-^^^  messages,  which  were  tran. 
graphingwaspracuc^^^^^.^^^,i,^  record:       .  >,   ,, 
mitted  through  the  cable,  we  p  , 

THE   QTJBEN's   MEBSXGK.         ^.     ^..',  ,>,; L  .,■_ .     ' 

«  To  the  Mdeai  of  iU  ^^'^'^^^^^  p,,,i,ent  npon  the  success- 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  BUCHANAN. 


666 


▼ently  hoping  that  the  Electric  Cable  which  now  connects  Great  Brit- 
sin  with  the  United  States  will  prove  an  additions'  link  between  the 
nations,  whose  friendship  is  founded  upon  their  common  interest  and 
reciprocal  esteem. 

"  The  Queen  has  much  pleasure  in  thus  communicating  with  the 
President,  and  renewing  to  him  her  wishes  for  the  prosperity  of  the 
United  States."  ■      •  .  •■ 


[    ■■  THB    PRESIDENT  S    RBPLT. 

"■'•■'  ""WABiUNaTON  CiTT,  Aug.  16,  1868. 

•*  To  her  Majesty,  Victoria,  Queen  of  Great  Lritain : 

"The  President  cordially  reciprocates  the  congratulations  of  Her 
Majesty,  the  Queen,  on  the  success  of  the  great  international  enter- 
prise accomplished  by  the  science,  skill,  and  indomitable  energy  of 
the  two  countries.  It  is  a  triumph  more  glorious,  because  far  more 
useful  to  mankind,  than  was  ever  won  by  conqueror  on  the  field  of 
battle. 

"May  the  Atlantic  Telegraph,  under  the  blessing  of  Heaven,  prove  to 
be  a  bond  of  perpetual  peace  and  friendship  between  the  kindred  na- 
tions, and  an  instrument  destined  by  Divine  Providence  to  diffuse  re- 
ligion, civilization,  liberty,  and  law  throughout  the  world.  In  this  view 
will  not  all  nations  of  Christendom  spontaneously  unite  in  the  declara- 
tion that  it  shall  be  forever  neutral,  and  that  its  communications  shall 
be  held  sacred  in  passing  to  their  places  of  destination,  even  in  the 
midst  of  hostilities  ? 

(Signed)  "Jambs  Buchanan." 

Another  important  event  of  the  year  was  the  opening  of  the  Over- 
land Mail  route  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  In  the  absence  of  a 
Pacific  railroad,  such  a  measure  was  necessary  to  accommodate  the 
emigration  westward  and  to  secure  a  more  safe  and  rapid  means  of 
communication  with  our  distant  possessions  in  that  quarter. 

The  republic  of  Paraguay  having  been  guilty  of  inflicting  vavions 
insults  and  injuries  upon  our  flag  and  upon  the  persons  and  property 
of  American  citizens  within  her  limits,  and  having  failed  to  make 
proper  apology  and  reparation,  the  President  recommended  in  his  mes- 
sage of  1857  that  a  final  effort  be  made  to  obtain  redress  from  that 
power,  and  that  the  Executive  be  authorized  to  uce  other  means  in  the 
event  of  a  refusal.  Congress  accordingly  granted  the  necessary  au- 
thority in  1858,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  a  powerful  naval  expedi- 
tion was  dispatched  to  Paraguay,  under  the  command  of  Commodore 


666 


ADMINISTRATION  OP  BUCHANAN. 


Shiibrick.  Tho  II:n.  James  B.  Bowlin  accompanied  the  expedition, 
as  Commissioner,  fully  authorized  to  make  a  peaceful  settlement,  if 
possible,  before  rcsortinj^  to  force.  The  fleet  arrived  at  its  destination 
early  in  1869,  having  with  considerable  difficulty  navigated  its  way 
up  the  tortuous  stream  leading  to  the  interior  republic.  The  efforts 
of  our  Commissioner  fortunately  were  successful,  and,  without  firing  a 
cannon,  President  Lopez  was  induced  to  come  to  terms.  The  friendly 
advice  and  interposition  of  General  Unjuiza,  President  of  the  Argen- 
tine Confederation,  also,  without  doubt,  exerted  an  influence  in  pro- 
ducing the  pacific  results  which  followed.  A  favorable  treaty  was  con- 
cluded with  Paraguay,  and  the  various  causes  of  animosity  were  re- 
moved by  satisfactory  concessions  on  her  part. 

The  administration  of  JJuchiinan  was,  fiirtherinore,  actively  engaged 
in  looking  after  and  defending  the  interests  of  the  United  States  in 
the  various  portions  of  Central  America,  and  negotiations  with  New 
Grenada,  Nicaragua,  Mexico,  and  other  local  governments,  occupied  its 
watchful  attention  and  energies.  The  importance  of  keeping  open  the 
transit  routes  to  tho  Pacific,  and  of  protecting  the  lives  and  property 
of  American  citizens,  in  those  quarters,  called  for  constant  vigilance 
and  eflfort. 

So,  also,  in  regard  to  the  suppression  of  fiUibustering  enterprises  on 
the  part  of  some  of  our  own  citizens,  against  those  governments,  and 
in  regard  to  efforts  having  in  view  the  prevention  of  an  attempted 
revival  of  the  slav^.-trade  along  our  southern  coasts,  and  the  return  to 
Africa  of  slaves  thus  found  landed  on  our  shores,  the  conduct  of  our 
government  has  been  of  a  decided  and  prompt  character. 

In  regard  to  the  acquisition  of  Cuba,  considerable  discussion  was 
had  in  Congress  in  the  early  part  of  1859.  The  President,  in  his  mes- 
sage to  that  body,  had  treated  largely  of  the  subject,  showing  tho  im- 
portance of  the  acquisition.  Its  geographical  and  commercial  advan- 
tages were  eloquently  set  forth.  The  United  States  had  several  times 
before  attempted  a  negotiation  with  Spain  for  its  purchase,  but  had 
oeen  unsuccessful.  Mr.  Buchanan,  however,  strongly  recommended 
that  the  attempt  should  be  renewed,  and,  as  it  might  be  necessary 
that  ho  should,  in  conducting  the  bargain,  be  provided  with  a  certain 
amount  of  money  to  advance  to  the  Spanish  government,  he  also  sub- 
mitted that  suggestion  to  Congress,  commending  the  whole  subject  to 
its  careful  consideration  The  question  was  formally  brought  forward, 
favorably  reported  upon  in  a  very  elaborate  and  able  manner  in  both 
Houses,  and  an  appropriation  of  thirty  millions  of  dollars  recommended 
(o  be  passed.     Owing  t  >  the  shortness  of  the  session,  the  matter  was 


ADMINISTRATION    OF    BUCHANAN. 


667 


not  (lefinituly  acted  upon ;  it  elicited,  however,  much  dehato,  which 
astsisted  matcriully  in  bringing  the  subjoct  more  clearly  and  fully  to 
the  attoiition  of  the  nation. 

T  this  session  of  Congress,  Oregon  was  admitted  as 
a  State  of  the  Confederacy,  as  had  Minnosuta  the 
year  previous.  This  increased  the  number  of  States 
to  thirty-three,  two  of  which  (Oregon  and  California) 
face  the  broad  I'acitic. 

By  authority  of  Congress,  important  additions  of 
now  war-steamers  have  been  made,  though  more,  it  is  appro 
bended,  will  be  required  to  properly  look  after  and  defend 
the  widely -extended  commerce  and  interests  of  the  nation, 
cspeciiilly  in  times  of  general  warlike  disturbance  through- 
out the  world.  The  early  part  of  1859,  for  example,  wit" 
nessed  the  breaking  out  of  war  among  the  nations  of  Europe — France 
and  Sardinia  combating  against  Austria,  and  with  the  prospect  of  in- 
volving the  other  great  powers  in  the  conflict.  The  difficulty  related 
to  the  independence  of  the  Italian  States,  over  some  of  which  Austria 
had  lonix  exerted  an  undue  control. 

Hostilities  were  precipitated  by  the  demand  of  Austria  upon  Sar- 
dinia, to  disarm — a  demand  which  was  of  course  indignantly  refused 
by  the  latter.  The  appeal  was  then  to  arms.  An  Austrian  army  of 
one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  men  invaded  the  territory  of  Sar- 
dinia on  the  29th  of  April,  and  in  a  few  days  was  confronted  by  the 
Sardinian  army  numbering  about  sixty  thousand,  aided  by  a  French 
army  of  two  hundred  thousand  men,  under  the  leadership  of  Louis 
Napoleon  himself.  The  Austrians  commenced  retracing  their  steps, 
and  were  followed  up  by  the  Allies.  On  the  21st  of  May  the  first  battle 
took  place  at  Montebello,  one  of  the  successful  battle-fields  of  the 
first  Napoleon,  and  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  Austrians.  The  bat- 
tle of  Palestro  followed  on  the  30th  of  the  same  month,  and  here 
again  the  Austrians  were  defeated.  On  the  4th  of  June  took  place 
the  great  battle  of  Magenta,  in  which  one  hundred  and  twenty  thou- 
sand of  the  Allies  fought  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  of  the  en- 
emy. The  Austrians  here  sustained  another  defeat,  losing  about  ten 
thousand  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners,  and  the  Allies  about  three 
thousand.  This  battle  opened  the  way  to  Milan,  which  was  immedi- 
ately evacuated  by  the  Austrians,  and  entered  by  the  Allies  on  the 
8th  of  June. 

The  Austrians  now  rapidly  retreated,  to  reach  their  strongly  fortified 
positions  beyond  the  Mincio.    Their  lear-guard  was,  however,  over- 


GG8 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   BUOHANAIT. 


taken  at  Mulignano,  where  another  desperate  struggle  took  place,  re 
suiting  in  the  succoss  of  the  Allies  and  a  Hcvore  loss  to  the  enemy. 
Finally,  on  the  24th  of  Juno,  the  groat  and  -docisivo  battle  of  Solfe- 
rino  was  fought.  The  forces  nuniborod  about  two  hundred  thousand 
on  each  side  ;  and  from  early  morn  to  late  in  the  evening,  the  fierce 
and  terrible  encounter  lasted.  The  Allies  lost  about  eighteon  thou- 
sand, and  the  Austrians  m  many  more,  making  neaily  forty  thounand 
men  sacrificed  in  this  fearful  engagcMient.  The  AustriaiLS  were  driven 
from  the  field.  Operations  w  -re  about  being  undertaken  against  the 
fortresses  of  Peschiera  and  Verona,  when,  on  the  8th  of  July,  an  ar- 
mistice was  agreed  upon,  and  on  the  1 1th  a  treaty  of  peace  wjis  signed 
at  Villafraiica,  by  the  emperors  of  France  and  Austria,  Thus  suddenly 
and  unexpectedly  was  this  mighty  conflict  brought  to  a  close.  Mean- 
time, Garibaldi,  the  Italian  leader,  was  perfoniiing  wonders  in  northern 
Lombardy,  while  the  Hungarian  patriots,  Kossuth  and  Klapka,  were 
on  tlie  point  of  creating  a  revolution  ia  Hungary. 

The  basis  of  the  peace  were :  Italy  a  confederacy,  under  the  hon- 
orary presidency  of  the  I'ope ;  Lombardy  annexed  to  Sardinia ;  Vene- 
tia  to  be  ruled  by  Austria,  but  as  a  part  of  the  Italian  confederacy; 
and  a  general  amnesty  :  a  conference  to  be  held  at  Zurich  for  the  ar- 
rangement of  details. 

Prominent  among  the  events  of  1860,  was  the  arrival  in  this  coun- 
try of  an  embassy  from  the  empire  of  Japan,  consisting  of  two  princes, 
and  a  train  of  officials  and  attendants,  numbering  about  seventy  per- 
sons. The  event  was  strikingly  novel,  inasmuch  as  such  a  step  toward 
internatii.'xal  intercourse  had  never  before  been  known  in  the  history 
of  that  jealous  and  secluded  nation ;  and  it  was  regarded  as  impor- 
tant, because  it  aff'orded  an  indication  of  future  free  and  friendly  asso- 
ciation, particularly  between  that  country  and  the  United  States.  The 
embassy  arrived  on  the  Pacific  coast  in  the  United  States  war-steamer 
Powhatan,  and  in  the  Roanoke  at  New  York  on  the  9th  of  May.  The 
Eoanoke  proceeded  at  once,  without  landing,  to  convey  the  embassy 
to  Washington,  where  it  landed  on  the  14th,  and  on  the  iTth  its 
members  were  formally  presented  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  An  exchange  of  the  ratified  treaty  between  the  United  States 
and  Japan  was  made ;  and  the  embassy,  after  passing  a  number  of 
weeks  at  Washington,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  New  York,  ob- 
serving the  institutions  of  this  country,  and  everywhere  received  with 
the  most  courteous  attentions,  left  for  home  in  the  government  steamer 
Niagan  from  New  York,  on  the  30th  of  June. 

Th«  arrival  of  the  mammoth  steamship,  the  Great  Eastern,  about 


18TKAT10N    OF   BrCHANAN. 


CM 


The 


tluH  time,  WM  a  new  Roui^'e  of  wide-nproad  interest.  After  repeated 
diHappointniontH,  tluB  wonder  of  maritime  architecture  arrived  at  New 
Yoric  on  the  a7th  of  Juno,  aftei  a  pasitago  of  little  more  tliiin  clevov 
days  from  Enjjfland.  A  foelini?  of  mingled  curiosity  and  iidmirntion 
led  to  an  immenHO  influx  of  people  frum  all  parts  of  the  country  to 
visit  the  monster  as  she  lay  at  her  whaif  on  the  North  Uivcr.  The 
commorcial  emporium  continued  to  be  the  b^^ene  of  concentrated  in- 
terest for  weeks,  and  it  was  estimated  that  voiy  nearly  two  liundrcd 
thousand  persons  visited  the  great  steamship.  Hot  marvellous  size 
was  such  (being  seven  hundred  and  eighty  feet  in  length  and  one  hun- 
dred and  fifteen  in  wi<lth)  that  the  largest  steamers  and  sliips  moored 
.n  her  vicinity  slirunk,  in  the  comparison,  to  the  dimensions  of  small 
river  craft;  while  her  internal  arrangements  and  machinery  were  in- 
spected with  eager  and  profound  interest  by  the  multitude  that  flocked 
on  boar<l  of  her.  After  making  one  or  two  excursions  along  the  coast, 
and  fuitilling  the  mission  of  her  first  visit,  the  Great  Eastern  left  New 
York  for  England  on  the  10th  of  August,  arriving  at  Milford  Haven, 
England,  on  the  ii6th. 

Among  the  more  afflictive  casualties  of  the  year  may  be  mentioned 
the  occurrence  of  several  tornadoes,  of  unprecedented  fury,  at  the  West, 
which  occasioned  the  destruction  of  hundreds  of  lives,  and  the  loss  of 
a  vast  amount  of  property.  Among  the  marine  disasters,  the  fate  of 
the  Hungarian  stands  prominent.  This  steamer  was  wrecked  on  tho 
morning  of  the  20th  of  February,  in  the  vicinity  of  Cape  Sable,  on 
her  passage  from  Liverpool  to  Portland,  and  all  on  board,  about  three 
hundred  and  sixty  in  number,  perished.  Another  appalling  calamity, 
of  a  like  nature,  occurred  on  Lake  Michigan,  on  the  morning  of  the  8th 
of  September,  when  the  Lady  Elgin,  a  packet  steamer  crowded  with 
passengers,  most  of  whom  were  excursionists  belonging  in  Milwaukie, 
waa  run  into  and  sunk ;  and  of  nearly  four  hundred  persons,  only 
about  one-quarter  were  saved. 

During  the  month  of  August,  intelligence  came  from  the  south  that 
the  famous  General  William  Walker,  of  Nicaragua  notoriety,  had  es- 
sayed a  fresh  expedition  against  Central  America,  directing  his  enter- 
prise this  time  against  Honduras.  It  was  soon  after  reported  that  he 
had  effected  a  landing  and  captured  the  town  of  Truxillo.  His  career, 
however,  soon  met  with  an  abrupt  and  fatal  termination ;  for,  by  the 
middle  of  September,  news  was  received  in  this  country  of  the  capture 
of  himself  and  the  small  body  of  men  under  his  command,  by  the 
forces  of  a  Britisl  war-vessel,  and  of  his  surrender  to  the  authorities 
of  Honduras,  by  whom  Walker  was  executed,  one   of  his  leading 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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1.25 


Hi  lie    |25 

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Ui  I^   12.2 
H^   1^    12.0 


1.4 


1.6 


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V 


7 


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i 


^ 

^.<^ 


i 

'-4 


670 


ADMmiSTBATIOM    OF    BUOHANAIT. 


oflScers  sentenced  to  four  year's  imprisonment,  and  his  followers  per- 
mitted t3  return  to  the  United  States.  Thus  closed  the  eventful  career 
of  the  filibustering  general. 

In  contrast  with  this,  stands  the  heroic  and  successful  course  of  the 
distinguished  Italian  patriot,  Garibaldi.  Setting  out  for  Sicily  in  the 
early  part  of  May,  with  about  a  thousand  follow**^,  in  two  steamere, 
he  landed  at  Marsala,  in  the  very  face  of  the  cnem}»,  and  under  the 
fire  of  Neapolitan  war-frigates.  One  of  his  steamers  was  captured  and 
the  other  sunk.  But  Garibaldi  had  the  hearts  of  the  people  with  him  ] 
they  regarded  him  as  their  friend  and  liberato-  He  was  not  long, 
then,  in  swelling  his  ranks  with  volunteers,  while  reinforcements  from 
Sardinia  also  came  to  his  assistance.  His  forces  were  still  seemingly 
inadequate  to  the  great  enterprise  before  him,  yet  with  unsurpassed 
resolution  he  pushed  his  way  onward.  After  a  desperate  struggle  of 
two  days,  he  captured  the  important  city  of  l^alermo ;  next  Messina ; 
and  causing  the  Neapolitan  forces  and  authorities  speedily  to  quit  the 
island  in  dismay  and  consternation,  he  proclaimed  it  annexed  to  the 
possessions  of  Victor  Emanuel,  and  himself  its  temporary  Dictator. 
Not  resting  here,  his  efforts  in  behalf  of  Italian  freedom  were  trais- 
ferred  to  the  main  land ;  and  on  the  8th  of  September,  he  entered 
anopposed  the  city  of  Naples,  amidst  the  joyful  demonstrations  of  its 
inhabitants,  the  king  and  royal  family  having  already  fled  befote  the 
approach  of  the  patriot  and  liberator. 

An  event  of  an  extraordinary  character,  and  that  deeply  stirrea  the 
public  interest,  was  the  visit  of  the  I'rince  of  Wales  to  America  during 
the  summer  of  I860,  His  Royal  Highness  was  received  with  the  ut- 
most respect,  on  the  part  of  the  public  authorities  and  all  classes  of  the 
people,  and  left  the  country  on  his  return  home,  having  produced  a 
most  favorable  impression  in  the  course  of  his  travels  amonsrst  us. 

On  Monday,  April  23,  1860,  the  National  Convention  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  met  at  Charleston,  S.  C,  for  the  purpose  of  nominating 
candidates  for  President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  was  the  only  prominent  candidate  be- 
fore the  convention  for  the  first  office.  He  was  the  acknowledged 
champion  of  the  principle,  that  the  people  of  the  Territories  had  the 
right,  equally  with  the  people  of  the  States,  to  regulate  the  institution 
of  slavery  as  they  pleased.  A  large  portion  of  the  Southern  delegates 
denied  this  doctrine,  and  opposed  his  nomination.  They  claimed 
that  slavery  was  protected  as  property  in  all  the  national  domain,  out* 
side  of  the  States,  wherever  the  slave-owners  chose  to  carry  it,  and  de- 
manded of  the  convention  to  declare  that  neither  Congress  nor  the 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   BUCHANAN. 


671 


Ttirritorial  legislatures  had  any  power  either  to  confirm  or  prohibit  it 
in  the  Territories.  The  convention  refused  to  make  this  declaration, 
but  agreed  that  the  subject  should  be  left  to  the  courts,  as  a  judicial 
question.  This  did  not  satisfy  the  Southern  delegates,  and  they  left 
the  convention.  After  a  boisterous  session,  which  continued  to  Thurs- 
day, May  3,  and  after  taking  fifty-seven  ballots  without  securing  the 
requisite  two-thirds  vote  for  Mr.  Douglas,  the  convention  adjourned  to 
meet  at  Baltimore  on  the  18th  of  June.  The  seceding  delegates  or- 
ganized and  adjourned  to  meet  at  Richmond  on  the  11th  of  June. 
Tlicy  met  accoiding  to  appointment,  and  agiin  adjourned  to  meet  at 
Baltimore  on  the  21st  of  June. 

Both  conventions  met  agreeable  to  appointment,  but  the  breach  be- 
tween them  was  wider  than  ever.  The  regular  convention  nominated 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  of  Illinois,  for  President,  and  Herschel  V.  John- 
son, of  Georgia,  for  Vice-President.  The  scceders  nominated  John  C. 
Breckinridge,  of  Kentucky,  for  President,  and  Joseph  Lane,  of  Oregon, 
for  Vice-President.  Both  conventions  adhered  to  the  doctrine  in  re- 
gard to  slavery  upon  which  they  originally  split. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  John  Bell,  of  Tennessee,  was  nominated  for 
President,  and  Edward  Everett,  of  Massachusetts,  for  Vice-President, 
by  a  convention  in  Baltimore,  siylii.g  tLcinselves  the  "  Union  party." 
They  declared  simp'^  in  favor  of  "  the  Union,  the  constitution,  and 
the  enforcement  of  the  la-.^rs." 

On  Wednesday,  the  16th  day  of  May,  the  Republican  National 
Convention  assembled  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  and  on  Friday,  on  the 
third  ballot,  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln,  of  lUinoii^  for  President. 
Subsequently,  Hannibal  Uamlin,  of  Maine,  was  nominated  for  Vice- 
President. 

Abrah  Lincoln,  the  nominee  of  this  convention,  who  was  destined 
to  fill  so  large  a  place,  not  only  in  the  history  of  his  own  country,  but 
in  that  of  the  world,  was  a  self-educated  man.  He  was  born  in  La 
Rue  County,  Kentucky,  on  the  12th  of  February,  1809,  of  poor  parents, 
from  whom  he  inherited  nothing  but  a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body. 
His  boyhood  was  spent  in  the  rough  experiences  of  a  frontier  life,  with 
no  educational  advantages  but  such  as  he  sought  out  himself  by  his 
own  instinctive  thirst  for  mental  improvement.  He  was  for  a  time  a 
fiatboatman,  then  a  wood-chopper,  then  a  clerk  in  a  small  grocery, 
then  a  miller,  then  a  soldier  in  the  Black  Hawk  war,  then  a  village 
politician,  then  a  law  student,  and  finally  a  lawyer.  At  all  times  he 
eagerly  sought  to  enlarge  his  stock  of  knowledge,  and  always  carried 


6T2 


ADMINISTBATION   OF  BUCHANAX. 


in  his  bosom  a  "merry  heart  that  doeth  good  like  a  medicine."  His 
manners  were  in  the  highest  degree  popular,  and,  at  an  early  age, 
with  a  high  reputation  as  a  profound  lawyer,  he  was  elected  for  four 
successive  years  as  a  member  of  the  State  Legislature.  Ho  served  as 
a  member  of  Congress  from  1847  to  1849,  and  from  that  tinie  was 
not  brought  prominently  before  the  country  until  in  1858  he  was 
placed  in  nomination  as  a  candidate  for  United  States  senator,  in  op- 
position to  Stephen  A.  Douglas.  The  canvass  that  followed  this 
nomination  v/as  the  most  remarkable  ever  known  in  the  history  of  a 
free  country.  Both  candidates  travelled  together  for  several  months, 
and  discussed  the  great  national  questions  in  issue  from  the  same 
platform.  It  was  a  combat  of  giants.  The  whole  country  watched 
the  discussion  with  the  liveliest  interest,  for  it  devnloped,  in  each 
disputant,  mental  resources  that  were  the  admiration  of  the  world. 
The  canvass  closed  by  the  return  of  a  majority  of  the  Legisla* 
ture  in  favor  of  Mr.  Douglas,  but  the  popular  vote  was  in  favor  of 
Mr.  Lincoln. 

On  the  opening  of  this  discussion  Mr.  Lincoln  broadly  announced 
his  position  on  the  slavery  question,  in  language  in  which  there  was 
no  ambiguity.     He  said 

"  If  we  would  first  know  where  we  are  and  whither  we  are  tending, 
we  could  better  judge  what  to  do  anH  how  to  do  it.  We  are  now  far 
into  the  fifth  year,  since  a  policy  was  initiated  with  the  avowed  object 
and  confident  promise  of  putting  an  end  to  slavery  agitation.  Under 
the  operation  of  that  policy,  that  agitation  has  not  only  not  ceased, 
but  has  constantly  augmented.  In  my  opinion  it  will  not  cease  until 
a  crisis  shall  have  been  reached  and  passed.  '  A  house  divided 
against  itself  cannot  stand.'  I  believe  this  government  cannot  endure 
permanently  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect  the  Union  to 
be  dissolved, — I  do  not  expect  the  house  to  fall, — but  I  do  expect  it 
•will  cease  to  be  divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the 
"other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  arrest  the  further  spread 
of  it,  and  place  it  where  the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it 
is  in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction,  or  its  advocates  will  push  it 
forward  until  it  shall  become  alike  lawful  in  all  the  States,  old  as  well 
as  new,  North  as  well  as  South." 

Such  were  the  opinions  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  They  were  not  opinions 
alone,  they  were  the  utterances  of  a  mind  endued  with  the  spirit  of 
prophecy. 

The  question  of  slavery,  upon  which  the  other  party  had  foundered, 


red, 


▲DMIKIBTBATIOH   OF  BUCHANAN.  673 

was  harmoniously  disposed  of  in  the  Republican  Convention  by  the 
following  resolutions : 

"  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the  rights  oi  the  States,  and 
especially  the  right  of  each  State  to  order  and  control  its  own  domes- 
tic institutions  according  to  its  own  judgment  exclusively,  is  essential 
to  that  balance  of  power  on  which  the  perfection  and  endurance  of  our 
political  faith  depends,  and  we  denounce  the  lawless  invasion  by  armed 
force  of  any  State  or  Territory,  no  matter  under  what  pretext,  as  among 
the  gravest  of  crimes. 

"  That  the  normal  condition  of  all  the  territory  of  the  United  States 
is  that  of  freedom ;  that  as  our  republican  fathers,  when  they  abol- 
ished slavery  in  all  our  national  territory,  ordained  that  no  person 
should  be  deprived  of  life,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of 
law,  it  becomes  our  duty,  by  legislation,  whenever  such  legislation  is 
necessary,  to  maintain  this  provision  of  the  constitution  against  all  at- 
tempt to  violate  it ;  and  wo  deny  the  authority  of  Congress,  of  a  Terri- 
torial Legislature,  or  of  any  individuals,  to  give  legal  existence  to 
slavery  in  any  Territory  of  the  United  States." 

The  canvass  that  followed  these  conventions  was  not  unusually  ex- 
citing, because  from  the  confused  condition  of  the  opposition  parties, 
the  election  of  Lincoln  was  conceded  from  the  beginning.  The  hour 
had  come  when  the  policy  of  the  nation  was  to  be  changed  in  respect 
to  the  institution  of  slavery,  and  the  flaming  sword  of  freedom  set  up 
to  guard  in  every  way  the  entrance  to  the  rich  and  fertile  territories 
of  the  West. 

On  the  6th  of  November  the  presidential  election  took  place.  The 
electoral  votes  of  the  States  were  distributed  among  the  candidates  as 
follows : 

Lincoln  and  Hamlin 180 

Breckinridge  and  Lane 12 

Bell  and  Everett 39 

Douglas  and  Johnson , 12 

The  exact  popular  vote  was  as  follows : 

Linoolnand  Hamlin 1,867,610 

Douglas  and  Johnson 992,139 

Breckinridge  and  Lane  (South  Carolina  estimated) 749,082 

Bell  and  Everett 576,193 

Fusion  votes  for  Douglas,  Breckinridge,  and  Bell 343,837 

Fusion  votes  for  Douglas  and  Bell 16,438 

Total  popular  vote 4,633,299 


674 


ADMINISTRATION   OP    BUCHANAN. 


Imtnediatoly  on  ascertaining  the  result  of  the  election,  active  pre- 
parations were  made  in  the  slavcholding  States  for  a  withdrawal  from 
the  Union.  South  Carolina  took  the  lead.  The  Legislature  of  that 
State  met  on  the  27th  ot  November,  and  at  once  provided  for  the 
election  of  delegates  to  a  State  convention,  to  meet  on  the  17th  of 
December.  This  convention,  composed  of  delegates  fresh  from  the 
people,  met  at  Columbia  on  the  day  appointed,  but  adjourned  to 
Charleston,  in  consequence  of  the  prevalence  of  the  small  pox  at  the 
former  place.  On  the  20th  day  of  December,  almost  without  debate, 
and  by  a  unanimous  vote,  the  convention  adopted  an  ordinance  of 
secession,  which,  as  a  sample  of  all  the  ordinances  of  that  kind  passed 
by  the  other  States,  is  here  given  : — 

"An  ordinance  to  dissolve  the  Union  between  the  State  of  South 
Carolina  and  other  States  united  with  her  under  the  compact  entitled 
*  The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America.' 

"  We,  the  people  of  South  Carolina,  in  convention,  assembled,  do 
declare  and  ordain,  and  it  is  hereby  declared  and  ordained,  that  the 
ordinance  adopted  by  us  in  convention  on  the  23d  day  of  May,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord,  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-eight, 
whereby  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America  was  ratified, 
and  also,  all  acts  and  parts  of  acts  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
State  ratifying  amendments  of  the  said  constitution,  are  hereby  re- 
pealed •  and  that  the  union  now  subsisting  between  South  Carolina 
and  other  States,  under  the  name  of  the  '  United  States  of  America,' 
is  hereby  dissolved." 

The  convention  also  issued  a  declaration  of  independence,  and 
adopted  ordinances  preparing  the  State  for  its  independent  position ; 
among  which  was  one  defining  "  treason,"  declaring  that  offence  to 
consist  in  levying  wf.r  against  the  State,  adhering  to  its  enemies,  giv- 
ing them  aid  and  comfort,  and  pronouncing  the  punishment  for  such 
conduct  to  be  "  death  without  benefit  of  clergy."  The  reign  of  terror 
was  thus  inaugurated.  Loyalty  to  the  United  States  was  treason  to 
South  Carolina. 

On  the  3d  day  of  December  Congress  convened,  the  representatives 
of  all  the  States  being  in  their  seats.  The  message  of  President 
Buchanan  elaborately  discussed  the  s^ate  of  the  country,  and  the  rela- 
tive powers  of  the  General  and  State  governments.  He  talked  as  a 
statesman  when  his  languafje  should  have  been  that  of  a  soldier.  In- 
stead of  a  fine-spun  argument  about  State  rights,  if  he  had  simply  told 
the  Southern  malcontents  that  if  they  attempted  to  obstruct  the  execu* 


ADMINISTRATION   OF    BUOUANAN. 


67S 


tion  of  the  laws  ho  would  put  them  to  the  sword,  war  might  not  havo 
been  averted,  but  it  would  have  been  a  short  affair,  and  probably  coo- 
fined  to  South  Carolina. 

That  part  of  the  I'residont's  message  relating  to  the  state  of  the 
country  was  referred  in  the  House  to  a  special  committee  of  thirty- 
three,  or  one  from  each  State,  and  in  the  Senate  to  a  special  committee  of 
thirteen.  The  House  committee  became  gradually  reduced  by  the 
withdrawal  of  many  of  the  Southern  members,  and  its  deliberations 
are  scarcely  worthy  a  record.  A  majority  of  the  Senate  committee 
agreed  upon  a  plan  proposed  by  Senator  Crittenden  of  Kentucky,  and 
as  this  plan  was  generally  accepted,  both  in  Congress  and  out  of  it,  by 
the  opponents  of  the  administration  elect,  it  is  here  placed  on  record 
as  the  famous  "  Crittenden  Compromise  :" 

1.  Slavery  to  be  prohibited  in  all  Territories  north  of  36  degrees 
30  minutes,  but  to  be  recognized  and  protected  in  all  Territories  south 
of  that  line ;  any  Territory,  when  it  has  the  requisite  population,  to  be 
admitted  as  a  State,  either  with  or  without  slavery,  as  its  constitution 
may  provide.  2.  Congress  to  have  no  power  to  abolish  slavery  in 
places  under  the  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  slaveholding  States,  nor  in 
the  District  of  Columbia,  nor  under  any  circumstances  without  making 
compensation  to  the  owners,  nor  to  prohibit  the  slave-trade  between 
the  slave  States.  3.  Congress  to  have  power  to  pay  for  fugitive 
slaves  when  their  return  is  prevented  by  violence ;  the  United  States 
to  recover  the  amount  from  the  county  where  the  violence  is  com 
mitted,  and  the  county  to  recover  it  from  the  wrong-doers.  4.  No 
future  amendments  to  the  constitution  to  affect  the  foregoing  pro^ 
visions,  nor  to  authorize  Congress  to  interfere  with  slavery  in  the 
States  where  it  is  permitted  by  law. 

A  committee  of  members  of  Congress  from  the  Border  States  snb- 
stantially  agreed  upon  this  proposition,  but  it  failed  to  meet  the  ap- 
probation of  Congress,  and  was  abandoned. 

At  the  suggestion  of  Virginia,  a  convention,  styled  a  "  Peace  Con- 
gress," composed  of  delegates  from  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  assem- 
bled on  the  4th  of  February,  at  Washington,  to  devise  a  plan  to  con- 
ciliate the  South,  Ex-president  John  Tyler,  of  Virginia,  was  chosen 
president.  This  convention  adjourned  on  the  28th,  after  agreeing 
upon  a  plan  of  adjustment  substantially  the  same  as  that  of  the  Crit- 
tenden project.  This  plan  was  ratified  by  Congress,  but  was  never 
heard  of  afterwards. 

All  plans  of  compromise  bad  thus  failed.    The  friends  of  the  ad- 


m 


▲DMnnSTRATION  OF   BTTCHANAir. 


ministration  elect  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  them.  They 
had  been  fairly  and  constitutionally  elected  to  administer  the  govern* 
ment,  and  thoy  scorned  to  endeavor  to  placate  those  who  were  con- 
coaling  their  treasonable  designs  under  the  guise  of  grievances  which 
were  purely  imaginary. 

In  the  meantime  the  spirit  of  treason  was  running  riot  at  the  South, 
without  any  interference  from  those  at  Washington  in  whose  hands 
was  placed  the  execution  of  the  laws.  On  the  night  of  December 
26th,  Major  Anderson,  commanding  at  Fort  Moultrie,  in  Charleston 
harbor,  apprehending  an  attack  upon  that  position  from  batteries 
which  the  authorities  of  South  Carolina  had  erected  in  range  of  it, 
quietly  removed  his  command  to  Fort  Sumter,  in  the  same  harbor, 
and  there  with  religious  solemnities  raised  the  Stars  and  Stripes,  and 
solemnly  pledged  his  little  band  to  defend  it  to  the  last  extremity. 
This  fortress  was  deemed  impregnable.  But  in  order  to  hold  it,  rein- 
forcements of  men  and  provisions  were  indispensable.  Major  Ander- 
son appealed  to  the  President  for  assistance.  The  steamship  Star  of 
the  Wef.t  was  at  once  despatched  to  his  aid,  loaded  with  provisions 
and  with  200  soldiers.  This  ship  sailed  from  New  York  on  the  6th 
of  January,  and  arrived  at  Charleston  bar  at  midnight  on  the  8th. 
The  lights  had  all  been  removed  from  the  harbor,  and  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  reach  the  port  until  daylight.  As  the  day  began  to  break,  the 
Star  of  the  West  passed  up  the  channel  towards  Fort  Sumter.  On 
arriving  opposite  Morris  Island,  about  two  miles  from  the  fort,  a 
masked  battery  opened  fire  upon  the  vessel,  although  an  American 
flag  was  flying  from  the  flagstaff  of  the  ship,  and  a  large  American  en- 
sign from  the  foretop.  The  ship  was  unarmed,  and  to  avoid  certain 
destruction,  after  being  struck  by  three  heavy  shots,  retreated  firom 
the  harbor  and  returned  to  New  York.  This  was  as  much  an  open 
act  of  war  as  if  the  guns  had  been  pointed  at  the  Capitol  at  Washing- 
ton, but  the  administration  still  hesitated,  and  made  no  attempt,  even, 
to  punish  the  aggressors. 

In  the  month  of  January,  the  States  of  Mississippi,  Florida,  Ala- 
bama, Georgia,  and  Louisiana  followed  the  example  of  South  Carolina, 
and  formally  seceded  from  the  Union.  Their  delegations  left  Con- 
gress. They  appointed  commissioners  to  visit  the  other  elaveholding 
States,  to  induce  them  to  join  the  new  government  which  they  had 
now  determined  to  form. 

The  delegates  of  the  six  seceding  States  met  at  Montgomery,  Ala- 
bama, on  the  4th  of  February,  formed  themselves  into  a  Congress, 


AOMimsraATiON  of  BuoHANAir.  877 

framed  a  «  Constitution  for  the  Provisional  Government  of  the  Coo- 
federate  States  of  America,"  and  elected  Jefferson  Davis,  of  Missis- 
sippi, president,  and  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia,  vice-presi- 
dent  of  the  same,  to  hold  ofllce  for  one  year,  till  a  permanent  form  of 
government  should  be  prepared. 


CHAPTER   LVI. 

ADUINISTRATION    OF  ABRAHAM  LINOOUr. 

N  the  11th  day  of  February,  1861,  Abrtbam  LincolOf 
the  President  elect,  bade  adieu  to  his  friends  in  Spring- 
field,  Illinois,  and  set  out  on  his  jonmej  to  Washington. 
His  address  on  the  occasion  has  a  solemn  interest  at  this 
time,  and  indicates  how  clearly  he  appreciated  the  great  respon- 
sibilities ha  was  about  to  assume.    Ue  said  : 

"Mt  Friknub  : 

"  No  one  not  in  my  position  can  appreciate  the  sadness  I 
feel  at  this  parting.  To  this  people  I  owe  all  I  am.  Here  I  have 
lived  more  than  &  quarter  of  a  century ;  here  my  children  were  born, 
and  here  one  of  them  lies  buried.  I  know  not  how  soon  J  shall  see 
you  again.  A  duty  devolves  upon  me  which  is,  perhaps,  greater  than 
that  which  has  devolved  upon  any  other  man  since  the  days  of 
Washington.  He  never  would  have  succeeded  except  for  the  aid  of 
Divine  Providence,  upon  whom  he  at  all  times  relied.  I  feel  that  I 
cannot  succeed  without  the  same  Divine  aid  which  sustained  him,  and 
on  the  same  Almighty  Being  I  place  my  reliance  and  support ;  and  I 
hope  you,  my  friends,  will  all  pray  that  I  may  receive  that  Divine  as- 
sistance, without  which  I  cannot  succeed,  but  with  which,  success  is 
certain.    Again  I  bid  you  all  an  affectionate  farewell." 

Reaching  Harrisburg,  Pennsylvania,  he  was  informed  of  a  plot  to 
assassinate  him  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  By  the  advice  of  friends  he 
quietly  lefl  Harrisburg  by  a  special  train,  and  proceeded  by  night 
through  Baltimore  to  Washington,  where  he  arrived  early  on  the 
morning  of  Saturday,  February  23d. 

On  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Lincoln  at  Washington,  immediate  prepara- 
tions were  commenced  for  his  inauguration  as  President  on  the  4th  of 
March.  For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  the  country,  so  rampant 
and  unrestrained  had  the  spirit  of  treason  become,  it  was  necessary  to 
perform  that  august  ceremony  under  the  shadow  of  military  power ; 


'■lii-AiJSi'.-iV, 


4 


"""■''^-'  'rr  J     -   ,„.,,;.   '^   ■ 


L'  0'   t  i'"l     A\' 


'     II  '■  , ' 


■■LULi  JLie'llMI 


ADMINISTEATIOK  OP  LINCOLN. 


67d 


M  if  the  President  elect,  instead  of  being  tlie  chosen  servant  of  a  free, 
powerful,  peaceful  and  intelligent  people,  were  a  tyrant  and  usurper. 
The  arrangements  for  the  occasion  were  entrusted  to  the  hands  of  that 
veteran  soldier  and  patriot,  General  Winfield  Scott.  The  inaugura- 
tion proceeded  without  interruption,  and  tlie  reine  of  power  were  as* 
sumed  by  Mr.  Lincoln. 

MR.  LINCOLN'S   INAUGURAL    ADDRESa 
FELLOW-CrnzBNB  or  thb  Ukited  States: 

In  compliaitoe  with  a  custom  as  old  as  tho  govemment  itself  I  appear  be- 
fore you  to  address  you  briefly,  and  to  take  in  your  presence  the  oath  prescribed 
by  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  to  be  taken  by  the  President  before  he 
enters  on  the  execution  of  his  ofPce.  I  do  liot  consider  it  necessary  at  present  for 
me  to  discuss  those  matters  of  administration  about  which  there  is  no  sp^^ial 
anxiety  or  excitement 

Apprehenmon  seems  to  exist  among  the  people  of  the  Southern  States  that  by 
the  aooesaion  of  a  republican  administration,  their  property,  and  their  peace  and 
personal  security,  are  to  be  endangered.  There  has  never  been  any  reasonable 
cause  for  such  apprehension.  Indeed,  the  most  ample  evidenoe  to  the  contrary  has 
all  the  while  existed,  and  been  open  to  their  inspection. 

It  is  found  in  nearly  all  the  public  speeches  of  him  who  now  addresses  you.  I 
do  but  quote  from  one  of  these  speeches,  when  I  declare  that  I  have  no  purpose, 
directly  or  indirectly,  to  interfere  with  the  institution  of  slavery  in  all  States  where 
it  exists.  I  believe  I  have  no  lawful  right  to  do  so^  and  I  have  no  inclination  to 
do  so.  Those  whu  nominated  and  elected  me  did  so  with  full  knowledge  that  I 
had  made  this  and  similar  declarations,  and  had  never  recanted  them.  More  than 
this,  they  placed  in  the  platform  for  my  acceptance,  as  a  law  to  themselves  and  to 
me,  the  clear  and  emphatic  resolution  which  I  now  read. 

Beaolved,  That  the  maintenance  inviolate  of  the  right  of  the  States,  and  especially 
the  right  of  each  State  to  order  and  control  its  own  domestic  institutions  according 
to  its  own  judgment  exclusively,  is  essential  to  that  balance  of  power  on  which  the 
perfection  and  endurance  of  our  political  fabric  depend,  and  we  denounce  the  law- 
less invasion  by  armed  force  of  the  soil  of  any  State  or  Territory,  no  matter  under 
what  pretext,  as  the  gravest  of  crimea 

I  now  reiterate  these  sentiment^  and  in  so  doing,  I  only  press  upon  the  public 
attention  the  most  conclusive  evidence  of  which  the  case  is  susceptible,  that  the 
property,  peace,  and  security  of  no  section  are  to  be  in  any  wise  endangered  by 
the  now  incoming  administration. 

I  add  to  that  all  the  protection  which,  consiatently  with  the  Constitution  and  the 
laws,  can  be  given,  will  be  cheerfully  given  to  all  the  States,  when  lawiully  de- 
manded, for  whatever  cause,  as  cheerfully  to  one  section  as  to  another.  There  is 
much  controversy  about  the  delivering  up  of  fugitives  fVom  service  or  labor.  The 
clause  I  now  read  is  as  plainly  written  in  the  Constitution  as  any  other  of  its 
provisions. 

"No  person  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  State  under  the  laws  thoreof;  escap- 
ing into  another,  shall  ui  consequence  of  any  law  or  regulation  therein,  be  dls- 


680 


ADMINISTBATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


charged  ttom  such  service  or  labor,  but  dball  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  tho  party 
to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due." 

It  is  scarcely  questioned  that  this  proviaion  was  intended  by  those  who  made  it 
for  the  reclaiming  of  what  we  call  fugitive  slaves,  and  tho  intention  of  the  lawgiver 
is  the  law.  A.11  members  of  Congress  swear  their  support  to  the  whole  Constitu- 
tion— to  this  provision  as  much  as  any  other. 

To  the  proposition  then  that  slaves  whose  cases  come  within  the  terms  of  tliis 
clause  shall  be  delivered  up,  their  oaths  are  unanimous.  Now  if  they  would  make 
the  effort  in  good  temper,  could  they  not,  with  nearly  equal  unanimity,  frame  and 
pass  a  law  by  means  of  which  to  keep  good  that  unanimous  oath. 

There  is  some  difference  of  opinion  whether  this  clause  should  be  enforced  by 
National  or  by  State  authority  ;  but  Kurcly  that  difference  is  not  a  very  material 
one.  If  the  slave  is  to  be  surrendered,  it  can  be  of  but  little  consequence  to  him 
or  to  others  how  it  is  done.  And  should  any  one  in  any  case  bo  content  that  his 
oath  shall  go  unkept  on  a  merely  unsubstantial  controversy  as  to  how  it  shall 
be  kept  ? 

Again,  in  any  law  upon  this  subject,  ought  not  all  the  safeguards  of  liberty 
known  in  civilized  and  humane  jurisprudence  to  be  introduced,  so  that  a  free  man 
be  not  in  any  cose  surrendered  as  a  slave,  and  might  it  not  be  well  at  the  same 
time  to  provide  by  law  for  tho  enforcement  of  that  clause  in  the  Constitution  which 
guarantees  that  the  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and 
immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States. 

I  take  the  official  oath  to-day  with  no  mental  reservations,  and  with  no  purpose 
to  construe  the  Constitution  and  laws  by  any  hypercritical  rules,  and  while  I  do 
not  choose  now  to  specify  particular  acts  of  Congress  as  proper  to  be  enforced,  I 
do  suggest  that  it  will  be  much  safer  for  all,  both  in  official  and  private  stations,  to 
conform  to  and  abide  by  all  those  acts  which  stand  unrepealed,  than  to  violate  any 
of  them,  trusting  to  find  impunity  in  having  them  held  to  be  unconstitutional 

It  is  seventy-two  years  since  the  first  inauguration  of  a  President  under  our 
National  Constitution.  During .  that  period  fifteen  different  and  greatly  dis- 
tinguished citizens  have  in  succession  administered  the  executive  branch  of  the 
government  They  have  conducted  it  through  many  perils,  and  generally  with 
great  success. 

Yet  with  all  this  scope  for  precedence,  I  now  enter  upon  the  same  task  ftr  the 
brief  constitutional  term  of  four  years,  under  great  and  peculiar  difficult'  j  *  A 
disruption  of  the  Federal  Union,  heretofore  only  menaced,  is  now  forrrlaably  at- 
tempted. I  hold  that  in  the  contemplation  of  universal  law  and  ot  tbe  Constitu- 
tion, the  Union  of  these  States  is  perpetual 

Perpetuity  is  implied,  if  not  expressed,  in  the  fundamental  law  of  all  national 
governments.  It  is  safe  to  assert  that  no  government  ever  prospered  which  had  a 
provision  in  its  organic  law  for  its  own  termination.  Continue  to  execute  all  the 
express  provisions  of  our  national  Constitution,  and  the  Union  will  endure  forever, 
it  being  impossible  to  destroy  it,  except  by  some  action  not  provided  for  in  the  in- 
strument itself.  Again,  if  the  United  States  be  not  a  government  proper,  but  an 
association  of  States,  in  the  nature  of  a  contract  merely,  can  it,  as  a  contract,  be 
peaceably  unmade  by  less  than  all  the  parties  who  me  ie  it.  One  party  to  a  con- 
tract may  violate  it^  so  to  speak,  but  does  it  not  rec  aire  all  to  lawfully  rescind  it? 


ADMINISTRATION   OF    LINCOLN. 


681 


in- 
an 
be 


IDemending  fW)m  these  general  principles,  we  find  the  proposition  that  in  le^al 
contemplation  the  Union  is  perpetual,  confirmed  by  the  history  of  the  Union  itself. 

The  Union  is  ni']ch  older  than  the  Constitution.  It  was  formed,  in  fnct,  by  the 
articles  of  association  in  1774.  It  was  matured  and  continued  in  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  in  1776.  It  was  further  matured,  and  the  faith  of  all  the  then 
thirteen  States  expressly  plighted  and  engaged  that  it  should  be  perpetuated  by 
the  articles  of  confederation  in  1778,  and  Anally,  in  1789,  one  of  the  declnred  ob- 
jects for  ordaining  and  establishing  the  Constitution  was>,  "  to  form  a  more  perfect 
Union ;"  but  if  the  destruction  of  the  Union  by  one  or  by  a  part  only  of  the  States 
be  lawfully  possible,  the  Union  is  less  than  before  the  Constituiion,  liaving  lost 
the  vital  element  of  perpetuity. 

It  follows  from  these  views  that  no  State,  upon  its  own  mere  motion,  can  law- 
flilly  get  out  of  the  Union :  that  resolves  and  ordinances  to  that  efFect  are  legally 
void,  and  that  acts  of  violence  within  any  State  or  States,  against  tlie  authority  of 
the  United  States,  are  insurrectionary  or  revolutionary  according  to  circumstances. 

I  therefore  consider  that  in  view  of  the  Conetitution  and  the  laws,  the  Union  ia 
not  broken,  and  to  the  extent  of  my  ability  I  shall  take  care,  as  the  Constitution 
itself  expressly  enjoins  upon  me,  that  the  laws  of  the  Union  be  faithfully  executed 
in  all  the  States. 

Doing  this  I  deem  to  bo  only  a  simple  duty  on  my  part,  and  I  shall  faithfully 
perform  it  so  far  as  it  is  possible,  unless  my  rightful  masters,  the  American  people, 
shall  withhold  the  requisite  means,  or  in  some  authoritative  manner  direct  the 
contrary.  I  trust  this  will  not  be  regarded  as  a  menace,  but  only  as  the  declared 
purpose  of  the  Union,  that  it  will  constitutionally  defend  and  maintain  itself. 

In  doing  this  there  need  be  no  bloodshed  or  violence,  and  there  shall  be  none, 
unless  it  is  forced  upon  the  national  authority.  The  power  confided  to  me  will  be 
used  to  hold,  occupy,  and  possess  the  property  and  places  belonging  to  the  govern- 
ment, and  collect  the  duties  and  imposts,  but  beyond  what  may  be  necessary  for 
these  objects  there  will  be  no  invasion,  no  using  of  force  against  or  among  the 
the  people  anywhere. 

Where  hostility  to  the  United  States  shall  be  so  great,  in  any  State— shall  be  so 
great  and  so  universal  as  to  prevent  competent  resident  citizens  from  holding  the 
federal  offices,  there  will  be  no  attempt  to  force  obnoxious  strangers  among  the 
people  with  that  object.  While  a  strict  legal  right  may  exist  for  the  government  to 
enforce  the  occupancy  of  these  offices,  the  attempt  to  do  so  would  be  so  irritating 
and  so  nearly  impracticable  withal,  that  I  deem  it  better  to  forego  for  the  time  the 
use  of  such  offices. 

The  mails,  unless  repelled,  will  continue  to  be  furnished  in  all  parts  of  the 
Union.  So  far  as  possible,  the  people  everywhere  shall  have  that  sense  of  perfect 
security  which  is  most  favorable  to  calm  thought  and  reflection ;  the  course  here 
indicated  will  be  followed  unless  current  events  and  experience  shall  show  a  modi- 
fication or  change  to  be  proper ;  and  in  every  case  and  exigency  my  best  discre- 
tion shall  be  exercised  according  to  the  circumstances  actually  existing,  and  with 
a  view  and  hope  of  a  peaceful  solution  of  the  national  troubles,  and  the  restoration 
of  fraternal  sympathies  and  affections. 

That  there  are  persons  in  one  section  or  another  who  seek  to  destroy  the  Union 
at  all  events,  and  are  glad  of  any  pretext  to  do  it,  I  will  neither  affirm  nor  deny. 


682 


ADM1NI8TBATI0N  OF  LINCOLy. 


But  if  there  be  such  I  need  address  no  word  to  them.  To  iboee,  however,  who 
really  love  the  Union,  may  I  not  speak,  before  entering  upon  so  grave  a  matter  as 
the  destruction  of  our  national  fabric,  with  ail  its  benefits,  its  memories,  and  its 
hopes  ?    Would  not  it  be  well  to  ascertain  why  we  do  it  ? 

Will  you  hazard  so  desperate  a  step  while  there  is  any  portion  of  the  ills  you 
fly  from  which  have  no  real  eristence  ?  Will  you,  while  the  certain  ills  you  fly  to 
are  greater  than  all  the  real  ones  you  fly  from?  Will  you  ridk  the  con^miasron  of 
so  fearful  a  mistake. 

All  profess  to  be  content  in  the  ITnion,  if  all  constitutional  rights  can  be  main- 
tained. Is  it  true,  then,  that  any  right  plainly  written  in  the  Constitution  haa  been 
denied  ?  I  think  not.  Happily,  the  human  mind  is  so  constituted  that  no  party 
can  reach  the  audacity  of  doing  this.  Think,  if  you  can,  of  a  single  instance  in 
which  a  plainly  written  provision  of  the  Constitution  has  ever  been  denied. 

If  by  the  mere  force  of  numbers  a  majority  should  deprive  a  minority  of  any 
clearly  written  constitutional  right,  it  might,  in  a  moral  point  of  view,  justify  revo- 
lution. Certainly  it  would,  if  such  ri^ht  were  a  vital  one ;  but  such  is  not  our 
case.  All  the  vital  rights  of  minorities  and  of  individuals  are  so  plainly  assured  to 
them  by  affirmations  and  negotiations,  guarantees  and  prohibitions  in  the  Consti- 
tution that  controversies  never  arise  concerning  thom.  But  no  organic  law  c^n 
ever  be  framed  with  a  provision  specifically  applicable  to  every  question  which 
may  occur  in  practical  administration.  No  foresight  can  anticipate,  nor  any  docu- 
ment of  reasonable  length  contain  express  provisions  for  all  possible  questions. 

Shall  fugitives  from  labor  be  surrendered  by  National  or  by  State  authority? 
The  Constitution  does  not  expressly  say.  Must  Congress  protect  slavery  in  tho 
Territories  ?    The  Constitution  does  not  expressly  say. 

From  questions  of  this  class  spring  all  our  constitutional  controversies,  and  we 
divide  upon  them  into  majorities  and  minorities.  If  the  mino'ity  will  not  ac- 
quiesce, the  majority  must,  or  tho  government  must  cease.  There  is  no  alterna- 
tive for  continuing  the  government  but  acquiescence  on  one  side  or  the  other.  If 
a  minority  in  such  case  will  secede  rather  than  acquiesce,  they  make  a  precedent 
which  in  turn  will  divide  ond  ruiu  them ;  for  a  minority  of  their  own  will  secede 
from  them  whenever  a  majority  refuses  to  be  controlled  by  such  minority.  For 
instance,  why  may  not  any  portion  of  a  new  confederacy  a  year  or  two  hence  ar- 
bitrarily secede  again,  precisely  as  portions  of  the  present  Union  now  claim  to  se- 
cede from  it  7  All  who  cherish  disunion  sentiments  are  now  being  educated  to  the 
exact  temper  of  doing  this  ?  Is  there  such  perfect  identity  of  interests  among  the 
States  which  compose  a  new  Union  as  to  produce  harmony  only  and  prevent  re- 
newed secession  7 

Plainly,  the  central  idea  of  secession  is  the  essence  of  anarchy.  A  majority 
held  in  resti-aint  by  constitutional  checks  and  limitations,  and  always  changing 
easily  with  the  deliberate  changes  of  popular  opinions  and  sentiment,  is  the  only 
true  sovereign  of  a  free  people.  Whoever  rejects  it,  does  of  necessity  fly  to 
anarchy  or  to  despotism.  Unanimity  is  impossible.  The  rule  of  %  minority,  as  a 
permanent  arrangement,  is  wholly  impracticable,  so  that,  rejecting  the  minority 
principle,  anarchy  or  despotism,  in  some  form,  is  all  that  is  left. 

I  do  not  forget  the  positions  assumed  by  some,  that  constitutional  questions  are 
to  be  decided  by  the  Supreme  Court,  nor  do  I  deny  that  such  decisions  must  be 


ADMINISTRATION   OF    LINCOLN. 


6M 


blading  in  anj  case  upon  the  parties  to  a  suit,  aa  to  the  object  of  that  salt 
Wliile  they  are  also  entitled  to  very  high  respect  and  consideration  in  all  parallel 
cases  by  all  other  departments  of  the  government,  and  while  it  is  obTloosiy  pos* 
sil)le  that  such  decisions  may  be  erroneous  in  any  given  cases,  still  the  evil  of 
following  it  being  limited  to  that  particular  case,  with  the  chance  that  it  may  be 
overruled  and  never  become  a  precedent  for  other  cases,  can  better  be  borne  thi^n 
could  the  evils  of  a  different  practice.  At  the  jame  time  the  candid  citizen  mu^t 
confess  that  if  the  policy  of  the  government  upon  the  vital  questions  attecting  the 
whole  people  is  to  l)e  irrevocably  fixed  by  the  docisioris  of  the  Supreme  Court,  then 
the  instant  they  are  made  in  ordinary  litigation  between  parties  in  personal  actions, 
the  people  will  have  ceased  to  be  their  own,  unless  having  to  that  extent  prac< 
tically  resigned  their  government  in'o  the  hands  of  that  eminent  tribunal. 

Nor  is  there  in  tliis  view  any  asaiult  upon  the  court  or  the  judges.  It  is  a  duty 
fh)m  which  they  may  not  shrink  to  decide  cases  of  property  brought  before  them, 
and  it  is  no  fault  of  theirs  if  others  seek  to  turn  their  decisions  to  political  pur- 
poses. One  section  of  our  country  believes  that  slavery  is  right  and  ought  to  bo 
extended,  while  tbu  oihtr  believes  it  is  wrong  and  ought  not  to  be  extended.  This 
is  our  only  substantial  dispute. 

The  fugitive  slave  clause  of  the  Constitution  and  the  law  for  the  suppression  of 
the  foreign  slave  trade  are  each  as  well  enforced,  perhaps,  as  any  law  can  ever  be 
enforced  where  the  moral  sense  of  the  people  imperfectly  supports  the  law  itself. 
The  great  lx>dy  of  the  people  abide  by  their  dry  I  ^bX  obligations  in  both  cases, 
and  a  few  break  over  in  each.  This,  I  think,  cannot  be  perfectly  cured,  and  it 
would  be  worse  in  both  cases  after  the  separation  of  the  sections  than  before.  The 
foreign  slave  trade,  now  imperfectly  suppressed,  would  be  ultimately  revived  wth- 
out  restriction  In  one  section,  while  fugitive  slaves,  now  only  partially  surrendered, 
would  not  be  surrendered  at  all  by  the  other. 

Physically  speaking,  we  cannot  separate.  We  cannot  remove  the  respective 
sections  from  each  other,  nor  build  an  impassable  wall  between  them.  A  hus- 
band and  wife  may  be  divorced  and  go  out  of  the  presence  and  beyond  the  reach 
of  each  other,  but  the  different  parts  of  our  country  cannot  do  this.  They  cannot 
but  remain  face  to  face,  and  intercourse,  either  amicable  or  hostile,  must  continue 
between  them.  Is  it  possible,  then,  to  make  that  intercourse  more  advantageous 
or  more  satisfactory  after  separation  than  before  7  Can  aliens  make  treaties  easier 
than  friends  can  make  laws  ?  Can  treaties  be  more  faithftiUy  enforced  between 
aliens  than  laws  can  among  friends?  Suppose  you  go  to  war;  you  cannot  flght 
always ;  and  when  afl»r  much  loss  on  both  sides,  and  no  gain  on  either,  you  cease 
fighting,  the  identical  questions  as  to  terms  of  intercourse  are  again  upon  you. 

This  country,  with  its  institutions,  belongs  to  the  people  who  inhabit  it.  When- 
ever they  shall  grow  weary  of  the  existing  government  they  can  exercise  their 
constitutional  right  of  amending,  or  their  revolutionary  right  to  dismember  or 
overthrow  it ;  and  I  cannot  be  ignorant  of  the  feet  that  many  worthy  and  patriotic 
citizens  are  desirous  of  having  the  national  Constitution  amended. 

While  I  make  no  recommendation  of  any  amendment,  I  fully  recognize  the  ftiU 

authority  of  the  people  over  the  whole  subject,  to  be  exercised  in  either  of  the 

modes  prescribed  in  the  instrument  itself  and  I  should,  under  existing  circum- 

,  Btaaces,  fevor  rather  than  oppose  a  fair  opportunity  being  afforded  the  people  to 


6M 


ADMIVI8TUATI0N   OF   LINCOLN. 


act  upon  it  I  will  venture  to  add,  that  to  me  the  convention  mode  seonia  prefer* 
able,  in  tbat  it  allows  amendments  to  originate  with  the  people  themaolvea,  instead 
of  only  permitting  them  to  take  or  reject  propositions  originated  by  others  no',  es- 
pecially clioson  for  the  purpose,  and  which  might  not  bo  such  as  thoy  would  v/^ah 
to  accept  or  refuse. 

I  undorstond  that  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitution,  which  amend* 
mcnt,  however,  I  have  not  soon,  has  passed  Congress — to  the  efluot  tbat  llie  federal 
government  shall  never  intorforo  with  the  domestic  inslitu'ions  of  States,  including 
that  of  persons  held  to  service.  To  avoid  misconstruction  of  what  I  have  said,  I 
depart  from  my  purpose  not  to  speak  of  particular  amendments,  so  fir  as  to  Bay 
that  holding  such  provision  to  be  already  implied  in  constitutional  law,  I  have  no 
objection  to  its  being  made  an  express  and  irrevocable  ono. 

The  Chief  Magistrate  derives  all  his  authority  from  the  people,  and  they  have 
conferred  none  upon  him  to  fix  the  terras  for  the  separation  of  tlio  States.  Tho 
people  themselves,  also,  can  do  this  if  they  ciioose,  but  tho  Executive,  as  such,  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it  Ilis  duty  is  to  administer  tho  present  government  as  it 
came  into  his  hands,  and  to  transmit  it  unimpaired  by  him  to  his  successor.  Why 
should  there  not  be  a  patient  confldence  in  the  ultimate  justice  of  tho  people  ?  Is 
there  any  better,  or  an  equal  hope  in  the  world  ?  In  our  present  differences,  is 
either  party  without  faith  of  being  in  the  right  7 

If  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  nations,  with  his  eternal  truth  and  justice,  be  on  your 
side  of  the  North,  or  on  yours  of  the  South,  that  truth  and  justice  will  prevail  by 
the  judgment  of  this  great  tribunal.  The  American  people,  by  the  frame  of  the 
government  under  which  we  live,  have  wisely  given  their  public  servants  but  little 
power  for  mischief;  and  have  with  equal  wisdom  provided  for  the  return  of  that 
little  to  their  own  hands  at  very  short  intervals.  While  the  people  retain  their 
virtue  and  vigilance,  no  administration,  by  any  extreme  wickedness  or  folly,  can 
very  seriously  injure  the  government  in  the  short  space  of  four  years. 

My  countrymen,  one  and  all,  think  calmly  and  well  upon  this  whole  dubject 
Nothing  valuable  can  be  lost  by  taking  time.  If  there  be  an  object  to  hurry  any 
of  you  in  hot  haste  to  a  stop  which  you  would  never  take  deliberately,  that  object 
will  be  frustrated  by  taking  time ;  but  no  good  object  can  bo  frustrated  by  it 
Such  of  you  as  are  now  dissatisfied  still  have  the  old  Constitution  unimpaired,  and 
on  the  sensitive  point,  the  laws  are  of  your  own  ft-aming  under  it,  while  the  new 
administration  will  have  no  immediate  power,  if  it  would,  to  change  either.  If  it 
were  admitted  that  you  who  are  dissatisfied  hold  the  right  side  in  the  dispute, 
there  is  still  no  single  good  reason  for  precipitate  action.  Intelligence,  patriotism, 
Christianity,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  Him  who  has  never  yet  forsaken  this  favored 
land,  are  still  competent  to  adjust  in  the  best  way  all  present  difiiculty.  In  your 
hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow-countrymen,  and  not  in  mine,  is  the  momentous  issue 
of  civil  war.  The  government  will  not  assail  you.  You  can  have  no  conflict 
without  being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You  have  no  oath  registered  in  heaven 
to  destroy  the  government  while  I  shall  have  tho  most  solemn  one  to  preserve, 
protect,  and  defend  it  1  cm  loth  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies  but  frienda  We 
must  not  be  enemies.  Tlioujh  passion  may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break  our 
bonds  of  affection.    The  mystic  chords  d'  memory,  stretched  from  every  battle  field 


sa 

H 

a 
•Ji 

H 
O 


<■;•■» 


■1  ■ 


ADMINISTRATION   OF    UKCOLK. 


685 


and  pntriot'g  grave  to  every  living  heart  nud  hoarthstone  all  ovor  this  broad  Innd, 
will  yot  Hwell  the  chorus  of  the  Union,  when  agalu  touched,  as  surely  they  will  bi^ 
by  the  better  angols  of  our  nature. 

Mr.  Lincoln  Rolccte<l  for  liis  cabinet  advisors,  William  II.  Soward,  of 
New  York,  Secretary  of  State  ;  Salmon  P.  Chase,  of  Ohio,  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury ;  Simon  Cameron,  of  I'onnsylvania,  Secretary  of  War ; 
Gideon  Welles,  of  Connecticut,  Secretary  of  the  Navy;  Caleb  B. 
Smith,  of  Indiann,  Secretary  of  the  Interior ;  Montgomery  IJIair,  of 
Marylanil,  PoKtmaster  General ;  Edward  Bates,  of  Missouri,  Attorney- 
General. 

The  pacific  and  conciliatory  tone  of  the  Inaugural  was  wholly  lost 
upon  the  conspirators  of  the  South.  The  day  it  was  delivered,  General 
P.  T.  Beauregard  took  formal  command  of  the  rebel  forces  in  Charles- 
ton, and  commenced  operations  looking  to  a  formal  siege  of  Fort 
Sumter.  One  week  later  the  rebel  Congress  met  at  Montgomery, 
Alabama,  and  adopted  a  permanent  constitution.  "Thg  prevailing 
ideas,"  said  Vice-president  Stephens,  in  expounding  the  principles  of 
this  new  government,  "  entertained  by  Jefferson  and  most  of  the  lead- 
ing statesmen  at  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  old  constitution 
were,  that  the  enslavement  of  the  African  was  in  violation  of  the  laws 
of  nature ;  that  it  was  wrong  in  principle,  socially,  morally,  and  po- 
litically. Our  new  government  is  founded  upon  exactly  the  opposite 
ideas ;  its  foundations  arc  laid,  its  corner  stone  rests,  upon  the  great 
truth  that  the  negro  is  not  equal  to  the  white  man  ;  that  slavery,  sub- 
ordination to  the  superior  race,  is  his  natural  and  normal  condition. 
This,  our  new  government,  is  the  first  in  the  history  of  the  world, 
based  upon  this  great  physical,  philosophical,  and  moral  truth." 
Meditating  in  his  dungeon  in  Fort  Warren,  in  Boston  harbor,  his  gov- 
ernment, "  corner  stone"  and  all,  annihilated,  and  his  confederates  in 
office  either  vagabunda  upon  the  earth  or  on  trial  for  their  lives, — how 
like  bitter  irony  must  all  this  seem  to  the  great  and  misguided  Geor- 
gia  orator  now ! 

ThB  attention  of  the  whole  country  was  directed  to  the  little  garri- 
son at  Fort  Sumter.  On  the  9th  of  April  the  President  secretly  de- 
spatched 8  vessels,  mounting  26  guns,  and  carrying  1380  men,  to  re- 
lieve the  garrison.  The  secret  was  poorly  kept,  for  the  authorities  at 
Charleston  were  notified  of  it  as  soon  as  the  fleet  had  sailed.  On  the 
11th  of  April,  General  Beauregard  demanded  the  surrender  of  the 
Fort  before  reinforcements  should  arrive.  Major  Anderson  refused  to 
comply.    He  was  asked  when  he  would  surrender.    His  reply  was 


▲DMINISTBATION   Or   LINCOUT. 


tbnt  if  he  did  not  reoeivo  controlling  instrnctiona  firom  hit  govern- 
ment to  the  contrary,  be  woald  evacuate  tlie  fort  by  noon  of  tbe  15tb. 
His  provisions  were  entirely  exhausted,  with  the  exception  of  a  small 
quantity  of  salt  pork,  and  ho  must  leave  by  Uiat  time  or  starve  to 
death.  On  the  nioniiug  of  the  12th  General  Beauregard  notified  him 
that  he  uhould  open  the  fire  of  his  batteries  on  Fort  Siirotcr  in  one 
hour  from  the  time  of  his  receiving  notice.  Accord  ngly  at  4.30 
A.  M.  on  Friday,  April  12,  a  terrific  storm  of  shot  iind  shell  waa 
opened  upon  the  fort  from  all  points,  llio  little  party  m  the  fort  re- 
tired i^  .ncir  bombproofs,  leisurely  took  tlicir  breakfast  together,  and 
prepared  for  defence.  They  were  divided  into  three  equal  reliefs,  each 
to  work  the  batteries  for  four  hours.  At  7  o'clock  the  batteries  of 
Foi-t  Sumter  were  opened  in  reply.  From  this  time  until  Sunday,  the 
14th,  the  firing  proceeded  without  intermission,  night  or  day,  on  the 
part  of  the  rebels.  The  fire  of  the  fort  was  suspended  at  night.  The 
barracks  in  the  interior  of  the  fort  were  set  on  fire  by  the  hot  shot 
that  were  thiown  into  tbcm,  and  the  magazine  so  exix^scd  that  it  be- 
came necessary  to  throw  a  large  part  of  the  powder  iuto  the  sea.  The 
cartridges  became  exhausted,  after  using  up  for  that  purpose  the  sheets 
and  blankets  in  the  fort,  and  even  the  shirts  of  the  men — the  last  bis- 
cuit had  been  eaten  more  than  thirty-six  hours  before — the  smoke  of 
the  burning  barracks  was  so  dense  that  the  men  were  blinded,  and 
wore  gasping  for  breath,  with  wet  handkerchiefs  over  their  mouths. 
At  this  stage  the  flagstaff  of  the  fort  was  cut  down  by  a  shell.  Seeing 
this,  General  Beauregard  sent  an  officer  to  the  fort,  to  inquire  if  they 
were  ready  to  surrender.  Terms  of  surrender  were  soon  agreed  upon, 
one  stipulation  of  which  was  that  Major  Anderson  should  have  per- 
ipission  to  salute  his  fltig  before  leaving  the  fort.  In  firing  this  salute 
the  gun  burst  and  killed  a  gunner,  private  Daniel  Hough,  of  New 
York,  the  only  life  lost  in  the  fort  from  the  commencement  of  the 
siege.  Major  Anderson  and  his  immortal  little  band  of  heroes  were 
taken  out  to  the  fleet  which  lay  outside  the  harbor,  in  full  sight  of 
the  fort  during  the  assault  upon  it,  and  were  placed  on  board  the  Bal- 
tic, which  immediately  sailed  for  New  York. 

This  open  act  of  war  infuriated  the  people  of  the  North.  The  ex- 
citement was  as  intense  as  if  every  man  had  been  aroused  from  sleep 
and  found  his  house  on  fire.  The  President,  on  the  15th,  issued  a 
call  for  75,000  men  for  three  months,  "to  repossess  the  forts,  places, 
and  property  which  have  been  seized  from  the  Union."  He  also  con- 
vened a  special  session  of  Congress,  to  meet  on  the  4th  of  July.    The 


▲OMIiriSTRATION    or    LINCOLN. 


687 


governors  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  Tennetaoo,  Kentucky,  and  Mit* 
Bouri,  rofuBod  to  furnish  thoir  quota  of  troops  called  for,  but  tho  deft- 
cioncy  was  quickly  fiUod  by  the  consenting  States.  All  tho  loyal 
States  not  only  tendered  men  in  unlimited  numbers,  but  oifurod  all 
the  money  that  mi^lit  be  cnlied  for. 

Virginia  seceded  on  tiie  1 7th  of  April.  Tho  armory  of  Harper's 
Ferry,  where  there  were  15,000  stand  of  arms,  was  at  once  i'oi3o<l  by 
tho  troops  of  that  State,  and  tho  commander  of  the  navy  yard  at  I'^or- 
folk,  where  there  was  an  immense  amount  of  tho  munitions  of  wir, 
destroyed  everything  posHlble,  to  prevent  it  falling  into  the  hands  of 
the  rebels,  and  evacuated  that  poHt. 

Jefferson  Davis  issued  a  proclamation,  inviting  applications  for  pri- 
vateers. This  was  answered  by  a  proclamation  from  President  Lin« 
coin,  declaring  all  the  Southern  ports  blockaded,  and  stationing  ves- 
sols  of  war  at  the  entratico  of  every  harbor.  lie  also  ordered  the  offi- 
cers of  the  navy  to  seize  tho  Southern  privateers  wherever  they  could 
find  them,  hang  from  the  yard-arms  such  aa  were  contumacious,  and 
bring  tho  moro  penitent  oshoro  for  trial.  This  order  was  never  re- 
scinded, but  practically,  and  unfortunately,  it  remained  a  dead  letter 
throughout  tho  war. 

On  the  19th  of  April  a  Massachusetts  and  a  Pennsylvania  regiment 
reached  Baltimore  on  their  way  to  Washington.  They  were  assaulted 
by  a  mob  in  tho  streets,  and  were  fired  upon  from  the  houses.  Tho 
railroad  track  was  torn  up,  and  tho  cars  were  stopped.  The  Pennsyl- 
vanians,  being  without  arms,  retreated  and  fled,  and  the  Massachusetts 
troops  were  obliged  to  pass  through  on  foot  Two  of  their  number 
wore  killed,  and  eight  wounded.  This  was  the  first  blood  shed  in  the 
war.  For  some  weeks  afterwards  Baltimore  was  avoided,  by  sending 
the  troops  by  water  from  Philadelphia  to  Annapolis.  Tho  charge  of 
t!;is  service  devolved  upon  General  B.  F.  Butler,  of  Massachusetts 
who  prosecuted  the  work  with  such  energy  and  success  as  to  elicit  the 
unbounded  admiration  of  the  country.  As  soon  as  he  had  force 
enough  in  hand,  he  established  a  passage  through  Baltimore  which 
was  never  after  interrupted. 

Early  in  May  it  became  apparent  that  the  rebels  designed  an  attack 
on  Washington.  A  large  force,  under  command  of  General  Beaure* 
gard,  had  been  gathered  in  Virginia.  On  the  24th,  the  first  actual 
movement  into  Virginia,  to  counteract  their  designs,  was  made  by  a 
regiment  of  Zouaves  under  Colonel  Ellsworth.  They  landed  at 
Alexandria,  and  while  marching  through 'the  town,  a  secession  flag 


ADMtNTHTRATIOW  OF    LmCOLW. 


WM  noticed,  floating  from  a  iitaff  on  a  public  honnc.  The  colonel 
runbed  into  tbo  houBO,  and  mounting  to  tbo  roof,  scizod  tho  flaj? ;  and 
while  returning  with  it  wa«  met  on  tho  ataipB  by  tbo  owner  of  the 
house,  JamcH  T.  Jacknon,  and  Hbot  through  tho  heart.  Tlio  nMHaiwin 
was  instantly  nbot  dcnd  by  a  cotiipnniun  who  had  accotripanied  bis 
colonel.  Alexandria  and  tho  surrounding  country  were  then  occu- 
pied and  put  in  a  utate  of  defence,  and  n  heavy  body  of  troops  sent 
forward  towards  ManriHfuiH  Junction,  to  intercept  communication  bo« 
tween  Harper's  Ferry  and  Kichniond.. 

During  this  month  important  ste[)s  worn  taken  to  counteract  rebel 
operations  in  the  State  of  Missouri.  Tho  State  government  was  in 
tho  hands  of  tho  sticcssionists.  Governor  Jackson  bad  formed,  at 
Camp  Jackson,  St.  Louis,  a  body  of  State  troops,  ostensibly  for  tho 
purpose  of  preserving  the  peace,  but  really  with  tbo  design  of  pro- 
venting  the  removal  of  tho  immense  amount  of  arms  and  military 
stores  in  the  United  States  arsenal  at  that  place.  The  government 
forces  at  the  arsenal  were  composed  mostly  of  volunteers,  and  num- 
bered something  over  6,000  men.  They  were  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Nathaniel  Lyon,  an  officer  of  tho  regular  army,  a  native  of 
Ashford,  Connecticut,  and,  as  lie  afterwards  proved  himself,  every  inch 
a  soldier.  On  the  morning  of  the  10th  ho  sallied  out  of  the  arsenal 
at  the  bead  of  his  forces,  marched  to  Camp  Jackson,  surrounded  it, 
and  demanded  the  surrender  of  tho  troops  there  stationed.  They  at 
onco  throw  down  their  arms,  and  as  they  were  being  escorted  as 
prisoners  of  war  back  to  the  arsenal,  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  mob 
to  rescue  them,  which  was  unsuccessful.  Captain  Lyon  ordered  his 
soldiers  to  fire  into  tho  mob,  which  they  did,  killing  twenty  of  them 
and  wounding  a  large  number.  Another  attack  made  upon  Captain 
Lyon  was  repelled  with  a  like  result.  Tho  next  day  General  Harney, 
commanding  the  department  of  Missouri,  arrived  at  St  Louis,  and 
made  an  agreement  with  General  Price,  commanding  the  State  troops, 
that  the  former  would  suspend  all  further  demonstrations,  provided  the 
latter  would  maintain  peace.  This  arrangement  was  at  once  repudi- 
ated at  Washington.  General  Harney  was  removed,  and  the  com- 
mand of  the  department  of  Missouri  was  placed  in  tbo  stronger  hands 
of  Lyon,  who  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  brigadier-genorah  General 
Lyon  immediately  took  the  most  active  measures  to  suppress  the  rebel 
conspiracy  in  the  State.  He  seized  all  the  arms  and  ammunition  within 
bis  reach,  and  collecting  fifteen  hundred  troops,  proceeded  with  them 
to  Jefferson  C'ty,  the  capital  of  the  State.     The  rebel  governor,  Jack- 


8 


ADlflNISTKATION   Ot   UNCOLM. 


689 


son,  abandoned  the  capital  on  the  approach  of  Lyon,  and  retired  to  a 
position  near  Boonovillo.  Tliithcr  Lyon  pursued  and  attacked  him, 
on  the  2Uth  of  June,  and  conipletuly  routed  hiii  forces.  General  Lyon 
returned  to  Springfield,  nnd  from  this  time  to  the  Ist  of  AugiiHt,  was 
engaged  in  preparing  to  Jiicot  the  large  rebel  force  which  hiul  been 
collected  in  ArkanitUH  and  Soiitlient  MiHsouri,  under  the  recklesH  Texan 
ranger,  General  Uen.  McCuliough,  and  were  inarching  upon  Spring- 
field. Thin  force  nunibered  '2.1,000  men,  and  on  the  loth  of  August 
were  cncarnpv-d  on  Wilson's  Creek,  twelve  inile^i  southwest  of  Spring- 
field. General  Lyun's  effective  force  nuniber*  d  Icsh  than  0,UOO  men. 
Weary  days  and  sleepless  nights  he  had  waited  in  vain  for  reinforce- 
mcntN,  and  the  time  had  now  arrived  when  t'lo  salvation  of  his  com- 
niand  depi'nded  upon  some  bold  movement.  He  determined  to  sur- 
prise the  enemy  by  a  night  attack.  He  acoonJingly  moved  out  of 
Springfield  on  the  afternoon  of  the  0th,  and  came  in  sight  of  the 
the  enemy's  camp-fires  at  one  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Here  his  men 
halted  and  slept  on  their  arms  till  daybreak,  when  they  took  the 
enemy  entirely  by  surprise  and  attacked  him  with  great  gallantry. 
The  battle  raged  with  a  doubtful  result  for  several  hours,  when  General 
Lyon's  horse  was  shot  under  him,  and  ho  had  received  three  serious 
wounds.  At  this  juncture  he  directed  the  fragments  of  three  regi- 
ments to  charge  the  enemy  with  the  bayonet.  Their  officers  Wtie 
disabled  and  they  called  for  a  leader.  Lyon  mounted  another  horse, 
and  waving  his  hat,  called  upon  them  to  follow  him.  Inspired  by  his 
example,  they  rushed  forward,  and  impetuously  drove  the  enemy  bo- 
fore  them.  But  in  this  charge  the  brave  Lyon  fell  mortally  wounded. 
He  lived  only  long  enough  to  express  liis  consciousness  that  ho  must 
die.  No  purer  or  braver  man  ever  gave  his  life  to  his  country;  and 
on  the  long  roll  of  patriots  whose  memory  will  live  forever,  few  names 
will  stand  more  conspicuous  than  that  of  Nathaniel  Lyon. 

On  the  death  of  Lyon  the  command  devolved  on  Major  Sturgis. 
The  enemy  were  repulsed  at  all  points,  and  on  the  following  morning 
the  army  retired  in  good  order  through  Springfield  to  Rolla.  If  the 
battle  of  Wilson's  Creek  was  not  such  a  victory  to  the  Union  arms  as 
was  desirable,  it  was  important  in  securing  the  safety  of  the  army.  If 
General  Lyon  had  awaited  an  attack  at  Springfield,  his  command 
must  have  been  destroyed  or  captured. 

In  this  campaign  Genera!  Lyon  was  very  ably  supported  by  Colonel 
Sigel,  an  accomplished  German  officer,  who  harassed  the  movements 
of  the  enemy  at  all  points,  and  at  Carthage,  on  the  5th  of  July,  fought 


690 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


a  bloody  but  unsuccessful  battle,  with  severe  loss  on  both  sides.  TJn- 
fortunately  at  Springfield  he  failed  to  co-operate  with  General  Lyon  as 
was  expected,  but  performed  important  service  in  assisting  in  the  re* 
treat  to  Rolla. 

At  Wheeling,  Virginia,  a  convention  of  loyal  men  met  on  the  13th 
of  May,  declared  the  act  witlulrawiiig  the  State  from  the  Union  null 
and  void,  and  proceeded  to  organize  a  new  State,  called  Western  Vir- 
ginia. General  McClellan,  with  a  body  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  troops, 
•was  ordered  to  proceed  to  Western  Virginia,  and  sustain  this  move- 
ment of  the  loyal  men.  At  Phillippi,  on  the  2d  of  June,  he  attacked 
a  rebel  force  of  2,000  men,  drove  them  from  the  town,  and  captured 
their  camp  equipage  and  seven  hundred  stand  of  arms.  This  was  the 
opening  battle  of  the  war,  and  although  it  was  not  attended  with  a 
great  loss  of  life,  it  was  important  as  the  first  step  towards  reclaiming 
a  sovereign  State  from  the  rebel  power,  and  the  first  time  that  the 
raw  troops  of  the  North  were  put  to  trial.  McClclIan  vigorously 
followed  up  the  flying  enemy,  fought  and  defeated  him  again  at 
Rich  Mountain  and  Carrick's  Ford,  and  by  the  22d  of  July,  when  ho 
turned  over  his  command  to  General  Kosecrans  and  proceeded  to  take 
a  higher  command  at  Washington,  he  had  driven  the  enemy  com- 
pletely beyond  the  boundaries  marked  out  for  the  new  State,  never 
to  return,  killed  the  rebel  commander.  General  Garnett,  and  taken 
prisoner  the  second  in  command,  and  over  one  thousand  soldiers  be- 
sides. • 

The  Union  cause  sustained  a  severe  loss  by  the  death,  on  the  3d  of 
June,  of  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  senator  from  Illinois,  This  remarkable 
man  left  his  native  State,  Vermont,  penniless,  a  minor,  and  an  orphan, 
and  settled  in  the  State  of  Illinois.  In  the  intervals  of  his  Ipiborious 
duty  as  a  schoolmaster,  he  became  proficient  as  a  lawyer,  rose  rapidly 
through  every  grade  of  his  profession,  until  at  the  early  age  of  twenty- 
eight  he  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  State. 
■He  left  this  position  to  take  that  of  a  member  of  the  United  States 
Congress,  from  which  place  he  was  soon  transferred  to  the  Senate, 
where  he  remained  till  he  died.  When  the  rebellion  broke  out,  no 
man  in  the  country  saw  clearer  than  he  did  that  a  war  of  such  vast 
proportions  was  inaugurated  that  it  would  demand  the  whole  physical 
power  of  the  North  to  prosecute  it.  With  an  eloquence  such  as  but 
few  men  in  any  age  of  the  world  have  possessed,  he  exhorted  his 
countrymen  to  banish  party  feelings  and  "  rally  to  the  support  of  our 
common  country,  its  government  and  its  flag."     His  last  words  were 


Jl 
Ft 

Wj 

th 
sai 

thfT 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


691 


ite. 

,tes 

ate, 
no 

irast 

iical 
but 
his 

OUT 

?ere 


in  response  to  a  question  by  his  wife,  whether  he  had  any  message  to 
send  his  two  absent  sons.  "Tell  them,"  said  the  dying  statesman,  "to 
obey  the  laws  and  support  the  constitution  of  the  United  States." 

On  the  9th  of  June  General  Butler  sent  a  strong  detachment  from 
Hampton  and  Newport  News,  t;'i''er  General  Pierce,  of  Massachusetts, 
to  attack  the  rebel  fortifioatiyiiS  ut  Big  and  Little  Bethel,  about  eight 
miles  distant.  On  approach !nf/  Little  Bethel  the  enemy  retreated, 
and  General  Pierce,  mcautiously  following  them  up,  was  drawn  into 
the  range  of  a  masked  battery,  which  opened  upon  his  forces  with 
such  deadly  effect  that  they  were  obliged  to  retreat.  In  this  action 
Captain  Grcble,  of  the  regular  army,  and  Theodore  Winthrop,  an  aid 
of  General  Butler,  and  an  accomplihihed  scholar  and  writer,  were 
among  the  killed 

On  the  17th  General  Schenck,  commanding  the  Ist  Ohio  regiment, 
was  drawn  into  an  ambuscade  near  Vienna,  on  the  Alexandria  and 
Hampshij'o  railroad,  and  twelve  of  his  men  killed. 

During  this  month  General  Banks  took  military  possession  of  the 
city  of  Baltimore,  and  seized  a  large  amount  of  arms  and  ammuni- 
tion which  were  destined  for  the  South.  The  police  commissioners  of 
the  city  protesting  against  this,  he  at  once  arrested  them  and  sent 
them  to  Fort  McHenry.  The  Legislature  of  the  State  was  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  secessionists,  and  placed  everything  m  the  way  of  the 
government  that  they  dared.  Nothing  but  the  presence  of  a  strong 
military  force  prevented  them  from  taking  open  ground  for  the  r&« 
hellion.  •  >      .     :. 

The  special  session  of  Congress  convened  on  the  4th  of  July,  and 
remained  in  session  until  the  6th  of  August.  All  the  measures  recom- 
iiiende  1  by  the  President  for  prosecuting  war  on  a  gigantic  scale  were 
promptly  adopicd.  He  was  authorized  to  raise  600,000  men  and  bor- 
row $250,000,000.  Stringent  laws  were  also  passed  concerning  con- 
spiracies against  the  public  peace,  and  confiscating  property  used  for 
insurrectionary  purposes.  It  was  also  provided  that  all  slaves  em- 
ployed in  aiding  or  abetting  insurrection  should  be  free. 

It  now  became  important  to  break  up  the  rebel  camp  at  Manassas 
Junction.  For  this  purpose  General  Patterson  was  sent  to  Harper's 
Ferry  to  attack  General  Johnston,  who  had  abandoned  that  place,  but 
was  encamped  near  it,  and  prevent  him  from  uniting  his  forces  with 
those  of  General  Beauregard,  at  Manassas.  General  McDowell  at  the 
same  time,  crossed  the  Potomac  at  Washington,  designing  to  attack 
the  rebel  army  in  front.    Ue  was  not  as  well  prepared  to  march  as  he 


092 


ADMINISTBATION  OF   LINCOLK. 


desired,  but  time  was  precions  to  him,  for  10,000  of  tbo  53,000  men 
under  him  had  enlisted  for  only  three  months,  and  before  the  1st  of 
August  their  term  of  enlistment  would  have  expired.  His  design  was 
to  reach  Centreville,  seven  miles  ea^  of  Manassas,  on  the  17th,  and 
bring  on  a  battle  on  the  19th.  A  delay  of  two  days,  caused  by  the 
inexperience  of  bis  tr,ops  and  the  obstructions  of  the  road,  gave  the 
enemy  ample  time  to  perfect  his  defences.  It  was  not  until  Saturday 
evening,  July  20,  that  General  McDowell  was  able  to  gather  his  forces 
firmly  in  hand  at  Centreville,  to  launch  them  upon  the  enemy  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  Between  the  two  hostile  armies  was  a  small  stream 
called  Bull  Run.  A  reconnoissance  by  General  Tyler  showed  that 
Blackburn's  Ford,  one  passage  over  the  Run,  was  defended,  as  was  the 
Stone  Bridge  on  the  Warrcnton  turnpike,  the  direct  road  from  Cen- 
treville to  Manassas.  Indeed  it  was  found  that  the  Run  was  fortified 
at  every  assailable  point,  and  it  was  therefore  deemed  advisable  to 
make  the  attack  at  two  different  points  at  once. 

At  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  21st,  the  long  roll  was 
sounded,  the  troops  were  summoned  to  a  hasty  breakfast,  and  with 
three  days  rations  in  their  knapsacks,  were  soon  in  position  and  on 
the  march. 

Colonel  Richardson  marched  up  the  southern  road  which  led  from 
Centreville  to  Bull  Run.  General  Tyler,  with  Colonel  Hunter,  took 
the  northern  road,  which  diverged,  the  two  forming  the  letter  V,  with 
Centreville  at  the  lowest  point  and  Bull  Run  passing  along  tbo  top. 
Genera!  McDowell  and  staft  were  with  General  Tyler.  After  advanc- 
ing two  miles.  Colonel  Hunter  turned  to  the  right,  marching  obliquely 
towards  the  Run,  which  he  was  to  cross  some  four  miles  higher  up 
and  then  come  down  upon  the  intrenched  positions  of  the  enemy  on 
the  other  side.  Colonel  Miles  was  left  at  Centreville  and  on  the  road, 
with  reserves  which  he  was  to  bring  up  whenever  they  might  be 
needed  General  Tyler  went  directly  forward  to  engr^ge  the  enemy  in 
front,  and  send  reinforcements  to  Colonel  Hunter  whenever  it  should 
be  seen  that  he  was  engaged. 

At  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  roads  were  covered  with  troops 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  advancing  and  taking  positions.  The 
northern  road  was  quite  hilly,  like  all  the  surface  of  this  section. 
After  going  out  about  three  miles,  they  came  to  a  point  down  which 
the  road,  leading  through  the  forest,  descends ;  then  it  proceeds,  by  a 
succession  of  rising  and  falling  knolls,  for  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  when  it 
crosses  a  stone  bridge,  and  then  ascends,  by  a  steady  slope,  to  the 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


603 


>ad, 
be 


jops 
The 
tion. 
hicb 
by  a 
en  it 
tbe 


heights  beyond.  At  the  top  of  that  slope  the  rebels  had  planted 
heavy  batteries,  and  the  woods  below  were  filled  with  their  troops  and 
with  concealed  cannon.  The  troops  proceeded  down  the  road  to  the 
firet  of  the  small  knolls  mentioned,  when  the  whole  column  halted. 
The  30-pounder  Parrott  gnn,  which  has  a  longer  range  than  any  other 
in  the  army,  was  planted  directly  in  the  road.  Captain  Ayres'  bat- 
tery was  stationed  in  the  woods,  a  little  to  the  right.  The  1st  Ohio 
and  2d  New  York  regiments  were  thrown  into  the  woods  in  advance, 
on  the  left.  The  69th  New  York,  the  Ist,  2d  and  3d  Connecticut 
regiments,  were  ranged  behind  them,  and  the  2d  Wisconsin  was  thrown 
into  the  woods  on  the  right. 

At  about  half-past  six  o'clock  the  30-ponndcr  threw  two  shells  di- 
rectly into  the  battery  at  the  summit  of  the  slope,  on  the  opposite 
height,  one  of  which  struck  and  exploded  directly  in  the  midst  of  the 
battery,  and  occasioned  the  utmost  havoc  and  confusion.  Captain 
Ayres  threw  ten  or  fifteen  shot  and  shell  from  his  battery  into  the 
same  place.  But  both  failed  to  elicit  any  reply.  Men  could  be  seen 
moving  about  the  opposite  slope,  but  the  batteries  were  silent.  At 
eight  o'clock  Colonel  Richardson's  column  was  at  Bull  Run,  with  a 
rebel  battery  in  front  of  him,  upon  which  he  opened  a  fire  with  heavy 
cannon,  but  received  no  reply. 

Colonel  Richardson  kept  up  his  fire  at  intervals,  but  no  rcspgnso  was 
made.  Colonel  Tyler  also  threw  out  an  occasional  shot,  but  the 
enemy  was  silent.  Away  on  the  rising  ground  to  the  right.  Colonel 
Hunter's  axemen  cleared  his  way  through  the  forest. 

At  eleven  o'clock  the  Ist  Ohio  and  2d  New  York,  which  were  lying 
in  the  wood  on  the  left,  were  ordered  to  advance.  Passing  out  of  the 
road  and  climbing  a  fence  into  a  wood  opposite,  which  they  had 
barely  approached,  however,  when  they  were  met  by  a  tremendous  dis- 
charge of  a  foui-gun  battery,  planted  at  the  left,  in  the  woods,  mainly 
for  the  purpose  of  sweeping  the  road  perpendicularly  and  the  open 
field  on  its  right,  by  which  alone  troops  could  pass  forward  to  the  op- 
posite bank.  They  were  staggered  for  a  moment,  and  received  orders 
to  retire.  Captain  Ayres'  battery  was  advanced  a  little,  so  as  to  com- 
mand this  battery,  and  by  twenty  minutes  of  vigorous  play  upon  it, 
silenced  it  completely. 

Colonel  Hunter's  gims  on  the  opposite  height,  over  a  mile  to  the 
nght  of  Tyler's  column,  now  opened  a  brisk  fire.  He  was  answered 
by  batteries  there,  and  then  followed  the  sharp,  rattling  volleys  of 
musketry  as  their  infantry  became  engaged.    The  firing  was  now  in* 


694 


ADMINISTRATION   OF    LINCOLN. 


cessnnt.  Hunter  had  come  upon  them  suddenly,  and  formed  his  line 
of  battle  in  an  open  field  at  the  right  of  the  r6ad.  The  enemy  drew 
up  to  oppose  him,  but  he  speedily  drove  them  to  retreat,  and  followed 
them  up  with  the  greatest  vigor  and  j;apidity. 

At  noon  long  lines  of  dense  dust  were  seen  rising  from  the  roads 
leading  from  Manassas,  and,  with  the  glass,  it  was  clearly  perceived 
that  they  were  raised  by  the  constant  and  steady  stream  of  reinforce- 
ments which  continued  to  pour  in  nearly  the  whole  day.  The  69th, 
YOth,  2d,  and  8th  New  York,  the  Ist,  2d,  and  3d  Connecticut,  and  the 
"2d  Wisconsin,  were  brought  forward  in  advance  of  the  wood  and 
marched  across  the  field  to  the  right,  to  go  to  Colonel  Hunter's  sup- 
port. They  crossed  the  intervening  stream  and  drew  up  in  a  small 
open  field,  separated  from  Colonel  Hunter's  coiumn  by  a  dense  wood, 
which  was  filled  with  batteries  and  infantry. 

Our  guns  continued  to  play  upon  the  woods  which  concealed  the 
enemy,  and  aided  materially  in  clearing  the  way  for  the  advance* 
Colonel  Hunter  pushed  the  rebels  back  from  point  to  point.  Now  the 
battle  appeared  to  have  reached  its  climax.  Hunter's  and  Hemtzel- 
man's  divisions  were  deep  in  the  enemy's  position,  and  our  force,  ex- 
cepting the  2d  Brigade,  was  well  at  work.  The  discharges  of  artillery 
and  musketry  caused  a  continuous  and  unbroken  roar,  which  some- 
times swelled  tumultuously  to  terrific  crashes,  but  never  lulled.  On 
the  heights  in  front,  bodies  of  infantry  were  plainly  seen  driving  with 
fury  one  against  the  other,  and  slowly  pressing  towards  the  left — 
another  proof  that  our  advance  was  resisted  in  vain.  At  one  moment 
the  rebels  seemed  determined  to  risk  all,  rather  than  retreat.  Many  a 
regiment  was  brought  to  meet  our  onset,  and  all  were  swept  back 
with  the  same  impetuous  charges.  Prisoners  who  were  subsequently 
brought  m  admitted  that  some  of  our  troops,  especially  the  7 1st  New 
York  regiment,  literally  mowed  down  and  annihilated  double  their 
number.  Two  Alabama  regiments,  in  succession,  were  cut  right  and 
left  by  the  7 1st. 

At  one  P.  M.  the  flanking  column  was  fully  discernible,  and  the 
junction  of  our  forces  was  evidently  not  far  distant.  The  gradual 
abandonment  of  their  posif  ions  by  the  rebels  could  not  be  doubted. 
At  some  points  they  fled  precipitately,  but  in  most  cases  moved  regu- 
larly to  the  r^^ar.  It  is  probable  that  they  only  deserted  one  strong 
post  for  another  even  ptronger,  and  that  however  far  we  might  have 
crushed  them  back,  we  should  still  have  found  them  entrenched  and 
fortified  to  the  last — even  to  Manassas  itself.     But  they  had  positively 


rl 

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Olj 

ac 


ADMINISTRATION   OP  LINCOLN. 


695 


ed. 

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ave 
*iid 


relinquiBhed  the  entire  line  in  which  thoy  had  arrayed  themselves 
against  Tyler's  division,  except  one  fortified  elevation  at  the  left,  which 
could  and  should  have  been  carried  by  the  2d  brigade  an  hour  before. 
The  enemy  retreated  before  Hunter  and  Heintzelman,  forsaking  all 
excepting  one  powerful  earthwork  with  lofty  embankments,  upon  the 
highest  ground  of  the  field.  It  was  this  work  which,  later  in  the  day, 
was  stormed  by  the  Zouaves  and  other  regiments,  and  which,  in  spite 
of  a  daring  and  intrepidity  which  rebel  prisoners  spoke  of  witii  amize- 
ment,  resisted  their  charge.  But  other  important  works  had  been 
carried  by  the  3d  and  4th  brigades,  so  that  little  appeared  to  remain 
for  victory  but  to  perfect  the  union  of  the  two  columns,  and  to  hold 
the  ground  which  had  been  won. 

At  half-past  one  the  fire  slackened  on  both  sides  for  several  minutes. 
Although  the  movements  of  our  own  troops  were  mainly  hidden,  a 
peculiar  activity  could  be  seen  among  the  enemy  at  the  spot  where 
they  had  been  most  vehemently  repulsed  by  Heintzelman.  A  long 
line  of  apparently  fresh  regiments  was  brought  forward  and  formed  at 
the  edge  of  a  grove  through  which  cur  men  had  penetrated.  Four 
times  this  line  was  broken,  and  reformed  by  its  officers,  who  rode  be- 
hind, and  drove  back  those  who  fled,  with  their  swords.  A  fifth  time 
it  was  shattered,  and  reforme<l,  but  could  not  be  made  to  stand  fast, 
and  was  led  back  to  the  fortified  ground.  This  afforded  those  who 
looked  on  from  the  lower  battle-field  a  new  ground  for  the  conviction 
that  triumph  would  be  with  us.  ,  . 

For  nearly  an  half  an  hour  the  enemy  languished,  and  our  move- 
ments seemed  clogged  by  some  mysterious  obstacle.  Schenck's 
brigade  was  brought  forward  a  few  hundred  rods  on  the  open  road. 
In  some  places  the  aspect  of  the  field  was  truly  appalling.  The  enemy's 
dead  lay  strewn  so  thickly  that  they  rested  upon  one  another,  the 
ground  refusing  space  to  many  that  had  fallen.  Our  men  had  sufiered 
much  and  lay  around  in  great  numbers. 

At  half-past  two  the  attention  of  those  who  gazed  upon  the  dead 
■was  quickly  turned  from  these  awful  results  of  the  battle  to  the  im- 
r  inent  hazard  of  its  renewal.  Down  on  the  left,  which  had  so  long 
been  exposed,  a  new  line  of  troops  moved  with  an  alacrity  that  indi- 
cated entire  freshness.  As  they  swept  around  to  the  very  woods  upon 
which  the  2d  brigade  rested,  the  artillery  from  the  last  entrenchments 
they  held  upon  this  field — that  which  had  been  overrun  betimes  by 
our  idle  troops — opened  with  new  vigor.  Grape  and  round  shot,  most 
accurately  aimed,  struck  the  ground  before,  behind,  and  each  side  of 


696 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   LINCOLN. 


General  Schcnck  and  the  officers  under  him.  The  Oliio  regiments 
wore  somewhat  sheltered  by  a  cleft  in  the  road,  but  the  New  York  2d 
was  more  exposed.  General  Schenck  was  in  great  danger,  to  wiiich 
he  seemed  perfectly  insensible,  riding  always  through  the  liottest  of 
the  fire,  as  if  nothing  more  serious  than  a  shower  of  paper  pellets 
threatened  him. 

The  work  progressed.  Captain  Alexander,  with  the  engineers,  had 
completed  a  bridge  across  the  Run,  over  which  our  ambulances  were 
to  pass  for  the  wounded,  and  by  which  our  artillery  could  be  planted 
in  new  positions.  Even  then,  although  that  stealthy  column  was 
winding,  awkwardly  for  us,  about  o\ir  left,  no  person  dreamed  that  the 
day  was  lost.  The  men  of  the  brigade,  at  least,  were  tinn,  although 
they  began  to  sutfer  severely.  Horrible  gaps  and  chasms  appeared 
once  or  twice  in  the  ranks  of  the  New  York  2d.  Four  men  were  torn 
in  pieces  by  a  single  round  of  grape  shot,  and  their  blood  was  flung 
in  great  splashes  over  all  who  stood  near.  The  carnage  around 
seemed  more  terrific  than  it  really  was,  so  hideous  was  the  nature  of 
the  wounds. 

At  four  o'clock  the  general  battle  seemed  to  have  subsided ;  nay, 
almost  entirely  to  have  ceased  ;  and  nothing  but  an  occasional  great 
gun  and  isolated  flirt  of  musketry  proclaimed  its  continuance  in 
any  quarter.  In  their  ignorance  of  the  extent  of  the  field,  our 
forces  imagined  they  had  won  a  victory.  They  had  shown  greater 
dash  and  steadiness  than  the  enemy  from  first  to  last,  and  while  by  far 
the  most  exposed,  had  inflicted  a  much  heavier  slaughter  than  they 
had  undergone  themselves.  The  whole  aspect  within  our  lines,  or 
rather  within  the  boundaries  of  our  brigades,  wore  the  look  of  triumph. 
Our  enemies,  wherever  we  hail  met  them  hand  to  hand,  in  anything 
like  open  opportunity,  had  sunk  before  us;  all  their  batteries  immedi- 
ately within  our  reach  had  been  silenced  ;  but,  what  was  infinitely  more 
conclusive.  General  McDowell,  the  commander-in-chief,  now  came 
jingling  on  the  field,  waving  first  his  glove  and  then  his  hat,  calling 
his  men  "brave  boys,"  and  telling  them,  with  the  grand  air  of  Csesar, 
that  they  had  won  the  day. 

After  joyful  shouts  had  gone  down  the  wind  after  him,  our  tired 
legions  flung  themselves,  by  one  accord,  upon  the  ground,  to  take  a 
brief  snack  at  their  haversacks,  and  to  catch  a  few  minutes'  repose  be- 
fore making  their  final  dispositions  for  the  day.  Perhaps  no  army 
which  had  won  a  victory  was  ever  more  fatigued,  and  the  men,  as  they 
lay  upon  their  sides  and  rehearsed  the  horrors  of  the  day,  wondered 


Raising  the  American  Flao  on  Fort  S 


LJITE3. 


■^ 


AnJCINISTUATION   OP   LINCOLN. 


697 


liow  they  liail  held  out  so  long.  Many,  however,  had  not  even  this 
repose,  for  they  were  bearing  off  their  wounded  comrades  to  the  hos- 
pital, and  others  were  searching  for  their  sworn  brethren-in-arms 
among  the  dead.  Tlicso  lay  about  in  tlio  most  fantastic  shapes,  some 
absolutely  headless,  some  represented  by  a  gory  trunk  alone,  sonic 
witli  smiles,  and  some  with  rage  upon  their  lips,  as  they  grasped  their 
bent  and  curiously  twisted  weapons,  and  some  actually  rolled  up  like  a 
ball.  Whoever  would  study  the  eccentricities  of  carnage,  might  here 
have  graduated  through  all  the  degrees  of  horror,  to  a  full  experience 
at  once 

Nearly  the  whole  of  onr  army  was  now  grouped  pretty  well  to- 
gether. The  brigades  which  had  made  tlie  circuit  against  the  enemy's 
side  had  been  joined  by  those  which  had  fought  straight  on ;  and  a 
glance  at  the  field  showed  that  the  whole  breadth  of  our  battle  had 
not  spread  over  a  mile  and  a  half.  An  observation  from  Professor 
Lowe's  balloon  would  have  shown  that,  with  all  our  prowess  and  heroic 
daring,  we  had  merely  cut  a  hole  in  the  small  end  of  the  enemy's 
plateau  of  batteries,  and  that  his  rear,  which  General  McDowell 
imagined  he  had  turned,  overhung  us  in  massive  wings,  which  still  re- 
mained untouched. 

Suddenly,  while  the  wearied  army  were  at  rest,  the  roar  of  battle 
broke  out  again  in  every  direction,  and  batteries  which  had  been 
thought  mute  forever,  now  opened  with  redoubled  fury.  The  most 
terrific  yells  from  the  enemy  accompanied  the  renewal  of  the  conflict, 
and  it  became  evident  that,  instead  of  having  yielded  to  the  untoward 
fortunes  of  the  day,  they  had  only  been  refreshing  themselves  while 
pouring  new  regiments  into  their  lower  works. 

The  Burnside  brigade  was  still  upon  the  field,  where  they  had  re- 
ceived from  General  McDowell  the  news  of  victory,  and  consequently, 
had  heard,  with  the  surprise  that  was  equal  among  all  of  our  brigades, 
the  angry  rs-opening  of  the  fight. 

Suddenly,  a  long  way  up  the  rise,  and  issuing  from  the  enemy's  ex- 
treme left,  appeared,  slowly  debouching  into  sight,  a  dense  column  of 
infantry,  marching  with  slow  and  solid  step.  Rod  by  rod  the  massive 
column  lengthened,  not  breaking  off  at  the  completion  of  a  regiment, 
but  still  pouring  on,  and  on,  and  on,  till  one  regiment  had  lengthened 
into  ten.  Even  then  the  stern  tide  did  not  pause.  Still  the  solemn 
picture  swelled  its  volume,  till  the  t«n  regiments  had  doubled  into 
twenty,  and  had  taken  the  formation  of  three  sides  of  a  hollow  square. 

The  martial  tide  flowed  on,  the  lengthening  regiments  growing  into 


008 


ADMIiriHTRATIOir   OP   LINCOLBT. 


thirty  thousand  men,  with  a  mara  of  black  cavalry  in  ita  centre,  the 
whole  moving  on  with  the  solemn  step  of  fate.  This  wis  war  in  all 
its  pomp  and  glory,  as  well  as  in  its  strength,  and  onr  jaded  fcrmy  at 
onco  comprehended  that  they  were  beaten.  In  vain  did  their  thoughts 
turn  quickly  upon  Patterson.  It  would  not  do.  Johnston  was  there 
before  him,  with  his  cool,  fresh  thousands,  and  the  battle  was  lost. 
'I'lmt  steady  and  united  host  outnunilKTcd  the  whole  of  our  worn  and 
staggering  columns,  and  it  penetrated  (lioin  witli  resistless  f>ower.      * ' 

Near  the  top  of  the  hill,  the  robt^l  cavalry,  having  completely  cir- 
CMinvented  our  left,  had  cliar!;('<|  in  among  a  crowd  of  wounded  and 
stragglers  who  surrounded  a  small  biilMing  which  had  been  used  for  a 
hospital.  Nothing  but  the  iiiicxpecteiJ  courage  of  a  considerable 
number  of  unorganized  men,  many  of  there  civilians,  who  seized 
the  readiest  weapons  and  repelled  the  enemy,  saved  that  point  from 
bemg  occupied. 

At  6  P.  M.  proofs  of  the  panic  which  had  stricken  the  army  were 
fully  disclosed.  From  the  distant  hills,  our  troops,  disorganized,  scat- 
tered, pallid  with  a  terror  which  had  no  just  cause,  came  pour- 
ing along,  trampling  down  some,  and  spreading  the  contagion  of 
their  fear  among  all.  It  was  even  then  a  whirlwind  which  nothing 
could  resist. 

In  the  race  from  a  fancied  danger,  all  divisions  and  all  regiments 
were  mingled.  There  was  not  even  an  attempt  to  cover  the  retreat  of 
Tyler's  division.  With  Ileintzelman's  it  was  better;  Lieutenant 
Drumraond's  cavalry  troop  keeping  firm  line,  and  protecting  the  artil- 
lery until  its  abandonment  was  imperatively  ordered.  The  extent  of 
its  disorder  was  unlimited.  Regulars  and  volunteers  shared  it  alike. 
A  mere  fraction  of  our  artillery  was  saved.  Whole  batteries  were  left 
upon  the  field,  and  the  cutting  ofi"  of  others  was  ordered  when  the 
guns  had  already  been  brought  two  miles  or  more  from  the  battle 
ground,  and  were  as  safe  as  they  would  be  in  Washington.  A  perfect 
frenzy  was  upon  almost  every  man.  Some  cried  piteously  to  be  lifted 
behind  those  who  rode  on  horses,  and  others  sought  to  clamber  into 
•wagons,  the  occupants  received  them  with  bayonets.  All  sense  of 
manhood  seemed  to  be  forgotten. 

Drivers  of  heavy  wagons  dashed  down  the  steep  road,  reckless  of 
the  lives  they  endangered  on  the  way.  Even  the  sentiment  of  shame 
bad  gone.  Some  of  the  better  men  had  tried  to  withstand  the  rush, 
and  cried  ont  against  the  flying  troops,  oailing  them  "  cowards,  pol- 
troons, brutes,"  and  reviling  them  for  so  degrading  themselves,  espe- 


01^ 

vil 

rij 

st 

ir 
cc 
er 
ca 
tal 


ADMINISTRATION   OF    UNCOLN. 


009 


cially  when  no  enemy  was  near.  InHcnsiblo  to  the  cpitbots,  tlio  run- 
awayH  only  looked  relieved,  and  Bought  renewed  aMurancco  that  their 
imagined  pursuers  were  not  upon  them.  Every  impediment  to  llight 
was  cast  aside.     All  was  lost  to  that  army,  oven  its  honor. 

The  reserves  left  with  Colonel  Miles  at  Cuntrevillo  were  unable  to 
fully  check  the  retreating  crowd,  but  they  did  much  to  restore  order, 
till  it  was  apparent  that  the  enemy  were  in  no  condition  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  their  succcHS  by  pursuit. 

The  great  error  of  the  campaign  which  ended  in  this  deplorable 
affair,  wan  the  failure  to  occupy  ManusHUs  in  May,  when  Alexandria 
was  occupied.  Had  thin  been  done,  the  rebel  army  would  have  been 
held  on  the  line  of  the  Ka{>pahannock.  But  that  which  most  deranged 
the  calculations  of  fieneral  Scott,  who  planned  the  campaign,  was  the 
failure  of  General  I'atterson  to  retain  the  forces  of  GeneralJohnston  in 
the  valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  near  Harper's  Ferry.  General  Patterson 
had  a  force  of  23,000  men  to  hold  in  check  a  rebel  force  believed  not 
to  have  exceeded  l.'>,000  men.  Yet  the  rebels  succeeded  in  imposing 
upon  Patterson  the  belief  that  they  had  40,000  men,  and  fairly  paralyzed 
him  with  fear,  while  they,  fresh  and  unexhausted,  suddenly  threw  them- 
selves, at  a  critical  and  decisive  mo.ncnt,  upon  our  wearied  and  bleed- 
ing columns,  near  the  close  of  the  memorable  day  at  Manassas. 

This  unexpected  disaster  had  a  most  depressing  effect  upon  the 
spirits  of  the  North,  and  elated  the  South  to  a  pitch  of  intolerable 
audacity  and  presumption.  In  the  midst  of  criminations  and  recrim- 
inations as  to  where  the  responsibility  rested,  the  loved  and  honored 
veteran,  General  Winfield  Scott,  the  heio  of  two  wars,  who  had  the 
responsible  charge  of  all  army  movements,  but  who  was  weighed  down 
with  the  infirmities  of  old  age  almost  to  the  level  of  childhood,  re- 
quested that  the  command  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  might  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  General  George  B.  McClellan.  General 
McClellan  was  at  once  appointed.  lie  was  then  but  thirty-four  years 
of  age.  He  had  won  the  friendship  of  General  Scott  by  important  ser- 
vices in  the  battles  of  the  valley  of  Mexico,  and  the  country  was  then 
ringing  with  his  praises  for  the  masterly  manner  in  which  he  had  re- 
stored the  Union  authority  in  Western  Virginia.  He  reached  Wash- 
ington on  the  26th  of  July,  and  on  the  27th  assumed  the  duties  of  his 
command.  He  found  the  army  little  better  than  a  mob,  and  the  gov- 
ernment and  people  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  the  capital.  His  first 
care  was  to  restore  order  to  the  army.  His  next  was  to  put  the  capi- 
tal in  a  state  of  defence,  by  the  erection  of  a  system  of  earthworks,  be- 


700 


AIlMINISTKATlOX    Or    UNCOLW. 


bind  which  a  iniall  forco  could  hoKl  a  largo  assailing  force  in  check. 
Then  ho  arranged  hlH  army  fur  activo  fluid  opcrationH.  From  this  time 
until  the  HUt  day  of  October,  when  General  Scott  retinal  from  active 
8urvice,  and  (Sonural  McClcllun  wum  appointcil  commandi'i-iii-chief  of 
tlio  armioA  of  the  United  StatcH,  with  hoiidijuarturs  ut  Wiishington, 
Ocneriil  Mi.Clellan  devoted  liimself  with  uiisurpaHsed  induHtry  to  the 
groat  duties  tiiat  duvolved  i'p<m  liini. 

During  the  summer,  th«  commurcu  of  the  country  was  subjected  to 
j^roat  damage  by  the  prnatccrs  of  the  Suutli.  Tho  most  noted  of 
tlic'Hc,  the  Sumter  and  the  JefV  Davis,  carried  on  their  depredations 
aiiiiont  in  niglit  of  our  seab»>aiil  cities.  Tiny  wore  greatly  aided,  if 
not  encouraged,  by  tht  mariiuno  powers  of  Kuropo,  all  of  whom  ac- 
corded tliu  South  belligerent  rights  which  included  all  the  riglits  of 
asylum  tliat  were  necessary  for  procuring  supplies  for  tlic  prosecution 
of  their  nefarious  business.  Tho  only  riy;ht  which  tho  privateers  were 
dcprivetl  of  m  European  ports,  was  that  of  selling  their  jirizes.  Tho 
vessels  they  captured  were  therefore  robbed  of  everything  movable  of 
value,  and  burned  at  sea.  By  the  end  of  August  more  than  one  hun* 
dred  merchant  vessels  were  ca]>turcil,  and  in  this  way  destroyed. 

On  the  'JOth  of  August,  a  fleet  of  six  heavy  frigates  and  gunboats, 
and  a  number  of  transports,  left  Fortress  Monroo  and  sailed  for  llnt- 
teras  Inlet,  a  noted  refuge  for  privateers.  Commodore  Stringham 
commanded  the  fleet,  and  General  B.  F.  Butler  the  troops.  They 
reached  the  inlet  on  tho  27tli,  and  at  once  attacked  tho  fort,  which 
they  compelled  to  capitulate  on  tho  29th.  The  commander  of  tho 
fort,  Commodore  Barron,  was  taken  prisoner,  together  with  715  ofH- 
oers  and  men,  and  tlu^y  were  all  carried  to  New  York.  A  largo 
amount  of  ammunition  and  one  thousand  stand  of  arms  were  the  prizes 
of  (his  capture.  This  place  was  the  key  to  Aibemarle  Sound,  and  was 
at  once  possessed  arrJ  fortified  by  order  of  General  Butler. 

At  this  time  the  attention  of  tho  country  was  directed  to  Missouri. 
On  fhc  death  of  Lyon,  the  Union  forces  were  thrown  upon  the  defensive, 
(ieneral  Fremont,  who  had  taken  command  of  that  department,  on  tho 
•Slst  of  August  issued  a  proclamation,  placing  tho  State  under  martial 
law,  and  for  tho  first  time  in  the  history  of  tho  war,  held  over  the 
slaveholders  the  threat  of  the  emancipation  of  their  slaves.  IIo  de- 
fined the  lines  of  the  army  of  occupation,  and  added,  "  All  persons 
who  shall  be  taken  with  arms  in  their  hands  within  those  lines,  shall 
be  tried  by  court  martial,  and,  if  found  guilty,  will  bo  shot.  The 
property,  real  and  personal,  of  all  persons  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  who 


Mm 


II 


Sill  f''' 


I 


w^ 


ADMINISTRATION   OP    LINCOLN. 


?01 


shall  take  up  arms  against  the  United  States,  or  who  shall  be  directly 
proven  to  have  taken  active  part  with  their  enemies  in  the  field,  is  de- 
clared to  be  confiscated  to  the  public  use ;  and  their  slaves,  if  any  they 
have,  are  hereby  declared  free  men." 

This  proclamation  by  Fremont  alarmed  even  President  Lincoln,  and 
he  at  once  ordered  it  to  be  modified  to  conform  to  the  act  of  Congress, 
which  sanctioned  tlie  emancipation  only  of  such  slaves  as  were  ac- 
tually engaged  by  the  rebels  in  military  service. 

The  rebel  forces  now  literally  swarmed  over  Kentucky  and  Mis- 
souri. At  Springfield,  Missouri,  Colonel  Mulligan,  with  a  force  of 
about  4,000  men,  was  attacked  on  the  10th  of  September  by  the  rebel 
General  Price,  at  the  hoad  of  25,000  men.  For  ten  days  the  deter- 
mined  heroes  resisted  the  siege,  but  were  then  obliged  to  surrender 
prisoners  of  war.  General  Fremont  set  out  from  St.  Louis  with  a 
competent  force  to  dislodge  Price  from  Springfield,  and  drive  him  out 
of  the  State.  As  he  approached  Springfield,  Price  fled,  and  Fremont 
took  possession  of  the  place  on  the  29th  of  Octol)er.  Political  in- 
trigues, however,  which  had  been  at  work  against  Fremont  since  the 
publication  of  his  emancipation  proclamation,  had  finally  done  their 
work,  and  this  gallant  officer,  now  that  he  had  overcome  all  difficulties 
and  was  prepared  to  follow  up  his  successes  and  clear  the  State  of  the 
rebel  armies,  was  superseded  and  ordered  to  transfer  his  command  to 
General  Hunter.     This  was  on  the  2d  day  of  November. 

The  battle  of  Ball's  Bluff,  on  the  Upper  Potomac,  on  the  21st  of  Oc- 
tober, was  most  disastrous  to  the  Union  arms.  At  Lecsburg,  near  this 
place,  there  was  a  strong  rebel  force,  which  General  Stone  deemed  it  im- 
portant to  reconnoitre,  to  ascertain  their  position  and  numbers.  He  ac- 
cordingly crossed  the  Potomac  with  1900  men,  but  unfortunately  made 
no  provision  for  recrossing  in  case  of  disaster.  Ho  was  attacked  by  an 
overwhelming  force,  and  after  a  fierce  struggle,  lasting  a  whole  d  ly,  was 
obliged  to  retreat.  Reaching  the  river  and  finding  no  means  to  cross, 
the  men  were  crowded  into  the  river,  and  many  were  drowned  and  others 
shot  in  the  water  while  attempting  to  escape  by  swimming.  More  than 
200  were  killed  or  drowned  at  this  place.  Among  the  killed  was  the 
brave  Colonel  E.  D.  Baker,  United  States  senator  from  Oregon,  who 
volunteered  to  fight  for  his  country  during  the  recess  of  Congress,  and 
fell  a  martyr  to  his  patriotic  zeal. 

With  the  exception  of  this  fight,  and  an  unimportant  collision  at 
Pensacola,  at  Harper's  P'erry,  at  Frederickton,  Missouri,  and  at  Phil- 


> 


702 


ia)MIKI8TBATI0N  iW    LINCOLN. 


lippi,  in  Western  Virginia,  there  were  no  military  events  during  tbi» 
month. 

•  On  the  let  of  November,  General  McClellan  took  charge  of  the  ar- 
mies of  the  United  States,  General  Scott  Laving  withdrawn  wholly 
from  active  life. 

On  the  29th  of  October,  an  immense  military  and  naval  expedition, 
consisting  of  84  vessels,  carrying  20,000  men,  left  Hampton  Roads  for 
Port  Royal  Harbor,  South  Carolina,  The  military  were  under  com- 
mand of  General  T.  W.  Sherman,  and  the  navy  was  commanded  by 
Captain  Samuel  F.  Dupont.  On  the  4th  of  November,  the  expedition 
reached  its  destination,  and  found  that  two  heavily  constructed  fortifi- 
cations had  been  formed  to  protect  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.  On 
the  7th,  the  plan  of  attack  upon  these  forts  having  been  agreed  upon, 
the  fleet  was  put  in  motion.  Sixteen  selected  vessels  formed  in  a  line 
and  swiftly  sailed  around  a  circle  between  the  fort'«,  delivering  their 
fire  alternately  at  each  fort  as  they  passed.  This  novel  mode  of  at- 
tack was  completely  successful.  In  three  hours  after  the  first  gun  was 
fired,  the  forts  were  rendered  untenable  and  were  evacuated,  the  occu- 
pants fleeing  into  the  interior.  Not  a  vessel  of  the  fleet  was  seriously 
injured,  and  only  eight  sailors  were  killed.  This  victory  was  an  im- 
mense advantage  to  the  Union  cause.  It  provided  the  best  harbor  on 
the  Southern  coast,  as  a  naval  rendezvous,  and  furnisaed  a  strong  po- 
sition about  midway  between  Savannah  and  Charleston.  Beaufort 
and  all  the  adjacent  islands  and  towns  wore  immediately  taken  pos- 
session of. 

On  the  20th  of  November,  a  fleet  of  twenty-five  old  whale  ships  left 
New  London  harbor,  loaded  with  stone.  They  were  taken  to  the  en- 
trance of  Charleston  harbor,  and  there  sunk,  for  the  purpose  of  block- 
ading that  harbor.  This  plan  of  blockading  proved  ineff'ectual,  and 
was  never  afterwards  repeated. 

At  Belmont,  Missouri,  on  the  7th  of  November,  a  sharp  fight  oc- 
curred between  the  Union  forces  under  Generals  Grant  and  McCler- 
nand,  and  the  rebels  encamped  at  that  place.  The  result  was  a  loss 
of  about  600  men  on  each  side,  and  the  withdrawal  of  our  troops  to 
Cairo,  Illinois,  from  which  place  they  first  set  out. 

A  few  days  prior  to  the  assembling  of  Congress  in  December,  an 
event  occurred  which  gravely  aff'ected  our  relations  with  Great  Britain. 
EJarly  in  November,  John  Slidell,  of  Louisiana,  and  James  Y.  Mason, 
of  Virginia,  sailed  from  Charleston  for  Havana,  for  the  purpose  of 
intercepting  the  British  steamer  Trent,  and  taking  passage  in  that  ves- 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


703 


sel  for  Europo.  Tbey  were  the  accredited  ministers  from  the  rebel 
government  to  the  courts  of  France  and  Great  Britain,  and  their  busi- 
ness  was  to  seok  the  recognition  of  the  independence  of  their  govern- 
ment fi-om  those  powere.  They  embarked  on  the  Trent,  and  when 
near  the  Bermudas  the  Trent  was  overtaken  by  the  United  States 
frigate  San  Jacinto,  commanded  by  Captain  Wilkes,  was  forcibly 
stopped,  Slidell,  Mason,  and  all  their  attendants  were  seized  by  an 
armed  force  sent  by  Captain  Wilkes  for  that  purpose,  in  defiance  of 
the  protest  of  the  officers  of  the  Trent,  and  cai-ried  as  prisoners  on 
board  the  San  Jaciuto.  When  the  San  Jacinto  reached  the  United 
States,  the  prisoners  were  at  once  consigned  to  Fort  Warren,  in  Boston 
harbor.  The  people  with  great  enthusiasm  applauded  the  act  of  Cap- 
tain Wilkes,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  his  oflUcial  report,  dis- 
tinctly justified  the  act;  but  the  administration  were  unable  to  recon- 
cile it  with  recognized  principles  of  the  law  of  nations,  and  on  receiv- 
ing a  vigorous  demand  for  redress  from  the  British  authorities,  they 
released  the  prisoners,  and  sent  them  on  board  a  British  vessel  to  be 
taken  to  Europe. 

On  the  assembling  of  Congress,  measures  were  at  once  adopted  to 
meet  the  terrible  exigencies  of  the  day.  Unlimited  power  was  con- 
ferred on  the  President  to  raise  men  and  money  to  prosecute  the  war, 
and  public  sentiment  fully  sustained  the  representatives  of  the  people. 
An  enormous  fleet  of  iron-clad  gunboats  for  coast  and  river  service  was 
ordered,  for  the  first  time,  by  this  Congress. 

*'  The  year  1862  opened  by  a  suspension  of  specie  payments  by  all 
the  banks  of  the  Union.  The  treasury  department  was  prepared  to 
supply  the  place  of  the  bank  currency  by  circulating  notes  of  the  gov- 
ernment, which  were  a  legal  tender  for  the  payment  of  debts.  A 
scheme  for  a  national  system  of  free  banking  was  also  adopted,  which 
has  finally  supplanted  all  the  State  banks,  as  it  was  intended  it  should 
do.  The  winter  season  had  suspended  all  great  military  operations ; 
but  in  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and  Virginia,  collisions  between  detached 
forces  were  frequent,  but  indecisive.  An  exception  to  this  should  be 
made  in  the  battle  of  Mill  Spring,  Kentucky,  fought  on  the  19th  of 
January,  between  tlie  rebels  under  Generals  Zollicoffer  and  Crittenden, 
and  the  Union  forces  under  General  Thomas.  Zollicoffer  was  killed, 
his  army  completely  routed,  and  some  1200  horses  and  mules,  and  a 
large  amount  of  arms  and  ammunition  rewarded  the  victors.  This 
victory  laid  open  the  route  into  East  Tennessee,  which  the  rebel  gen- 
erals were  guarding. 


V04 


ADMINISTRATIOX  OF    LINCOLN. 


Early  in  Febmary  the  army  under  General  U.  S.  Grant,  and  the 
naval  flotilla  under  command  of  Captain  (since  Rear-Admiral)  A.  II. 
Foote,  were  ready  for  active  movements  in  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 
Their  first  •  demonstration  was  upon  Fort  Henry,  upon  tie  Tenneaseo 
River.  Captain  Foote  was  ordered  to  sail  up  that  river  to  the  fort,  and 
General  Grant  was  to  cooperate  by  land.  The  naval  forces  reached 
tiiere  on  the  6th,  and  without  waiting  the  arrival  of  the  army,  fire  was 
at  once  opened  upon  the  fort,  and  in  an  hour  and  a  quarter  the  garri- 
son surrendered. 

Fort  Donelson,  on  the  Cumberland  River,  a  much  larger  and  stronger 
•work,  garrisoned  by  20,000  men,  was  next  invested,  and  fire  was 
opened  upon  it  on  the  ISth.  The  gunboats  at  this  place  had  no  suc- 
cess. The  batteries  were  so  high  that  they  sent  plunging  shot  into, 
the  vessels,  which  were  disabled,  and  a  large  number  of  the  crews 
were  killed  or  wounded.  Among  the  wounded  was  Captain  Foote, 
who  received  injuries  from  which  he  never  fully  recovered.  The  fight- 
ing was  then  pursued  by  the  land  forces,  aiid  for  two  days  it  raged 
with  terrible  fury.  Twice  the  enemy  came  out  from  their  defences 
and  attacked  Grant's  forces  with  deadly  effect.  On  the  afternoon  of 
the  16th,  the  advantage  seemed  to  be  with  them,  and  many  of  Grant's 
oflScers  were  despondent.  Not  so  with  their  general.  At  the  darkest 
moment  he  ordered  General  C.  F.  Smith  and  General  Lew.  Wallace 
each  to  storm  such  points  of  the  enemy's  works  as  he  designated,  and 
to  carry  them  "  at  whatever  cost."  These  brave  men  executed  their 
orders  in  a  shower  of  bullets  that  seemed  like  the  heaviest  rain.  The 
cost  was  great,  but  the  points  were  gained.  That  night  the  rebel 
generals,  Buckner,  Floyd,  and  Pillow,  held  a  council,  and  at  the  dawn 
of  day,  as  General  Grant  was  preparing  to  follow  up  the  advantages 
which  he  had  gained,  they  sent  a  messenger  to  him  to  appoint  com- 
missioners to  agree  upon  terms  of  surrender.  Grant's  reply  has  be- 
come historic.  "  No  terms  other  than  unconditional  surrender  can  be 
accepted.     I  propose  to  move  immediately  upon  your  works." 

The  reply  of  General  Buckner  was  the  acceptance  of  what  he  styled 
the  "ungenerous  and  unchivalrous  terms."  This  surrender  included 
13,000  prisoners,  3,000  horses,  and  a  corresponding  number  of  arms, 
etc. 

The  rivers  Tennessee  and  Cumberland  were  thus  thrown  open.  The 
former  is  navigable  by  steamers  to  Florence,  Alabama,  2V5  miles,  and 
by  boats  some  250  miles  further.  The  latter  is  navigable  to  Nash- 
ville, Tennessee,  200  miles,  by  steamer,  and   by  boats  300  miles  fur- 


ifffll 


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-«; 


ADMINISTKATIOX   OF    LINCOLN. 


705 


thor.  Tlio  advantage  the  occupation  of  these  rivers  gave  tbe  "Union 
arms  ia  incalculable.  An  immediate  advance  was  made  upon  Nash- 
ville, which  was  ocoupied  by  General  Buell,  without  resistance,  and  tho 
whole  country  in  tho  vicinity  soon  passed  into  the  control  of  the  Union 
forces.  In  fact,  tho  entire  State  of  Kentucky,  and  Missouri  also,  wero 
abandoned  by  the  rebel  armies. 

The  rebels,  however,  still  hold  several  strong  places  in  the  islands 
of  the  Mississippi  ^livcr,  which  they  had  exhausted  their  ingenuity  in 
fortifying.  The  most  formidable  place  was  Island  No.  10,  which  was 
destined  to  give  the  Union  forces  serious  trouble.  This  isjand  was  in- 
vested by  a  land  force  under  General  I'ope,  and  a  flotilla  of  gunboats 
under  Captain  Foote,  early  in  March,  and  after  a  desperate  resistance, 
finally  capitulated  on  the  Vtli  of  April. 

The  rebel  force  that  invaded  Missouri  was  driven  into  Arkansas,  and 
at  Pea  Ridge,  in  this  State,  on  the  6th,  7th,  and  8th  of  March,  was 
fought  a  most  desperate  battle,  between  the  Union  army,  under  Gen- 
erals Curtis  and  Sigel,  and  the  rebels  under  Generals  Van  Dorn,  Price 
and  McCuUough.  The  battle  raged  for  three  days,  with  alternate  suc- 
cesses on  both  sides,  when  the  enemy  were  finally  driven  from  the 
field.     In  this  battle  the  rebel  General  McCullough  waa  killed. 

A  powerful  expedition,  under  command  of  General  A,  E.  Burnside, 
set  sail  from  Fortress  Monroe  on  the  12th  of  January,  bound  for  the 
coast  of  orth  Carolina,  and  on  the  7th  of  February  had  recovered 
from  the  severe  storm  it  encountered  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  attack  tho 
works  on  Roanoke  Island,  in  the  narrow  channel  between  Pamlico  and 
Albemarle  Sound.  The  attack  by  water  was  seconded  by  a  land  force, 
which  carried  a  portion  of  the  works  by  storm.  The  works  were 
taken  possession  of,  and  the  garrison  surrendered  as  prisoners  of  war. 
General  Burnside  immediately  proceeded  up  the  Sound,  and  occupied 
Edenton,  Elizabeth  City,  and  other  places  accessible,  and  on  the  14th 
of  March,  fought  the  enemy  at  Newborn,  and  took  possession  of  that 
city. 

A  general  plan  of  operations  was  now  agreed  upon  at  Washington. 
The  rebellious  States  wero  to  be  surrounded,  and  the  rebellion  crushed 
as  if  in  the  folds  of  a  vast  anaconda.  The  Western  Department  was 
placed  under  command  of  General  Ilalleck  ;  the  Department  of  the 
South,  comprising  South  Carolina,  Georgia,  and  Florida,  under  General 
Hunter ;  the  Department  of  the  Gulf,  comprising  the  coast  of  tlie  Gulf 
of  Mexico  west  of  Pensacola  Harbor,  and  the  Gulf  States,  under  Gen- 
eral Butler  ;  the  country  east  of  the  Western  Department  and  west  of 


706 


ADMINISTBATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


'  Virginia  was  called  the  Mountain  Department,  and  placed  under  Gen< 
eral  Fremont ;  and  the  Department  of  the  Potomac  under  General 
McClellan. 

On  the  20th  of  February,  General  Banks,  commanding  the  right 
wing  of  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  crossed  the  I'otomac  at  Harper's 
Ferry,  and  encamped  at  Charlestowu.  On  the  6th  of  March,  the  di- 
rect advance  was  made  from  Washington.  Centreville,  Manass&s  and 
Fairfax  Court  House  were  occupied,  and  on  the  4th  of  April,  General 
McClellan,  having  turned  South  and  concentrated  the  best  portion  of 
his  army  at  Fortress  Monroe,  left  that  place  for  Yorktown,  on  the  di- 
rect route  to  Richmond. 

A  striking  peculiarity  in  the  navy  at  this  time  was  the  adoption 
and  extensive  introduction  of  the  plan  of  protecting  vessels  with  iron 
armor.  The  world  had  hitherto  known  little  or  nothirg  of  this  novel 
principle,  and  although  a  few  iron-clad  vessels  had  been  built  in  Eng- 
land and  France,  tlie  first  test  of  their  utility  and  power,  in  a  contest 
where  vessels  of  this  character  were  opposed,  remained  to  be  furnished 
by  this  country.  This  test  was  afforded  in  the  contest  between  the 
Merrimae  and  the  Monitor  in  Hampton  Roads,  on  the  9th  of  March. 
When  the  rebels  seized  upon  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard,  they  captured  a 
number  of  government  vessels,  and  among  them  the  now  and  power- 
ful frigate  Merrimae.  This  vessel  they  cut  down  and  remodelled  into 
a  monster  iron-clad,  with  a  roofed  top,  and  a  tremendous  beak  of  steel, 
like  the  "  rostrum"  of  an  ancient  Roman  galley ;  and  rendered  thus 
secure,  she  was  sent  out  from  Norfolk,  on  the  8th,  with  several  smaller 
crafk,  to  attack  the  Federal  fleet  in  the  Roads.  The  experiment  was 
successful ;  the  frigate  Cumberland  was  sunk  with  nearly  all  on  board, 
the  Congress  set  on  fire  and  destroyed,  and  the  Minnesota  run  aground 
and  crippled.  The  utmost  consternation  prevailed  at  Fortress  Monroe 
and  Newport  News.  A  renewal  of  the  attack  next  day  was  of  course 
looked  for,  and  the  gloomiest  anticipations  were  cherished.  But  an 
iron-clad  nondescript,  the  result  of  the  inventive  genius  of  the  distin- 
guished Captain  Ericsson,  had  been  in  course  of  construction  in  New 
York  for  a  short  time  previous.  Seemingly  as  if  for  the  purpose  of 
meeting  the  very  emergency  which  occurred,  the  work  on  this  vessel 
had  been  hurried  forward,  and  the  strange  structure  got  ready  for  ser- 
vice. On  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  March,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  J.  L.  Worden,  she  arrived  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  the 
next  morning  when  the  Merrimae  made  her  re-appearance  and  re- 
newed the  attack  on  the  Minnesota,  this  "  cheese-box  on  a  raft,"  as  the 


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CUMBERLAND 


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f,'nt\  rrd  aocwrfiny  ;o  oi-*  ofCijngrets  in  thi  ^rltitiZ  by  M 
REBEL  STEAMCRB     JAMESTOWN  K  YOITOWN. 

THE  FIRST  BATTLE  JET 

The     Monitor"     Gun 

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CONGRESS. 

EEN  IRON'  ^HIPS  OF  WAR 

\h    and 'Merriiuac'   10  Guns. 

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•I  .iiiNiHTKATioy  or  UttCOl.S, 


707 


Monitor  wnii  contomptuounly  cailc>«l,  wont  forth  Ritiglo-linndnl  to  tiicrt 
tlie  raiii|>Hnt  and  powort'ul  foo.  It  wm,  figuratively,  DhvkI  with  a 
»ling  and  a  fow  ntoiifi  fVom  the  brook,  going  ont  to  iiinglo  combat 
with  the  ginnt  (ioliath  nrmR<l  with  ponderous  rtwonl  hihI  nponr.  Siir- 
piino  and  HHtonlAhinoiit,  it  may  bo  conceivtxl,  occupiRd  th(>  mindH  of 
all  eyo-witncHiti>8  of  the  iiingiilar  spvctaclu,  hut  eiip<>c.ially  wore  tho  foe 
taken  aback  when  tho  diminutive  craft,  scarcely  more  tlian  a  hundred 
fi'i't  long,  her  mailed  dock  but  a  foot  or  two  from  tho  water,  with  a 
fcinglo  revolving  turret  armod  with  only  two  largo  gun^  boldly  ap- 
proHciiud  nnd  entered  upon  a  content  oa  novel  an  it  witit  perHJittont  nud 
fierce.  After  a  rapid  intercliango  of  shots,  the  Merriniac  |M»rceiving 
•  the  futility  of  trying  to  destroy  hor  nmall  nntngonist  by  that  methcnl, 
attempted  to  rim  her  down;  but  in  this  alno  sho  failed,  wliilc  suffering 
material  injury  heroelf  in  tho  encounter.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
Monitor,  from  her  inftrior  t<izo  nnd  consequent  capacity  of  being  han- 
dled with  rapidity,  was  able  to  steam  around  her  bulky  foe,  planting 
hundred-pound  sliots  in  rapid  succession  against  the  Merrimac's  most 
vulnerable  parts,  and,  finally,  after  a  protracted  engagement,  succeed- 
ing in  crippling  her  powerful  adversary,  so  that  the  Merrimac  was 
forced  to  retire  from  the  contest  and  be  conveyed  back  to  Norfolk  for 
repairs.  This  naval  encoiinter,  so  novel  in  its  nature,  and  remarkable 
in  its  results,  attracted  universal  attention  at  homo  and  abroad,  and 
was  the  means  of  initiating  the  most  radical  changes  in  naval  archi- 
tecture and  warfare.  Tho  noble  little  monitor  subsequently  (Decem- 
ber 31st  of  the  same  year)  foundered  in  a  gale  off  Capo  Hatteras. 
After  the  surrender  of  Norfolk,  and  finding  that  the  Merrimac  could 
not  bo  taken  up  the  James  River,  sho  was  destroyed  by  the  rebels  on 
the  11th  of  May,  to  prevent  her  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the 
Union  forces. 

Turning  to  Tennessee,  events  of  great  importance  are  tlicro  progre.-w- 
ing  at  this  time.  After  the  capture  of  Fort  Donelson,  General  Grant 
pushed  forward  his  army  to  gain  a  foothold  where  be  could  cut  off 
communications  between  Western  Tennessee  and  the  Eastern  and 
Southern  States.  Ordering  General  Buell  to  join  him  from  Nashville, 
he  occupied  Pittsburg  Landing,  on  the  Tenneseee  River,  preparatory 
to  an  attack  upon  the  rebel  army  at  Corintli.  At  that  place  the  best 
army  of  the  South  was  encamped,  under  the  command  of  their  ablest  • 
general,  Albert  Sidney  Johnston,  who  was  assisted  by  Generals  Beau- 
regard, Hardee,  Bragg,  Cheatham,  Polk,  and  Breckinridge.  Johnston 
determined  to  attack  Grant  before  Buell  could  join  him,  designing,  if 


U 


Hii 


J 


708 


ADillNISTBATION   OP   UNCOLN. 


lie  defeated  hiin,  to  push  forward  and  crush  Buell  also.  Accordingly',* 
early  in  the  morning  of  the  6th  of  April,  the  rebel  array,  60,000  strong, 
surprised  General  Grant  by  a  powerful  attack  upon  his  lines.  The 
contest  lasted  through  the  day,  and  until  night  separated  the  com- 
batants. The  Union  forces  were  defeated  at  every  point,  after  a  most  ' 
desperate  resistance,  and  driven  to  the  river  under  the  shelter  of  their 
gunboats.  They  lost  their  camp,  camp  equipage,  and  about  half  their 
field  artillery.  The  slaughter  on  both  sides  was  dreadful.  Soon  after 
noon,  the  rebel  gcncral-in-chief,  Johnston,  fell,  mortally  wounded,  and 
the  command  devolved  upon  General  Beauregard.  Tliat  night  the 
rebels  occupied  General  Grant's  camp,  but  were  allowed  no  rest,  for  the 
gunboats  kept  up  an  unceasing  fire  upon  them.  The  army  of  General 
Buell  arrived  in  the  evening,  and  in  the  morning  were  fresh  and  ready 
for  the  fight.  They  opened  the  fiplit  early,  and  soon  regained  the 
ground  lost  the  day  before,  and  repulsed  the  enemy,  who  retired  in 
disorder  to  Corinth.  The  numbers  engaged  on  each  side  were  about 
equal,  and  the  losses  in  killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners  also  about  the 
same,  viz.,  about  12,000.  This  battle  is  usually  styled  the  battle  of 
Shiloh,  after  a  small  church  of  that  name  situated  between  the  two 
armies. 

General  Ilalleck  now  assumed  command,  being  superior  in  rank  to 
Grant  and  Buell,  pursued  the  enemy  to  Corinth,  and  laid  such  close 
siege  to  that  place,  that  the  enemy  were  obliged  to  evacuate  it  on  the 
28th  of  May.  In  the  meantime,  Memphis  having  been  captured  by 
the  Mississippi  flotilla  under  Commodore  Davis,  the  river  to  Vicksburg 
and  the  whole  of  Western  Tennessee  and  Northern  Mississippi  was  in 
the  undisputed  possession  of  the  Union  armies. 

Early  in  April  a  fleet  of  armed  steamers,  and  twenty  bomb-schooners, 
carrying  mortars  for  fifteen-inch  shells,  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi,  destined  for  the  capture  of  New  Orleans.  The  whole 
fleet  was  under  the  command  of  Commodore  David  G.  Farragut,  the 
bomb  vessels  under  command  of  Commodore  David  D.  Porter,  and 
the  land  forces  on  board  were  commanded  by  General  B.  F.  Butler. 

Seventy -five  miles  below  New  Orleans,  situated  on  opposite  banks, 
were  two  strong  forts,  Jackson  and  St.  Philip.  Across  the  river,  at  a 
point  where  the  fire  of  the  two  forts  could  be  most  effectually  concen- 
trated, was  a  heavy  chain,  which  the  rebel  engineers  supposed  could 
not  be  broken,  and  which,  in  their  opinion,  obstructed  the  passage  of 
vessels  of  war.  Heavy  land  batteries  also  lined  the  banks  of  the  river 
near  the  forts.    On  the  18th  of  April  Farragut  opened  the  whole 


ADMINISTBATION   OP   LINCOLN. 


709 


power  of  Lis  fleet  upon  the  lower  fort,  Jackson.  For  six  days  a 
abower  of  shot  and  shell  was  rained  upon  the  fort,  such  as,  perhaps, 
the  world  had  never  seen.  Still  the  fort  held  out  without  any  percep- 
tible injury.  Finally,  on  the  23d,  Farragut  determined  to  make  a 
united  attack,  and  in  his  determined  language,  to  "  conquer  or  to  be 
conquered."  lie  visited  every  vessel  of  his  fleet,  to  animate  his  men, 
and  to  personally  superintend  the  preparations  for  the  preservation  of 
life.  At  two  o'clock  on  the  following  morning,  the  fleet  weighed 
anchor,  broke  through  the  chain,  and  were  abreast  the  forts  before 
they  were  discovered.  A  tremendous  fire  was  now  opened  on  both 
sides.  At  the  same  time  a  largo  rebel  fleet  of  ircn-clads  and  gunboats 
advanced  to  the  conflict  from  above,  and  our  fleet  seemed  literally  cast 
into  a  furnace  of  fire.  A  large  fire-raft  was  pushed  against  the  'flag- 
ship of  the  Commodore,  but  did  no  damage.  Of  the  whole  fleet,  only 
one,  the  Varuna,  was  sunk,  and  four  obliged  to  retire.  The  rest  of 
the  fleet  steadily  passed  up  the  river,  destroying  thirteen  of  the  enemy's 
vessels  ai.d  iron-clads,  and  overcoming  all  the  obstacles  in  the  channel. 
At  noon  on  the  following  day  they  anchored  in  front  of  the  city  of 
New  Orleans,  and  received  the  capitulation  of  the  city.  Four  days 
later  all  the  forts  of  the  river  were  surrendered,  and  garrisoned  by  the 
troops  of  General  Butler.  The  general  fixed  his  headquarters  at  New 
Orleans.  Thus,  before  the  invincible  Farragut,  fell  the  great  strong- 
hold of  the  rebellion,  and  a  permanent  lodgment  was  made  at  a  point 
which  the  rebels  might  have  held  without  advantage,  but  the  loss  of 
which  was  an  irreparable  blow  at  their  very  vitals. 

At  the  break  of  day  on  the  morning  of  the  10th  of  April,  eleven 
batterries  which  had  been  erected  on  Tybee  Island,  under  direction  of 
General  Gilmore,  opened  fire  on  Fort  Pulaski,  a  powerful  fortress 
which  commanded  the  entrance  of  Savannah  River.  By  two  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  the  fort  was  literally  knocked  in  pieces,  and  was  sur- 
rendered. 

On  the  2'7th  of  the  same  month,  Fort  Macon,  near  Beaufort,  North 
Carolina,  surrendered  to  General  Burnside,  after  a  terrific  bombard- 
ment of  twenty-four  hours. 

Turning  now  to  the  advance  upon  Richmond,  we  find  General 
McClellan  on  the  1th  of  April,  seated  before  the  strongly  fortified 
position  of  Yorktjwn,  with  an  army  of  85,000  men.  He  besieged  the 
place  till  the  4th  of  May,  when,  as  he  was  about  to  carry  the  enemy's 
works  by  assault,  they  abandoned  them,  leaving  seventy  heavy  guns 
and  a  large  amount  of  stores  and  ammunition,  as  a  prize  to  the  cap- 


VIO 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


tore.  The  enemy  fell  back  to  Williamsburgh,  but  were  suddenly  at- 
tacked there  on  the  6tb,  and  after  a  aevere  fight,  were  driven  in  con- 
fusion towards  Richmond. 

The  evacuation  of  these  two  places  was  immediately  followed  by  the 
capture,  without  resistance,  of  the  important  city  of  Norfolk,  by  a  force 
sent  out  from  Fortress  Monroe  by  General  Wool.  Before  leaving  the 
city,  however,  the  rebels  destroyed  the  fine  navy  yard,  and  rendered 
all  the  public  works  about  tlie  city  useless. 

In  the  meantime  events  of  great  importance  were  progressing  in  the 
Shenandoah  Valley.  On  the  23d  of  March,  General  Shields,  com- 
manding under  General  Banks,  attacked  the  rebel  general,  Thomas  J. 
Jackson  (afterwards  famous  as  Stonewall  Jackson),  at  "Winchester,  and 
(defeated  him.  Jackson  retreated  to  Harrisonburg.  On  the  8th  of 
May  he  again  encountered  the  Union  generals,  Milroy  and  Schenck, 
at  Bull  Pasture  Mountain,  when  an  indecisive  action  was  had.  Jack- 
son then  marched  to  New  Market,  where  he  was  joined  by  Ewell's 
divi'sion,  when  he  turned  upon  a  small  Union  force  at  Front  Royal, 
under  Colonel  Kenbcy,  which  he  cut  to  pieces.  He  then  swiftly 
marched  upon  Strasburg,  where  General  Banks  was  encamped,  at- 
tacked him  on  the  23d  of  May,  defeated  him,  and  by  forced  marches 
drove  him  back  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Potomac,  with  a  heavy  loss 
of  men  and  baggage.  Reaching  the  Potomac,  General  Jackson  showed 
no  disposition  to  go  further,  but  at  once  commenced  to  fall  back.  At 
Cross  Keys  he  was  overtaken  by  General  Fremont  on  the  8th  of  June, 
and  after  a  severe  fight  was  compelled  still  further  to  fall  back  to  Port 
Republic,  where  he  met  and  engaged  a  force  under  General  Shields, 
and  compelled  them  to  retire.  General  Jackson  then  retired  upon 
Charlottesville,  and  was  next  heard  of  in  the  great  struggle  before 
Richmond. 

On  the  9th  of  May  General  Hunter,  commanding  the  States  of 
Georgia,  Florida,  and  South  Carolina,  issued  a  proclamation  placing 
those  States  under  ina^ial  law,  and  declared  that  "  slavery  and  martial 
law  in  a  free  com  try  being  altogether  incompatible,  the  persons  in 
these  three  States  heretofore  held  as  slaves  are  therefore  declared  free." 
The  President  immediately  revoked  this  proclamation  as  unauthorized 
and  therefore  void. 

The  great  point  of  interest  now  was  the  siege  of  Richmond,  which 
General  MoClellan  had  entered  upon  in  earnest,  by  the  route  of  the 
great  peninsula  formed  by  the  York  and  James  Rivers.  On  the  20th 
of  May  his  advanced  troops  had  reached  the  Chickahominy  River,  at 


ADAtlXISTRATION    OF   LINCOLN. 


in 


Bottom's  BriJgo,  only  twelve  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  Richmond, 
and  on  the  same  day  General  Casey  crossed  the  river  and  occupied  the 
opposite  heights.  The  general  depot  for  supplies  and  ammunition 
was  fixed  at  the  White  House,  on  the  Pamunkey  River,  some  ten 
miles  from  Bottom's  Bridge,  a  place  notable  as  the  family  seat  of  the 
wife  of  Washington. 

Learning  that  a  strong  rebel  force  had  advanced  to  Hanover  Court 
House,  which  was  to  the  right  and  rear  of  his  position,  General 
McCIellan  sent  General  Fitz  John  Porter  to  dislodge  or  defeat  them. 
This  he  accomplished  on  the  27th  of  May,  after  an  action  which  was 
hotly  contested  during  nearly  a  whole  day.  He  destroyed  the  enemy's 
camp  and  took  a  large  number  of  prisoners. 

Our  army  was  now  massed  on  both  sides  of  the  Chickahominy,  a 
river  which  is  at  this  place  a  narrow  and  shallow  stream  in  dry 
weather,  but  in  a  rainy  season,  a  broad  and  almost  impassable  flood. 
At  this  time  the  rains  were  incessant,  which  not  only  raised  the  river 
to  a  flood,  but  rendered  the  roads  of  the  Peninsula  so  bad  that  horses 
sank  to  their  knees,  and  wagons  to  their  wheel  hubs. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  river.  General  Casey's  and  General  Couch's 
divisions  were  at  Seven  Pines  and  Fair  Oaks,  under  General  Keyes ; 
while  under  General  Heintzelman  were  Generals  Hooker  and  Kearney, 
at  Savage's  Station  and  White  Oak  Swamp.  Every  position  was  well 
fortified.  During  the  day  and  night  of  May  30,  a  rain  storm  of  un- 
usual severity  prevailed.  The  rebels  seized  this  opportunity  to  make 
an  attack  upon  our  forces  on  the  south  side  of  the  river.  Accordingly, 
on  the  morning  of  the  31st,  an  immense  rebel  force,  under  Generals 
Longstreet,  Hill,  Huger,  and  Smith,  was  seen  advancing  from  Rich- 
mond to  the  attack.  At  eight  o'clock  all  but  Huger  were  ready  for 
the  fight.  Fortunately  he  was  detained  by  the  mud.  Wearied  with 
waiting  for  him,  at  one  o'clock.  Hill  and  Longstreet  fell  in  great  fury 
upon  Casey's  division,  and  overwhelmed  it.  They  retreated  slowly  to 
the  river,  and  took  no  further  part  in  the  action.  The  enemy  took 
possession  of  Casey's  camp,  and  then  turned  upon  Couch's  division. 
This  division  stood  firm  for  a  time,  but  although  the  best  portions  of 
Heintzelman's  and  Kearney's  forces  came  upon  the  field,  with  the  gal- 
lant Kearney  at  their  head,  they  were  all  overpowered,  and  the  enemy 
were  securing  a  position  in  their  rear.  Had  they  succeeded  in  this, 
the  loss  of  our  entire  army  would  have  been  inevitable.  But  at  this 
time  (6  o'clock  P.  M.)  General  Sumner,  with  General  Sedgwick's 
division,  had  succeeded  in  throwing  a  bridge  across  the  river,  and  sud* 


■12 


ADMINISTRATION   OF    LINCOLN. 


denly  appeared  upon  the  enemy's  flank  and  opened  a  heavy  battery 
upon  hie  wearied  troops.  Luckily,  at  this  exact  moment,  the  rebel 
commander-in-chief,  General  J.  7i).  Johnston,  who  had  appeared  upon 
the  field  about  an  hour  before  to  rally  and  direct  his  array,  was  struck 
from  his  hor»e  by  a  shell  and  severely  wounded.  In  the  confusion  in 
the  rebel  ranks  that  followed  these  events  night  came  on,  and  the 
fighting  ceased.  The  following  morning  the  rebels  renewed  the  fight 
at  an  early  hour,  but  the  fresh  men  of  Howard  and  Richardson  who 
had  been  brought  up,  turned  back  the  tide  of  battle,  and  charging 
upon  the  yielding  rebel  lines  with  fixed  bayonets,  they  repulsed  them 
at  ail  points,  and  drove  them  back  to  within  five  miles  of  the  city  of 
Richmond.  This  was  the  great  battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  or  Seven  Pines, 
as  it  is  sometimes  called.  In  this  fight  the  Union  loss  was  5,737,  and 
the  rebel  loss  6,783. 

At  this  time  General  McClellan's  line  covered  a  distance  of  abont 
fifteen  miles  in  length,  from  White  Oak  Swamp  on  th'>  south  to 
Mechanicsville  on  the  north.     His  base  of  supplies  was  at  the  White 
House  on  the  Pamunkey  River.    That  this  line  was  too  long  for  the 
number  of  men  he  had  to  hold  it,  became  evident  to  him  on  the  13th  of 
June,  when  the  rebel  General  Stuart,  with  1,500  cavalry,  made  a  sudden 
dash  upon  the  force  at  Hanover  Court  House,  overpowered  it,  and  be- 
fore night  had  swept  completely  around  the  Union  army,  destroying  a 
large  amount  of  stores,  and  carrying  into  the  rebel  lines,  not  only  a 
large  number  of  prisoners,  but  a  full  sketch  of  McClellan's  position. 
General  McClellan  at  once  determined  to  change  his  base  of  supplies 
to  the  James  River,  and  gradually  draw  back  to  a  position  on  that 
river  near  Harrison's  Landing.     The  enemy  in  front  had  been  rein- 
forced till  they  numbered  over  100,000  men.    They  were  concentrated 
and  prepared  to  attack  any  portion  of  our  ext  nded  line  that  promised 
the  greatest  advantage   to  them.     McClellan   asked  the  President 
for  reinforcements.     But  the  President  deemed  it  necessary  to  guard 
Washington  by  all   the  available  troops  in  that  quarter.     McClel- 
lan therefore  resolved   to  advance   upon   Richmond  with  the  men 
he  had,  at  the  same  time  protesting,  in   an  earnest  despatch  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  on  the  28th,  "If  I  save  this  army  now, 
I  tell  you  plainly  that  I  owe  no  thanks  to  you,  or  to  any  other 
persons  in  Washington.    You  have  done  your  best  to  sacrifice  this 
army."    He  fixed  upon  Thursday,  the  26th  of  June,  for  a  final  attack, 
but  the  enemy  anticipated  him  by  making,  on  that  day,  a  desperate 
attack  oa  his  extreme  r^ht  at  Mechanicsville.    They  were  repulsed  by 


ADHINISTBATIOK   OF    UNCOLX. 


1\Z 


General  Reynolds.  Again  they  advanced,  and  were  again  repulsed  by 
General  Seymour. 

The  next  day,  the  2Vth,  they  again  advanced  to  the  charge  in  larger 
numbers,  and  at  Gaines'  Mill  gained  a  decisive  victory,  driving  back 
the  Union  forces  across  the  river,  and  laying  open  to  capture  the  depot 
of  supplies  at  the  White  House.  All  the  immense  amount  of  stores 
at  this  place  that  could  be,  were  removed  at  once,  and  all  that  could 
not  be  carried  away  were  destroyed. 

General  McClellan's  flank  movement  to  the  James  River  was  now 
imperative.  He  saw  that  he  was  overwhelmed  by  a  vastly  superior 
force,  and  all  his  thoughts  were  turned  to  the  salvation  of  his  men. 

Saturday,  the  28th,  Sunday,  the  29th,  and  Monday,  the  30tli  of 
June,  were  marked  by  the  most  stubborn  resistance  of  the  Union 
troops,  as  the  clouds  of  rebel  troops  fell  upon  them,  and  gradually 
pushed  them  back  towards  the  James  River.  At  Savage's  Station 
and  at  Nelson's  Farm,  battles  were  fought  which,  had  they  been 
isolated,  would  have  formed  great  events  in  the  history  of  the  war, 
but  mingled  as  they  were  with  the  terrific  fighting  of  the  memorable 
Seven  Days,  they  were  mere  incidents. 

On  Tuesday,  July  lat,  the  army  had  reached  and  were  encamped 
on  Malvern  Hill,  an  elevated  plateau,  in  full  sight  of  the  James  River 
and  of  the  gunboats  and  transports  which  were  moored  at  Harrison's 
Landing.  Here  they  were  ranged  in  compact  order  of  battle.  The 
left  wing  rested  near  the  river,  and  was  protected  by  the  gunboats. 
No  sooner  was  the  order  of  battle  formed,  than  the  rebels  made  an 
attack  upon  the  right.  They  were  repulsed  with  great  slaughter. 
After  two  hours  of  rest  they  renewed  the  attack  on  the  left,  and  here, 
until  night  closed  the  scene,  they  threw  themselves  with  the  most  de- 
termined bravery  upon  our  lines,  regardless  of  the  tempest  of  grape, 
canister,  and  shell,  that  poured  upon  them  from  our  massed  artillery, 
and  the  great  projectiles  that  were  hurled  upon  them  from  our  gun- 
boats in  the  river.  Darkness  closed  the  scene.  The  battle  of  Malvern 
Hill  was  over,  and  with  it  closed  the  Seven  Days'  lighting.  The  next 
morning  our  army  retired  without  molestation  upon  the  banks  of  the 
river,  under  cover  of  the  gunboats,  and  were  refreshed  by  the  ample 
supplies  of  the  transports.  Fifteen  thousand  of  their  co^jrades  had 
been  left  behind,  either  killed,  wounded,  or  missing.  For  seven  days 
and  nights,  with  no  rest  and  little  food,  they  hitd  performed  prodigies 
of  valor,  and  were  now  permitted  a  short  season  of  rest. 

It  was  the  design  of  General  McClellan  to  reinforce  the  army,  and 


m 


ADMINISTKATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


prepare  for  another  advance  upon  the  rebel  capital.  But  this  was  not 
deemed  advisable  by  the  War  Department,  and  preparations  were 
made  to  withdraw  the  army  from  the  James  River. 

In  the  meantime  a  heavy  rebel  force,  under  General  Robert  E.  Lee, 
•who  was  now  in  supreme  command  of  the  rebel  army  of  Virginia, 
pushed  northward  from  Richmond,  wilh  the  design  of  advancing  upon 
Washington.  General  Pope,  in  commiind  of  the  defences  of  Wasli- 
ingtoUfSent  a  force  to  intercept  him.  General  Banks  met  the  advance 
of  the  rebel  army,  under  Stonewall  Jackson,  at  Cedar  Mountain,  near 
the  Rapidan  River,  on  the  9th  of  August,  and  was  forced  back  after  a 
sharp  engagement.  A  series  of  raids  upon  the  Union  supply  stations 
and  trains  followed  this  affair,  until  the  2Cth  of  August,  at  which  time 
the  entire  rebel  army  was  upon  the  Rappahannock,  and  confronting 
General  Pope.  On  the  2*7111,  General  Hooker  attacked  a  portion  of 
them  at  Kettle  Run,  but  without  any  decisive  result.  On  the  28lh 
McDowell  and  Sigel  attacked  the  enemy  at  Centreville,  and  after  an 
action  which  was  only  terminated  by  darkness,  the  enemy  retired  to 
their  old  defences  at  Bull  Run.  Here,  on  the  29th,  General  Pope 
attacked  them  wilh  his  whole  force,  and,  as  he  supposed,  after  a  ter- 
rible conflict,  drove  them  from  their  entrenchments.  But  they  only 
fell  back  to  meet  their  reinforcements.  The  next  day  they  advanced 
and  drove  Pope  back  to  Centreville,  where  he  remained  unmolested 
till  the  2d  of  September,  when  a  heavy  rebel  force  under  Jackson 
attacked  our  supply  trains  at  Chantilly,  near  Fairfax  Court  House, 
capturing  a  large  number  of  wagons.  In  driving  back  thi&  force,  the 
Union  cause  suffered  a  severe  loss  in  the  death  of  Generals  Stevens 
and  Kearney,  who  were  both  killed  upon  the  field.  On  the  foUcving 
day  General  Pope  withdrew  his  whole  army,  in  great  confusion,  to 
Arlington  Heights,  in  front  of  Washington.  His  campaign  had  also 
been  a  failure. 

The  army  of  the  Potomac  had  now  arrived  at  Washington,  and  the 
defence  of  the  capital  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  General  McClellan. 
The  President  on  the  4th  of  August  had  called  for  300,000  men  for 
nine  months,  and  on  the  15th,  for  300,000  men  for  three  years. 

The  enemy,  flushed  with  a  series  of  successes,  now  rapidly  marched 
up  the  south  bank  of  the  Potomac,  forded  the  river  near  Point  of 
Rocks,  and  on  the  6th  of  September  encamped  in  Frederick,  Mary- 
land. From  this  place  General  Lee  issued  a  proclamation  to  the 
people  of  Maryland,  calling  upon  them  to  join  his  standard  and  he 
would  protect  them  from  the  wrongs  and  outrages  of  the  Washington 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


716 


government  But  his  address  was  urheeded.  He  then  drew  up  hit 
force  along  the  crest  of  South  Mountain,  and  awaited  the  approach  of 
General  McClellan.  At  the  same  time  he  despatched  General  Jackson 
to  Harper's  Ferry,  who  captured  that  place,  with  11,000  prisoners, 
on  the  15th,  hut  not  until  the  commander,  Colonel  Miles,  had  been 
killed. 

General  McClellan  had  now  for  his  corps  and  division  commanders, 
Burnside,  Sumner,  Franklin,  Reno,  Uooker,  Williams,  Mansfield,  and 
Sykes.  Lee  had  Stonewall  Jackson,  Longstroet,  McLaws,  Walker, 
Hill,  and  Stuart.  On  the  14tli,  the  battle  of  South  Mountain  was 
fought,  being  opened  by  our  right  wing,  under  Uooker.  It  was  a 
steady  hand  to  hand  fight,  which  lasted  through  the  day,  and  resulted 
in  the  discomfiture  of  Lee,  who  was  obliged  to  fall  back  towards 
the  Potomac,  in  the  direction  of  Williamsport  In  this  battle  the 
brave  General  Reno  was  killed.  The  same  day  General  Franklin 
attacked  the  reserves  of  Lee's  army  at  Cramptou's  Pass,  and  drove 
them  in  upon  the  main  army. 

Jackson,  having  left  a  guard  at  Harper's  Ferry,  proceeded  to  join 
the  main  army,  which  was  now  posted  behind  the  Antietam  Creek, 
near  Sharpsburg.  Here,  at  daylight  on  the  morning  of  the  17th, 
commenced  "the  greatest  battle  since  Waterloo."  Two  hundred 
thousand  men,  an  equal  number  on  each  side,  were  here  engaged, 
with  five  hundred  pieces  of  artillery,  from  the  opening  of  the  fight  till 
they  were  separated  by  the  darkness  of  night;  and  nearly  thirty 
thousand  were  dead  or  wounded  on  the  field.  The  tide  of  battle 
swayed  with  varying  results  during  the  day,  nearly  all  the  ground 
upon  which  it  was  fought  being  taken  and  retaken  in  turn.  Generals 
Mansfield,  Richardson,  and  Rodman  were  killed,  and  Hooker,  Sedg- 
wick, Meagher,  Hartsilff",  and  Dana  were  wounded  and  carried  from 
the  field.  Both  armies  slept  upon  the  field,  expecting  to  renew  the 
fight  on  the  morning  of  the  18th.  But  the  enem  retired  from  his 
position,  and  crossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia.  G*  iieral  McClellan 
did  not  follow  them  up,  and  they  departed  unmolested,  abandoning 
every  place  they  had  occupied  north  of  the  Potomac,  Harper's  Ferry 
included. 

On  the  22d  day  of  September,  President  Lincoln  issued  his  famous 
proclamation  to  the  people  of  the  South,  calling  upon  them  to  return 
to  their  allegiance  to  the  government,  and  warning  them  if  they  did 
not,  that  he  would,  on  the  1st  day  of  January,  1863,  declare  that  all 
slaves  within  any  State,  or  any  designated  part  of  a  State,  the  people 


no 


ADMINISTRATION   OP    LINCOLN. 


whereof  should  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  should 
be  thenceforth  and  forever  free. 

General  J.  E.  B.  Stuart,  with  a  force  of  2,000  rebel  cavalry,  made  a 
most  daring  raid  into  Pennsylvania,  on  the  10th  and  11th  of  October, 
lie  reached  Chambcrsburg,  burnt  all  the  government  property,  sup- 
plied himself  with  fresh  horses,  and  after  capturing  a  large  amount  of 
stores  and  supplies,  passed  rapidly  around  our  army  in  Maryland,  and 
crossed  the  Potomac  into  Virginia. 

The  month  of  October  was  consumed  in  preparing  for  a  forward 
movement,  and  on  the  2d  of  November,  the  array  was  all  across  the 
Potomac,  and  on  the  7th  had  reached  Warrenton,  and  was  in  admir- 
able condition  and  spirits,  and  expecting  to  attack  Longstreet's  division 
of  the  lebel  army,  which  was  near  by.  On  the  evening  of  that  day 
McClellan  received  an  order  to  turn  over  his  command  to  General 
Burnside,  and  report  from  Trenton,  New  Jersey.  This  dosed  the 
military  career  of  General  McClellan,  fur  he  was  never  again  called  to 
command.  His  career  has  been  severely  condemned  by  some,  but 
among  his  friends  he  can  count  some  of  the  best  military  minds  of  the 
age.  All  admit  that  he  had  a  thorough  scientific  knowledge  of  his 
profession,  and  no  man  ever  charged  him  with  a  lack  of  devotion  to 
the  cause  of  the  government. 

Meanwhile  affairs  were  not  wholly  satisfactory  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley.  General  Curtis,  who  took  command  of  the  army  of  Missouri 
after  the  battle  of  Pea  Ridge,  had  penetrated  into  Arkansas,  but  was 
oblijfed  to  retreat.  Lexington  and  Frankfort,  Kentucky,  had  been 
occupied  by  a  rebel  force  under  Kirby  Smith,  and,  in  short,  that  State 
seemed  to  be  overrun  by  the  enemy.  To  offset  these  disasters,  on  the 
19th  and  20th  of  September,  General  Rosecrans  gained  a  decided  vic- 
tory, at  luka,  Mississippi,  over  the  rebels  under  command  of  General 
Price.  Price  retreated,  formed  a  junction  with  Van  Dorn  and  Lovell, 
and  attacked  our  camp  at  Corinth,  under  General  Rosecrans,  but  after 
a  three  days'  fight,  was  repulsed  with  great  loss.  This  was  on  the 
3d,  4tli,  and  6th  of  October.  This  virtually  restored  the  Union 
authority  in  all  parts  of  Western  Tennessee. 

General  Rosecrans  now  proceeded  to  Nashville.  From  this  place 
he  marched,  on  the  26th  of  December,  to  attack  the  enemy  at  Mur- 
froesboro',  about  thirty  miles  distant,  where  they  were  encamped  in 
preat  force,  under  Greneral  Bragg.  He  reached  the  vicinity  of  Mur- 
freesboro'  on  the  80th,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  8 1  st,  when  three 
miles  distant,  was  suddenly  attacked  by  the  enemy,  and  the  right  wing 


ADMtNISTBATION   OF  LINCOLIf. 


ri7 


of  hia  army,  under  General  McCook,  was  rcpnlsed  in  groat  confusion. 
From  this  time  to  the  4th  of  January,  the  most  stubborn  fighting  was 
maintained  by  both  sides,  when  Bragg  finally  was  forced  to  yield.  He 
evacuated  Murfreesboro'  and  fled  in  much  confusion.  The  Union 
losses  in  this  battle  were  about  7,000  in  killed  and  wounded. 

At  Fayetteville,  Arkansas,  on  the  7th  of  December,  a  severe  battle 
was  fought  by  the  Union  aruiy  under  Generals  Herron  and  IMunt,  and 
a  superior  rebel  force,  which  resulted  in  a  complete  victory  to  the 
Union  arms. 

When  the  army  of  the  Potomac  was  turned  over  to  General  Burn- 
side,  imtiiodiate  preparations  were  made  to  advance  upon  Richmond 
by  way  of  the  Rappahannock.  On  the  11th  of  December  the  army 
was  massed  on  that  river  opposite  Fredericksburg,  and  the  bombard- 
ment of  that  place  was  opened.  Pontoon  bridges  were  laid  and  the 
army  crossed  on  the  morning  of  the  12th,  without  serious  opposition, 
and  took  possession  of  the  city.  The  enemy  fell  back  to  a  strongly 
entrenched  position  in  the  rear.  Here  they  were  attacked  on  the 
morning  of  the  13th,  by  General  Franklin  on  the  right  and  General 
Couch  in  the  centre ;  but  after  an  all-day's  fight  of  the  most  desperate 
character,  it  was  found  that  no  impression  could  be  made  on  the 
enemy's  works,  and  the  contest  was  abandoned.  On  the  15th  General 
Burnside  recrossed  the  river  and  encamped. 

At  the  same  time  that  these  events  were  occurring  m  Virginia, 
General  Foster  advanced  from  Newbern,  North  Carolina,  and  attacked 
the  enemy  at  Kinston.  He  repulsed  them  after  a  severe  fight  on  the 
13th,  took  possession  of  the  town,  advanced  upon  Goldsborough,  and 
after  destroying  the  railroad  at  that  place,  returned  to  Newbern,  hav- 
ing accomplished  all  that  ho  desired. 

The  time  was  now  approaching  when  the  President  had  notified  the 
South  that  he  should  resort  to  the  extreme  measure  of  a  general  liber- 
ation of  their  slaves,  unless  they  should  return  to  their  allegiance  to  the 
government.  The  rebellion  was  more  virulent  than  ever.  The  rebel 
President,  anticipating  the  action  of  President  Lincoln,  had  issued  an 
order  declaring  that  all  negro  slaves  caught  in  arms  should  not  be 
treated  as  prisoners  of  war,  but  as  felons,  and  be  dealt  with  accordingly ; 
and  all  white  oflScers  caught  in  command  of  slaves  should  be  treated 
in  the  same  manner. 

Acting  upon  his  promise,  and  f*8  a  necessity  of  the  military  situation, 
the  President  opened  the  new  year,  1863,  with  the  publication  of  hig 
immortal  proclamation,  by  which  the  chains  of  3,120,000  bondmen 


718 


ADMINISTRATION    OF   LINCOLN. 


were  strickon  off  and  they  were  declared  free  men.    The  proclamation 
is  hero  given : 


"  Whereas,  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of 
our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two,  a  proclamation 
was  issued  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  containing,  among 
other  things,  the  following,  to  wit : 

"'That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  all  persons  held  as  slaves 
witliin  any  State  or  designated  part  of  a  State,  the  people  whereof 
shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  shall  be  then, 
thenceforth,  and  forever  free,  and  the  executive  government  of  the 
United  States,  including  the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof, 
will  recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will 
do  no  act  or  nets  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them,  in  any 
efforts  they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom. 

"'That  the  executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January  aforesaid,  by 
proclamation,  designate  the  States  and  parts  of  States,  if  any,  in  which 
the  people  thereof  respectively  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States,  and  the  fact  that  any  State,  or  the  people  thereof  shall 
on  that  day  be  in  good  faith  represented  in  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  by  members  chosen  thereto  at  elections  wherein  a  majority  of 
the  qualified  voters  of  such  State  shall  have  participated,  shall,  in  the 
absence  of  strong  countervailing  testimony,  be  deemed  conclusive  evi- 
dence that  such  State  and  the  people  thereof  are  not  then  in  rebellion 
against  the  United  States.' 

"  Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United 
States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as  commander-in-chief  of 
the  army  and  navy  of  the  United  States  in  time  of  actual  armed  re- 
bellion against  the  authority  and  government  of  the  United  States,  and 
as  a  fit  and  necessary  war  measure  for  suppressing  said  rebellion,  do, 
on  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-three,  and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do, 
publicly  proclaim  for  the  full  period  of  one  hundred  days  from  the 
day  of  the  first  above-mentioned  order,  and  designate,  as  the  States 
and  parts  of  States  wherein  the  people  thereof  respectively  are  this 
day  in  rebellion  against  the  United  States,  the  following,  to  wit :  Ar- 
kansas, Texas,  Louisiana  (except  the  parishes  of  St.  Bernard,  Plaqoe- 
mines,  Jefferson,  St.  John,  St.  Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension,  Assump- 
tion, Terre  Bdnnc,  La  Fourche,  St.  Mary,  St.  Mai-tin,  and  Orleans,  in- 


ADMINISTRATION   OP    LINCOLN. 


119 


cluiling  the  city  of  New  Orleans),  Mississippi,  Alabama,  Florida,  Georgia, 
South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  and  Virginia  (except  the  forty-eight 
counties  designated  as  West  Virginia,  and  also  in  the  counties  of  Ber- 
kely,  Accomac,  Northampton,  Elizabeth  City,  York,  Princess  Ann, 
and  Norfolk,  including  the  cities  of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth),  and 
which  excepted  parts  arc  for  the  present  lefi  precisely  as  if  this  pro- 
clamation were  not  issued. 

"  And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  I  do 
order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held  as  slaves  within  said  designated 
States  and  parts  of  States  are,  and  henceforward  shall  bo  free !  and 
that  the  executive  government  of  the  United  States,  including  the 
military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will  recognize  and  maintain  the 
freedom  of  said  persons. 

"And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared  to  be  free,  to  ab- 
stain from  all  violence,  unless  in  necessary  self-defence,  and  I  recom- 
mend to  them  that  in  all  cases,  when  allowed,  they  labor  faithfully  for 
reasonable  wages. 

"And  I  further  declare  and  make  known  that  such  persons  of  suita- 
ble condition  will  be  received  into  the  armed  service  of  the  United 
States,  to  garrison  forts,  positions,  stations,  and  other  places,  and  to 
man  vessels  of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

"And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of  justice,  war- 
ranted by  the  Constitution,  upon  military  necessity,  I  invoke  the 
considerate  judgment  of  mankind,  and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty 
God. 

"  In  testimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  set  my  name,  and  caused  the 
Bcal  of  the  United  States  to  be  affixed. 

"  Done  at  the  city  of  Washington,  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
[l.s.]    three,  and  of  the   Independence  of  the  United  States  the 
eighty-seventh. 

"A.  LINCOLN. 

"  By  the  President, 

"Wm.  H.  Seward, 

"  Secretary  of  State." 


The  number  of  slaves  excepted  in  this  proclamation  amounted  to 
830,000.  This  document  was  received  with  great  favor  in  the  loyal 
States,  and  afc  once  enlisted  a  powerful  support  in  Europe  for  the 
Union  cause,  which  had  previously  been  withheld. 


120 


ADMINTBTRATION  OF    LINCOLN. 


The  MiMisRippi  River  wm  atill  closed.  Tliis  great  outlet  for  tho 
BurpliM  products  of  the  West  had  been  cleared  of  obfltructionfi  at  its 
mouth,  and  at  Memphin,  and  above,  but  at  Vicknburg,  about  400  niiloH 
above  New  Orteann,  the  rebels  had  exhausted  the  engineer's  art  in 
constructing  fortifications  which  were  docmod  impregnable,  and  which 
cflfcctually  guarded  the  channel  of  the  river.  At  Port  Hudson,  about 
midway  between  Vicksburg  and  New  Orleans,  powerful  fortifications 
liad  also  been  constructed  to  impede  the  navigation  of  the  river.  For- 
tifications were  also  erected  at  Grand  Gulf  and  several  other  less  iin* 
portant  places.  Immediately  after  the  capturo  t)f  New  Orleans,  in 
June,  1862,  Commodore  Farragut  proceeded  up  tlio  river  with  his  vic- 
torious fleet,  pasHod  Port  Hudson  with  little  difHculty,  luid  iiicfl'ectually 
bombarded  Vicksburg  for  several  days.  Afterwards  an  attempt  was 
made  by  General  Williams  to  cut  a  passage  across  n  bend  in  the  river 
in  front  of  the  city,  so  as  to  form  a  now  chaimol  through  which  the 
navigation  of  the  river  might  be  opened  without  pawinijj  near  the  city. 
This  also  failed.  The  capture  of  this  stronghold  now  devolved  upon 
General  Grant.  Early  in  December,  1862,  General  Grant  ordered 
General  Sherman  to  proceed  down  the  river  Trom  Memphis,  and  on 
the  26th  of  that  month  to  attack  Vicksburg,  while  he  (General  Grant) 
would  move  upon  the  city  from  the  direction  of  Jackson,  and  support 
the  attack  on  that  side.  Grant  had  his  depot  of  supplies  at  Holly 
Springs,  under  the  charge  of  Colonel  Murphy.  The  day  General 
Sherman  left  Memphis  (the  20th),  and  after  he  had  proceeded  too  far 
to  bo  notified  of  the  disaster  and  recalled,  this  depot  was  attacked  by 
a  small  rebel  force  under  Van  Dorn,  to  whom  Colonel  Murphy  sur- 
rendered, and  all  the  supplies  were  either  carried  away  or  destroyed. 
This  prevented  General  Grant  from  moving  his  army  until  he  could 
obtain  new  supplies  from  Memphis.  In  the  meantime  General  Slier- 
man  reached  Vicksburg  on  the  26th,  and'on  that  and  the  three  follow- 
ing days  charged  upon  the  defences  of  the  city  at  the  Chickasaw 
Bluff's,  with  the  most  desperate  valor ;  but  not  being  supported  by 
Grant,  as  he  expected,  he  then  retired,  and  returned  to  Memphis. 
The  siege  of  Vicksburg  was  then  suspended  for  several  months,  but 
not  abandoned.' 

The  early  part  of  1863  was  marked  by  the  most  remarkable  activity 
of  the  rebel  privateers.  The  most  noted  of  them,  the  Alabama  and 
Florida,  destroyed  millions  of  our  commerce,  and  successfnlly  eluded 
pursuit.  Their  practice  was  to  capture  unarmed  merchant  vessels  and 
destroy  them,  after  rescuing  their  passengers  and  crews,  whom  they 


▲DMINIHTUAinOIf    Or    LINCOLN. 


721 


would  detain  in  irons  until  Uioy  could  place  tbotn  on  otiior  vohsoU  and 
■end  thum  into  port. 

On  tlio  'J4th  uf  January  Gvnorni  BnrnRido  wa«  roliovod  of  the  comt- 
mand  of  tlio  army  of  the  Potuinnc,  and  Goiieral  Hooker  appointed  in 
hiH  pinco.  Oonural  Iloukur  a(  onco  (M>mtnoncod  preparations  to  re- 
cross  the  Rap|iahannuck  iit  FrodurickHlxir^,  regain  tiio  ground  lort  by 
Ooncral  Hurnsidn,  and  pUHJi  on  to  Uiciiuiund.  It  was  not  until  tliu 
27tli  of  April  that  lie  coinnu'nced  to  move  acroHs  the  river.  His  plan 
was  to  make  sovural  fi-ints  nt  crossing  below  Fredericksburg,  to  deceive 
the  enemy,  while  in  fact  the  main  Ixxjy  of  the  army  should  cross  at 
Kelly's  Ford,  twenty-fUe  milos  above,  and  by  a  rapid  march,  gain  tlio 
rear  of  the  rebel  army,  and  secure  a  position  between  them  and  Uicli- 
mond.  At  the  same  time  a  heavy  bo<ly  of  cavalry,  under  OenorH) 
Stoneman,  were  ordered  to  cross  below  and  cut  the  railroad  K>adiii^ 
from  Fredericksburg  to  the  rebel  capital.  This  plan,  so  well  conceived, 
was  promptly  carried  out.  Stoneman  and  Kilpatrick  performed  prodi- 
gies of  labor,  passing  nine  days  within  the  enemy's  lines,  running  up 
to  within  two  miles  of  Kicbmond,  and  destroying  an  incalculable 
amount  of  property. 

In  the  meantime  the  entire  army  of  the  Potomac,  about  80,000 
•trong,  had  concentrated  in  the  rear  of  the  rebel  army  at  Fredericks- 
burg, at  a  place  called  Chancellorsville.  Hero,  on  the  SOth  of  April, 
General  Hooker  issued  the  following  jubilant  order  : 
.  "  It  is  with  heartfelt  satisfaction  that  the  general  commanding  an- 
nounces to  the  army  that  the  operations  of  the  last  three  days  have 
determined  that  our  enemy  must  iugloriously  fly,  or  come  out  from 
behind  their  defences,  and  give  us  battle  on  our  own  ground,  where 
certain  destruction  awaits  him."  .   (>   •  "n^^  '  , 

Events  did  not  justify  this  sanguine  view  of  the  case.  On  the  even- 
ing of  Saturday,  the  2d  of  May,  the  rebel  division  under  Stonewall 
Jackson  attacked  Hooker's  right  wing,  or  the  Eleventh  Corps,  under 
General  Howard,  which  was  posted  in  the  Wilderness,  and  drove  it 
back  in  confusion  upon  the  centre  at  Chancellorsville.  It  was  a  dear 
victory,  however,  for  the  rebels,  for  during  the  fight  Jackson  fell  mor- 
tally wonnded.  He  was  their  ablest  and  njost  trusted  general,  and 
carried  even  into  a  bad  cause  that  high-toned  and  chivalric  disposition 
that  enforces  the  respect  of  mankind. 

Early  on  the  following  morning  (strange  it  is  that  so  many  of  the 
great  battles  of  the  world  should  have  been  fought  on  Sunday  I)  the 
rebel  generals  Hill  and  Trimble  advanced  upon  General   Hooker's 


722 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


centre,  and  after  six  hours  of  desperate  fighting,  gained  the  plank  road 
leading  from  Chancellorsville  to  Ficdoricksluirg,  and  pressed  Hooker 
still  farther  back.  The  same  morning  General  Sedgwick,  who  had 
been  left  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  at  F'almonth,  with  20,000 
men,  crossed  over  and  attacked  the  enemy  in  thoir  ontrcnchmonts 
on  Fredericksburg  heights,  and  gallantly  drove  them  out  of  their 
works. 

On  Monday  morning  the  entire  rebel  army  was*  thus  massed  between 
Sedgwick  and  Hooker,  when  they  suddeidy  turned  upon  Sedgwick  and 
routed  him,  driving  him  over  the  ground  which  he  lt",d  taken  the  day 
before,  and  compelling  him  to  recross  the  river  auring  the  night. 
Hooker  being  now  exposed  to  an  attack  from  the  entire  rebel  army, 
and  a  heavy  rain  storm  setting  in  which  threatened  to  make  the  river 
impassable,  at  once  gave  ortlcrs  on  Tuesday  morning  to  recross  the 
river.  This  was  done  in  good  order  during  the  day.  The  losses  in 
this  disastrous  aft'air  amounted  to  about  18,000  on  each  side. 

In  Charleston  Harbor  on  the  7th  of  April,  a  powerful  demonstration 
was  made  upon  Fort  Sumter  by  a  fleet  of  nino  iron-dads,  under  Ad- 
miral Dupont.  It  waa  wholly  unsuccessful,  and  resulted  in  the  loss  of 
the  Monitor  Keokuk  and  the  serious  injury  of  several  others. 

The  attention  of  the  country  was  now  turned  to  the  Mississippi, 
where  General  Grant,  with  characteristic  tenacity  was  enveloping  the 
strongholds  of  the  enemy  with  his  immense  army,  drying  up  their 
sources  of  supplies,  and  gradually  tightening  the  cords  which  were 
finally  to  bind  them  and  lay  them  helpless  at  his  feet. 

General  Banks  proceeded  up  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  through  the 
Bayou  Techo  region,  and  took  possession  of  that  part  of  the  State  from 
which  tlie  garrison  at  Port  Hudson  drew  their  supplies.  He  also 
destroyetl  a  number  of  rebel  transports  and  gunboats  which  had  been 
run  up  the  bayous  for  safety. 

On  the  iVth  of  April,  General  Grierson,  with  only  642  splendidly 
mounted  cavalry  men,  started  from  Lagrange,  Tennessee,  and  made  a 
dash  through  the  interior  of  Mississippi,  reaching  Baton  Rouge  on  the 
2d  of  May.  He  destroyed  an  immense  amount  of  property,  as  well  as 
growing  crops,  depots  of.  supplies,  etc. 

General  Grant  marched  upon  Port  Gibson,  below  Vicksbnrg,  and 
captured  that  place  after  a  severe  action,  on  the  ir&t  of  May.  This  vic- 
tory rendered  Grand  Gulf  untenable,  and  that  stronghold  which  had, 
three  days  before,  sucessfully  resisted  an  attack  from  the  mortar  fleet 
of  Admiral  Porter,  was  abandoned.     Turning  to  the  north,  General 


▲DUINISTBATION   OF    LINCOLN. 


723 


Grant  cnconntsrcd  the  army  of  Qonoral  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  on  the 
14th  of  May,  at  Raymond,  near  Jackson,  defeated  him  and  entered 
Jackson,  the  capital  of  the  State,  lie  then  turned  directly  upon  the 
rear  of  Vicksburg,  wliore  he  was  met  on  the  10th  by  General  Pembor- 
ton,  the  commander  at  Vicksburg,  who  liad  marched  out  of  liis  de- 
fences for  the  purpose  of  checking  him.  Pemberton  was  defeated  and 
driven  back  to  Vicksburg.  When  Grant  was  within  ten  miles  of  the 
city,  he  was  again  attacked  by  Pemberton,  who  was  again  defeated. 
Grant  now  closely  invested  the  city,  and  commenced  to  rain  upon  it  a 
constant  shower  of  shot  and  shell,  both  from  the  land  side  and  from  the 
fleet.  On  the  north,  south,  and  west,  all  communication  with  the  city 
had  been  cut  off,  and  tlie  surrender  of  the  place  was  only  a  question 
of  time,  (icncral  Johnston  was  too  badly  cut  up  by  the  battle  of  the 
14th  to  attempt  to  raise  the  siege  by  attacking  Grant  in  the  rear,  or 
to  impede  him  in  running  his  parallels  nearer  and  nearer  the  city. 
The  inhabitants  protected  themselves  from  the  iron  shower  that 
poured  upon  their  devoted  city,  by  building  caves  in  the  ground, 
where  thousands  of  them  passed  many  weary  days  and  nights.  Finally, 
on  the  3d  of  July,  as  General  Grant  was  prepared  for  an  assault  upon 
the  city.  General  Pemberton  sent  out  to  him  a  flag  of  truce  and  de- 
sired an  interview.  Beneath  the  shadow  of  a  tree  wiiich  has  become 
historic,  the  two  generals  met,  and  after  a  courteous  greeting.  General 
Pemberton  said —  ■>■■.    •  = 

"  General  (irant,  I  meet  you  in  order  to  arrange  terms  for  the  capitu- 
lation of  the  city  of  Vicksburg,  and  its  garrison.  What  terms  do  you 
demand  ?" 

"  Unconditional  surrender,''^  replied  Grant. 

"  Unconditional  surrender  !  Never,"  said  Pemberton,  "  so  long  as 
I  have  a  man  left  me.     I  will  fight  rather," 

"Then,  sir,"  said  Grant,  "you  can  continue  the  defence.  My  army 
has  never  been  in  a  better  cotidition  to  prosecute  the  siege." 

After  further  conversation,  General  Grant  explained  the  terms  on 
which  he  would  accept  the  surrender,  which  were  liberal,  and  an 
armistice  was  agreed  upon  till  the  next  morning.  WMien  the  morning 
came — the  anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence — General 
Pemberton  surrendered  the  city,  and  turned  over  his  half-starved  gar- 
rison  of  about  30,000  men  as  prisoners  of  war.  Grant's  losses  during 
the  campaign  were  about  8,600,  in  killed  and  wounded. 

In  the  meantime.  General  Banks  had  closely  invested  Port  Hudson, 
and  on  the  27th  of  May  made  a  desperate  but  unsuccessful  assault 


m 


ADMUnSTBATION  OF   LINCOLIT. 


upon  that  place.  Again  on  the  14th  of  Jane  the  assault  was  repeated, 
with  a  like  result.  When  Vicksburg  fell,  Port  Hudson  at  once  was 
given  up  (July  8th),  with  its  garrison  of  "7,000  men. 

The  Mississippi  River  was  now  open  from  its  mouth  to  its  source, 
and  by  the  retreat  of  General  Bragg  from  Tuilaboma,  under  the 
menace  of  General  Rosecrans,  the  whole  of  Tennessee  was  cleared  of 
rebel  troops. 

The  arrest  of  Clement  L.  Vallandighanft,  an  ex-membor  of  Congress, 
and  a  prominent  politician,  caused  great  excitement.  The  arrest  was 
made  in  the  night  of  the  6th  of  May,  at  his  house  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  by 
a  company  of  soldiers  sent  up  from  Cincinnati  by  General  Burnside. 
He  was  taken  to  Cincinnati,  tried  by  a  military  commission,  and  found 
guilty  of  uttering  seditious  language,  and  sentenced  to  be  confined  in 
some  fortress  of  the  United  States  during  the  continuance  of  the  war. 
General  Burnside  approved  the  sentence,  and  ordered  him  to  be  sent 
to  Fort  Warren,  in  Boston  Harbor.  The  President,  however,  changed 
the  sentence,  by  ordering  him  sent  to  the  Confederate  States,  to 
remain  during  the  war,  under  penalty  of  imprisonment.  This  sen- 
tence was  carried  out,  bnt  Mr.  Yallandigham  passed  through  the 
South,  sailed  in  a  blockade  runner  to  Bermuda,  and  from  thence  to 
Halifax,  from  which  place  he  proceeded  to  Windsor,  Canada,  opposite 
Detroit,  where  his  family  soon  joined  him,  and  where  he  remained  for 
about  a  year,  when  he  returned  unmolested  to  his  home.  The  par- 
ticular language  charged  upon  Mr.  Yallandigham  was  this,  used  in  a 
public  speech  at  Mount  Vernon,  Ohio  :  "  The  war  is  a  wicked,  cruel, 
and  unnecessary  war ;  a  war  not  being  waged  for  the  preservation  of 
the  Union ;  a  war  for  the  purpose  of  crushing  out  liberty  and  erecting 
a  despotism ;  a  war  for  the  freedom  of  the  blacks  and  the  enslavement 
of  the  whites ;"  characterizing  an  order  of  General  Burnside,  prohibit- 
ing such  lanofuage,  as  "  a  base  usurpation  of  arbitrary  authority,"  and 
saying  to  his  hearers  that  "  the  sooner  the  people  inform  the  minions 
of  usurped  power  that  they  will  not  submit  to  such  restrictions  upon 
their  liberties,  the  better." 

Public  meetings  were  held  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  to  pro- 
test against  the  abridgment  of  the  freedom  of  speech  in  this  case,  and 
Mr.  Yallandigham  was  nominated  by  his  friends  as  governor  of  Ohio ; 
but  he  was  defeated  by  an  immense  majority,  and  a  large  proportion 
of  the  people  acquiesced  in  the  treatment  extended  to  him. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  near  Fredericksburg,  in  May,  General 
Lee  gathered  up  the  entire  strength  of  the  eastern  department  of  th« 


ADMINISTBATION   OF  LINCOLN. 


726 


rebel  army  for  a  grand  invasion  of  the  North.  On  the  9th  of  June, 
he  broke  np  his  camp  at  Fredericksburg,  and  moved  northward.  He 
sent  General  Ewell,  with  16,000  men,  to  clear  the  Shenandoah  Valley 
of  Union  troops.  Our  advanced  position  in  that  valley  was  at  Win- 
chester, where  General  Milroy  was  stationed  with  7,000  men.  Ewell 
attacked  him  on  the  1 3tb,  and  after  a  great  battle,  drove  him  in  full 
retreat  for  Harper's  Ferry,  capturing  a  large  portion  of  his  command. 

On  the  14th,  the  advanced  guard  of  Lee's  army  crossed  the  Potomac 
and  advanced  upon  Hagerstown. 

Meanwhile  General  Hooker  proceeded  northward,  keeping  between 
Lee's  army  and  Washington.  On  the  27th  Hooker  was  ordered  to 
turn  over  his  command  to  General  George  G.  Meade,  of  Pennsylvania. 
At  this  time  the  entire  rebel  army  had  crossed  the  Potomac,  and  had 
extended  themselves  through  the  border  counties  of  Maryland  and 
Pennsylvania.  The  President,  in  alarm,  on  the  15th,  had  called  for 
100,000  men  from  Pennsylvania,  New  York,  Ohio,  West  Virginia, 
and  Maryland,  all  of  whom  were  promptly  furnished. 

The  rebels  advanced  to  Chambersburg,  Shippensburg,  and  Carlisle, 
while  their  cavalry  was  engaged  in  Maryland,  in  cutting  railroads  and 
capturing  trains  and  supplies  intended  for  the  army  of  General  Meade. 
At  Hanover,  Pennsylvania,  on  the  30th,  Stuart's  rebel  cavalry  attacked 
a  portion  of  Meade's  army,  and  were  repulsed.  Carlisle  was  attacked 
and  occupied.  Both  armies  now  turned  towards  Gettysburgh,  a  small 
town  114  miles  west  of  Philadelphia,  and  75  north  of  Washington. 
Here,  on  the  1st,  2d,  and  3d  of  July,  was  fought  a  great  battle  be- 
tween the  entire  army  of  General  Lee  and  the  army  of  the  Potomac. 
On  the  1st,  the  advance  of  both  armies  met,  and  after  a  severe  struggle, 
the  advantage  was  with  the  rebels  at  night.  Among  the  killed  on  the 
Union  side  was  General  Reynolds.  Both  armies  were  now  concen- 
trated, and  skirmishing  was  kept  up  on  the  2d  till  four  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  when  the  enemy  commenced  an  attack  in  earnest  upon 
General  Meade's  centre  on  Cemetery  Hill,  at  the  same  time  that  the 
rebel  generals,  Longstreet  and  Hill,  made  a  determined  attack  upon 
our  left.  Our  troops  at  this  point  gave  way,  when  the  timely  arrival 
of  General  Sedgwick  checked  the  rebel  advance  and  drove  them  back. 
At  this  juncture  the  enemy  chaiged  with  great  fury  upon  our  right, 
and  were  not  repulsed  until  nearly  ten  at  night,  when  the  action 
ceased. 

On  the  morning  of  the  8d,  heavy  cannonading  was  opened  and  kept 
«p  till  four  in  the  afternoon.    From  this  hour  forth  till  half-past  eight 


726 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


o'cloct,  occurred  by  all  odds  the  most  sanguinary  engagement  yet 
chronicled  in  the  annals  of  the  war.  The  artillery  attack  made  by  the 
enemy  on  the  left  and  centre  was  rapidly  followed  by  the  advance  of 
his  infantry.  The  Third  corps  received  the  attack  with  great  coolness. 
The  rebels  made  at  once  for  our  flank,  and  kept  moving  heavy  columns 
in  that  direction.  This  necessitated  support,  which  was  quickly  given 
by  the  Fifth  corps.  The  division  of  General  Barnes  being  sent  to  the 
right,  and  that  of  General  Ayres  (regulars)  to  the  left,  with  General 
Crawford  in  the  reserve. 

The  battle  now  became  perfectly  fearful.  The  armies  engaged  each 
other  at  very  short  range,  and  for  three  long  hours  the  war  of  mus- 
ketry was  incessant.  Such  desperate,  tenacious  fighting  .is  took  place 
on  this  flank  has  seldom  been  known  in  any  battle.  The  enemy  would 
often  bring  up  suddenly  a  heavy  column  of  men,  and  force  our  line 
back,  only  to  be  in  turn  forced  back  by  our  line  of  glittering  steel. 
Our  gallant  columns  covered  themselves  with  glory  over  and  over 
again.  They  fought  a  superior  force  in  numbers.  The  dispositions  of 
the  enemy  were  very  rapid,  for,  look  where  you  would  on  that  field, 
a  body  of  the  rebels  would  be  advancing.  Our  dispositions  were 
equally  rapid,  and  the  enemy  found  more  than  a  match  in  such  gallant 
veterans  as  Sickles,  Birney,  and  Humphreys.  At  half-past  six  General 
Sickles  was  struck  in  the  right  leg  by  a  piece  of  shell,  and  borne  from 
the  field.  The  injury  was  so  great  that  amputation  became  necessary, 
and  it  was  performed  successfully,  the  limb  being  taken  ofi"  below  the 
knee. 

The  struggle  grew  hotter  and  hotter.  The  Second  corps  was  called 
on  for  aid,  and  though  its  own  position  was  strongly  threatened,  yet 
the  Ist  division,  formerly  General  Hancock's,  flung  themselves  into 
the  fight  with  desperation,  and  after  a  long  and  obstinate  conflict,  the 
enemy  slowly  and  sullenly  gave  way.  In  this  last  charge  the  brigade 
of  General  Caldwell,  Second  corps,  and  that  of  Colonel  Switzer,  from 
the  Fifth  corps,  won  great  honors.  The  rebels  made  frequent  atr 
tempts  to  capture  our  artillery,  and  at  one  time  had  Watson's  battery 
in  their  possession,  but  it  was  retaken  in  a  furious  charge  by  Birney's 
division. 

The  battle  lasted  till  half-past  eight  o'clock,  when  the  enemy  fell 
back  to  his  old  position,  and  left  our  veterans  the  ensanguined  victors 
of  the  field. 

General  Leo  slowly  retired  upon  the  Potomac,  which  had  been  so 
fcwoUen  by  rains  that  it  could  not  be  forded.    He  remained  here  till 


Hai 

cav 
pris 


Dav 


ADMINISTRATION   OP  LINCOLN. 


•27 


the  14th,  in  a  position  which  General  Meade  could  not  have  safely 
attacked,  when  he  retired  at  his  leisure.  He  entered  Maryland  with 
90,000  men.  He  returned  with  60,000.  The  Union  loss  in  the 
battles  with  him  was  about  18,000  in  killed  and  wounded. 

A  portion  of  this  battle  ground  was  dedicated,  with  great  formality, 
as  a  National  Cemetery,  on  the  19th  of  the  following  November. 
Large  lots  were  laid  ont  for  the  dead  of  the  different  States  who  fell 
in  battle  there,  and  elaborate  designs  were  formed  for  suitable  monu- 
ments. Edward  Everett  delivered  the  oration  on  the  occasion,  and 
President  Lincoln  gave  the  occasion  the  honor  of  his  presence.  Being 
called  upon,  he  delivered  the  following  felicitous  address: 

"  Fourscore  and  seven  years  ago  our  fathers  brought  forth  upon  this 
continent  a  new  nation,  conceived  in  liberty,  and  dedicated  to  the  pro- 
position that  all  men  arc  created  equal.  Now  we  are  engaged  in  r*  • 
great  civil  war,  testing  whether  that  nation,  or  any  nation  so  conceived 
and  so  dedicated,  can  long  endure.  We  are  met  on  a  great  battle- 
field of  that  war.  We  are  met  to  dedicate  a  portion  of  it  as  the  final 
resting  place  of  those  who  here  gave  their  lives  that  that  nation  might 
live.     It  is  altogether  fitting  and  proper  that  we  should  do  this. 

"  But,  in  a  larger  sense,  we  cannot  dedicate,  we  cannot  consecrate, 
we  cannot  hallow  this  ground.  The  brave  men,  living  and  dead,  who 
struggled  here,  have  consecrated  it  far  above  our  power  to  add  or  de- 
tract. The  world  will  little  note,  nor  long  remember,  what  we  say 
here,  but  it  can  never  forget  what  they  did  here.  It  is  for  us,  the 
living,  lather,  to  be  dedicated  here  to  the  unfinished  work  that  they 
have  thus  far  so  nobly  carried  on.  It  is  rather  for  us  to  be  here  dedi- 
cated to  the  great  task  remaining  before  us — that  from  these  honored 
dead  we  take  increased  devotion  to  the  cause  for  which  they  here  gave 
the  last  full  measure  of  devotion — that  we  here  highly  resolve  that 
the  dead  shall  not  have  died  in  vain — that  the  nation  shall,  under  God, 
have  a  new  birth  of  freedom,  and  that  the  government  of  the  people, 
by  the  people,  and  for  the  people,  shall  not  perish  from  the  earth." 

On  the  10th  of  July,  a  severe  cavalry  engagement  took  place  at 
Hanover,  Virginia,  between  the  rebel  General  Stuart  and  the  Union 
cavalry  under  General  Buford.  Stuart  was  defeated,  and  left  1,000 
prisoners  in  General  Buford's  hands. 

In  commemoration  of  victories  so  signal  and  eflfective,  President 
Lincoln  ordered  a  day  of  national  thanksgiving,  praise,  and  prayer  to 
be  observed  on  the  6th  of  August.  On  the  other  hand,  Jefferson 
Davis  ordered  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer  on  the  21st  of  August,  on 


t98 


ADMINISTRATION  OF   UNCOLN. 


aceouut  of  reverses,  which  in  three  weeks  had  swept  away  nearly  one* 
tliird  of  his  effective  force. 

Eiii'ly  in  July,  the  rebel  General  Morgan  made  a  sudden  dash  across 
the  Ohio  River,  into  Indiana,  with  5,000  cavalry,  md  passed  through 
tii.it  Statu  into  Ohio.  lie  was  pursued,  and  himself  and  nearly  all  his 
command  were  captured,  after  they  had  committed  serious  depred»< 
tious  upon  public  and  private  property. 

Preparations  having  been  completed,  a  vigorous  attack  was  made 
upon  Fort  Wagner,  on  Morris  Island,  in  Charleston  Harbor,  on  the 
10th  of  July.  The  land  forces  were  .indcr  General  Gillmore,  and 
the  naval  under  Admiral  Dahlgren.  After  eight  days  of  incessant 
bombardment,  an  assault  was  ordered  on  the  18th.  This  failed,  with 
the  loss  of  1,000  men.  From  this  time  to  the  7th  of  September,  siege 
operations  upon  Forts  Wagner  and  Gregg  were  continued,  when  our 
sappers  had  advanced  up  to  the  very  moat  of  Wagner.  The  forta 
were  then  both  evacuated,  and  General  Gillmore  took  possession. 

On  the  1 3tb  of  July  a  fearful  riot  broke  out  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  The  mob  originated  ostensibly  in  a  determination  to  put  a  stop 
to  the  draft  for  troops  which  the  government  had  ordered  in  that  city. 
But  its  main  fury  was  spent  upon  the  inoffensive  negroes  residing  in 
the  city.  Many  of  these  were  savagely  murdered  in  the  streets,  their 
houses  burned,  and  finally  a  colored  orphan  asylum,  where  some  hun- 
dreds of  children  were  kept,  was  sacked  and  burned.  The  riot  spent 
its  force  in  three  or  four  days,  and  was  quelled.  A  number  of  the 
ringleaders  were  arrested  and  summarily  punished. 

Taking  advantage  of  our  internal  dissensions,  the  governments  of 
Eugland,  France,  and  Spain  had  invaded  Mexico,  under  the  pretext  of 
securing  indemnity  for  the  indebtedness  of  that  government  to  their 
subjects,  and  to  secure  the  fulfilment  of  treaty  stipulations  which  they 
had  together.  The  head  of  the  alliance  was  France.  The  Mexicans 
were  repulsed  wherever  they  made  resistance,  and  after  their  capital 
was  taken  they  submitted  to  the  establishment  of  an  Empire,  and  to 
have  tlie  farce  of  an  election  for  Emperor.  They  elected  the  Arch- 
duke Maximilian,  brother  of  the  Emperor  of  Austria,  who  was  duly 
pi'oclaimed  Emperor  Maximilian  I.  This  puppet  of  the  French  Em- 
peror assumed  the  Mexican  crown,  and  has  since  maintained  his 
authority  by  means  of  French  bayonets. 

The  cabinets  of  Europe,  however,  had  sense  enough  not  to  recog- 
nize the  independence  of  the  Southern  Confederacy — an  act  which  was 


AOUINISTBATION  OF  LINCOLN. 


729 


periistcntly  urged  upon  them  by  rebel  envoys,  and  by  not  a  few  of 
tlic  statesmen  of  Europe. 

After  the  capture  of  Vicksburg,  immediate  steps  were  taken  to  expel 
the  rebels  from  Eastern  and  Middle  Tennessee  and  Northern  Georgia. 
On  the  21st  of  August,  General  Rosecrans,  having  advanced  upon 
Chattanooga,  opened  fire  upon  that  place.  This  was  kept  up  for  nearly 
three  weeks,  as  a  mere  feint,  during  which  time  his  main  force  was 
making  a  wide  detour  to  the  rear  of  Chattanooga.  General  Bragg 
did  not  suspect  this  scheme,  until  on  the  7th  of  September  he  dis- 
covered that  the  Union  army  had  flanked  him.  He  at  once  aban- 
doned the  place,  and  fell  back  upon  Lafayette,  some  twenty-five  miles 
south.  On  the  9th,  General  Rosecrans  took  quiet  possession  of  Chat- 
tanooga, and  then  set  out  in  pursuit  of  Bragg.  Reaching  the  Chica- 
mauga,  a  small  stream  which  runs  north  and  enters  the  Tennessee,  he 
encamped,  about  ten  miles  from  Chattanooga.  Here,  on  the  19th  of 
September,  he  was  turned  upon  by  Bragg,  and  attacked  with  great 
fury.  The  fight  was  opened  by  the  rebel  General  Longstreet,  who 
attacked  General  Thomas  who  commanded  the  left  wing.  Bragg  was 
repulsed.  A  simultaneous  attack  upon  our  right  and  centre  was  suc- 
cessful, Crittenden  and  McCook  commanding  them  being  forced  back. 
The  next  day  the  rebels  fell  again  upon  Crittenden  and  McCook,  and 
drove  them  in  confusion  upon  Chattanooga.  General  Rosecrans  was 
himself  in  this  division  of  the  army,  and  was  driven  away  with  them. 
Bragg  then  turned  with  his  victorious  army  upon  General  Thomas. 
Abandoned  by  the  general  in  command,  flanked  by  an  army  that  out- 
numbered him  two  to  one,  he  still  resolved  to  hold  his  ground.  And 
he  did  hold  it,  against  dreadful  odds.  Three  times  was  the  whole 
power  of  the  rebel  army  thrown  upon  him,  and  three  times  were  they 
repulsed.  Night  separated  the  combatants,  and  gave  Thomas  au 
opportunity  to  withdraw  his  army  to  Chattanooga.  The  loss  on  each 
side  in  this  great  battle  was  about  13,000. 

In  the  meantime  General  Burnside  had  taken  possession  of  Knox- 
ville,  from  which  place  ho  proceeded  to  Cumberland  Gap,  where  he 
attacked  the  rebel  garrison  and  took  2,000  prisoners. 

General  Gr"''t  was  put  in  supreme  command  of  the  Western  Depart- 
ment on  the  loth  of  October,  and  General  Thomas,  who  so  gallantly 
saved  the  army  at  Chicamauga,  superseded  General  Rosecrans. 

The  condition  of  the  army  of  the  Cumberland,  under  Thomas,  was 
precflviouR.  The  rebels  held  possession  of  Lookout  Mountain  and 
Mission  Ridge,  points  which  commanded  the  river  and  railroad  com- 


130 


ADMINISTRATION   OF    LINCOLN. 


nunication  witli  Nashville  and  Louisville.  The  army  at  Chattanooga 
was  not  half  Bupplicd  with  rations  and  clothing,  and  so  desperate  did 
the  situation  seem  to  the  rebel  generals,  that  on  the  21st  of  November, 
General  Bragg  sent  this  message  to  General  Grant :  "  Humanity  would 
dictate  the  removal  of  all  non-combatants  from  Chattanooga,  as  I  am 
about  to  shell  the  city."  General  Grant  made  no  reply.  At  this  time 
General  Bragg  had  sent  Longstreet,  his  ablest  officer,  with  20,000 
men,  to  attack  Burnside  at  Knoxvilio.  Buniaide  had  his  instructions 
to  fall  back,  and  draw  Longstreet  as  far  away  as  possible.  This  he 
did.  General  Grant  then  sent  a  force  to  destroy  the  railroads  and 
prevent  Longstreot's  return.  This  movement  was  made  by  General 
Sherman. 

On  the  23d  General  Grant  ordered  General  Sherman  to  make  a 
demonstration  upon  Missionary  Ridge.  The  enemy,  posted  on  an 
elevation  of  five  hundred  feet,  watched  the  approach  of  Sherman,  but 
did  not  believe  he  was  serious  in  attempting  to  attack  them.  At  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  he  had  taken  Orchard  Knob,  and  held  such  a 
position  that  the  next  day  he  compelled  tb".  enemy  to  evacuate  a  por- 
tion of  the  mountain,  where  he  intrenched  himself.  Hooker,  on  the 
game  day,  scaled  the  slopes  of  Lookout  Mountain,  drove  out  the  enemy, 
captured  2,000  prisoners,  and  established  himself  in  full  view  of  Chat- 
tanooga. This  battle  is  called  "  The  Battle  of  the  Clouds,"  for  the  day 
had  been  misty  and  rainy,  and  much  of  the  battle  was  fought  above 
the  clouds  which  hid  the  combatants  from  the  view  of  those  below, 
A  clear  sky  prevailed  the  following  morning,  and  the  Stars  and  Stripes 
were  seen  floating  from  the  peak  of  the  mountain.  All  that  day  the 
cannonade  was  continued  from  Orchard  Knob  against  Missionary 
Ridge,  right  over  the  camp  where  Grant  and  Thomas  stood,  watching 
the  result  of  the  fight.  At  last  Sherman  made  an  assault  on  Bragg's 
right.  The  point  was  gained  and  held  for  a  while,  but  the  enemy 
rallied  and  drove  him  back.  Again  our  whole  line  was  pushed  for- 
ward, and  the  heights  were  carried.  Bragg  was  soon  in  full  retreat. 
This  was  the  only  answer  General  Grant  gave  to  his  threat  to  shell 
the  city  of  Chattanooga. 

But  Bragg  was  not  suflFered  to  get  off  easily.  Generals  Hooker, 
Sherman,  and  Palmer  were  ordered  to  pursue  him,  and,  if  possible, 
destroy  him.  They  faithfully  executed  their  orders.  Bragg's  broken 
and  shattered  columns  found  no  rest  till  they  were  sheltered  in  Dalton. 
Sherman  then  turned  northward,  and  drove  Longstreet  out  of  East 
Tennessee  into  Virginia.     The  campaigns  of  Vicksburg  and  Chatta- 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LiyCOLM. 


731 


nooga  were  thus  closed.  Up  to  this  time  Grant's  particular  coinmanda 
had  captured  90,000  prieoners,  472  cannons,  and  more  than  100,000 
small  arms, 

After  all  this  General  Grant  thought  himself  justified  in  issuing  the 
following  congratulatory  order  to  his  army  : 

Headquarters,  Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi, 
In  the  Field,  Chattanooqa,  Tennessee, 

December  10,  1863. 
General  Orders,  No.  9. 

The  general  commanding  takes  this  opportunity  of  returning  his 
sincere  thanks  and  congratulations  to  the  brave  armies  of  the  Cum- 
berland, the  Ohio,  the  Tennesdce,  and  their  comrades  from  the  Poto- 
mac, for  the  recent  splendid  and  decisive  successes  acLieved  over  the 
enemy.  lu  a  short  time  you  have  recovered  from  him  the  control  of 
the  Tennessee  River,  from  Bridgeport  to  Knoxville.  You  dislodged 
him  from  his  great  stronghold  upon  Lookout  Mountain  ;  drove  him 
from  Chattanooga  Valley ;  wrested  from  his  determined  grasp  the 
possession  of  Missionary  Ridge ;  repelled,  with  heavy  loss  to  him,  his 
repeated  assaults  upon  Knoxville,  forcing  him  to  raise  the  siege  there, 
driving  him  at  all  points,  utterly  routed  and  discomfited,  beyond  the 
limits  of  the  State.  By  your  noble  heroism  and  determined  courage, 
you  have  most  efiectually  defeated  the  plans  of  the  enemy  for  regain- 
ing possession  of  the  States  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee.  You  have 
secured  positions  frorn  which  no  rebellious  power  can  drive  or  dislodge 
you.  For  all  this,  the  general  commanding  thanks  you,  collectively 
and  individually.  The  loyal  people  of  the  United  States  thank  and 
bless  you.  Their  hopes  and  prayers  for  your  success  against  this  un- 
holy rebellion  are  with  you,  daily.  Their  faith  in  you  will  not  be  in 
viiin.  Their  hopes  will  not  be  blasted.  Their  prayers  to  Almighty 
God  will  be  answered.  You  will  yet  go  to  other  fields  of  strife ;  and 
with  the  invincible  bravery  and  unflinching  loyalty  to  justice  and  right 
which  have  characterized  you  in  the  past,  you  will  prove  that  no 
enemy  can  withstand  you,  and  that  no  defences,  however  formidable, 
can  check  your  onward  march. 

By  order  of  Maj.-Gen.  U.  S.  GRANT. 


While  these  events  were  occurring  in  the  West,  the  armies  in  Vir- 
ginia were  not  idle.     In  October,  General  Lee  made  a  sudden  move 


732 


ADMINISTRATION  OP   LINCOLN. 


mont  northward,  and  interposed  General  Ewell's  division  between 
General  Monde  and  the  city  of  Washington.  Both  armies  were  soon 
brought  face  to  face  upon  the  twice-fought  field  of  Bull  Kun,  and  a 
general  engagement  was  expected.  But  with  the  exception  of  a  sharp 
encounter  near  Centrovillc,  between  the  rol>el  General  Ilill  and  Gen- 
eral Warren's  corps,  no  action  took  place.  The  rebels  contented 
themselves  with  destroying  the  railroads  and  bridges  which  would 
have  aided  General  Meade  in  an  advance  upon  Richmond,  and  both 
armies  were  soon  in  their  old  position  on  each  side  of  the  Ilapi<lan. 

On  the  7th  of  November  General  Meade  again  crossed  the  Rappa- 
hannock, near  Fredericksburg,  with  two  divisions  under  Sedgwick  and 
French.  Near  Rappahannock  Station  Sedgwick  surprised  and  cap- 
tured about  2,000  of  the  enemy,  aud  French,  at  the  same  time,  at 
Kelly's  Ford,  captured  a  rebel  detachment  of  400  men.  Skirmishing 
was  kept  up  until  the  2d  of  December,  on  which  day  the  enemy  were 
discovered  in  great  force  on  Mine  Run,  and  General  Meade,  thinking 
it  imprudent  to  attack  them,  retraced  his  steps,  and  withdrew  to  his 
old  station  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Rapidan,  where  he  went  into 
winter  quarters. 

The  military  operations  of  the  year  closed  with  a  most  daring  raid 
by  General  Averill.  With  four  mounted  regiments  and  a  battery,  he 
left  New  Creek,  Virginia,  on  the  8th  of  December,  and  made  a  dash 
through  Western  Virginia  at  the  Virginia  and  Tennessee  Railroad, 
which  was  the  chief  line  of  communication  between  the  rebel  armies  in 
Virginia  and  Tennessee.  On  the  16th  he  struck  the  road  at  New 
Salem,  and  soon  destroyed  fifteen  miles  of  the  road,  destroying  the 
bridges,  depots,  culverts,  and  an  immense  amount  of  stores.  He 
evaded  the  force  that  was  sent  after  him,  and  retreated  in  good  order, 
with  the  loss  in  killed,  wounded,  and  missing,  of  100  men. 

The  thirty-eighth  Congress  commenced  its  session  on  the  7th  of 
December.  Both  branches  were  very  strongly  in  favor  of  the  war  policy 
of  the  President,  and  ready  to  sustain  him  with  all  the  resources  of 
the  country.  In  his  message  to  Congress  the  President  declared  that  he 
should  sustain  all  the  laws  and  proclamations  respecting  slavery  which 
had  been  put  forth  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion.  Appended  to  his  message  was  a  proclamation  of  amnesty 
to  all  who  were  in  rebellion  who  would  take  the  following  oath  : 

"I  do  solemnly  swear,  in  the  presence  of  Almighty  God,  that  I  will 
henceforth  faithfully  support,  protect,  and  defend  the  constitution  of 


i 


ni'r 


m 


m 


0. 


•  > 


ADMINIHTRATION'   OF  LINCOLN. 


733 


the  ITniUMi  StntcH,  and  tho  Union  of  tho  Statoa  thoronndnr ;  and  that 
I  will  in  like  manner  abide  by  and  faithfully  nupport  all  actn  of  Con- 
grosfl  paHHud  during  tho  existing  robollion  with  rufcronce  to  slavcii,  so 
long  and  so  far  as  not  rcpnaluti,  modified,  or  hold  void  by  Congruss,  or 
by  duciHinn  of  tho  Supromu  Court;  and  that  I  will  in  like  miinner 
abide  by  and  faithfully  support  all  proclamations  of  thu  rrosidont, 
made  during  tho  existing  rebellion  having  reference  to  slaves,  so  long 
and  so  far  ns  not  modified  or  declared  void  by  decision  of  the  Supremo 
Court.     So  help  me  Ood." 

Several  cliisst's  of  persons  at  the  South  were  excepted  from  the 
benefit  of  this  procl.itnation — those  who  had  raude  themselves  promi- 
nent in  tho  civil  or  military  departments  of  tho  confederacy. 

A  brief  abstract  of  the  reports  from  tho  heads  of  tho  departments 
will  show  the  vast  scale  upon  which  the  war  was  being  conducted. 

The  Sccri'tari/  of  War,  for  obvious  reasons,  gave  no  information  in 
regard  to  the  number  of  men  in  tho  field,  but  in  regard  to  the  employ- 
ment of  free  nejjrooH,  said  :  "  Immediately  after  the  issuing  of  the  Prcsi- 
dont's  ]>roclamation,  diligent  efforts  were  commenced,  and  have  been 
continued  until  the  present  time,  for  raising  colored  troops.  Tho 
adjutantrgoncral  was  sent  to  tho  Mississippi  to  organize  the  slaves 
there.  Fifty  thousand  colored  troops  are  now  organized,  and  the  num- 
ber will  rapidly  increase  as  our  armies  advance.  Tho  freed  slaves 
make  good  soldiers,  are  easily  disciplined,  and  are  full  of  courage. 
The  slave  has  proved  his  manhood  and  capacity,  and  makes  a  good 
infantry,  artillery,  or  cavalry  soldier,  as  has  been  evidenced  on  several 
occasions.  The  colored  troops  have  been  allowed  no  bounty,  and 
under  the  construction  given  by  tho  department,  they  can  only  by  the 
existing  law  receive  $10  per  month  for  their  services,  while  white  sol- 
diers receive  $13,  clothing,  and  daily  rations." 

TTie  Secretary  of  the  Navy  reports  that  he  has  maintained  an  un- 
exampled blockade  of  3,649  miles  of  sea  coast,  including  the  guarding 
of  189  harbors,  river  openings,  and  inlots.  In  addition,  there  are  over 
a  hundred  gunboats  patroling  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries,  which 
figure  up  3,616  miles  that  need  watching. 

The  increase  of  the  naval  force  during  the  past  year  has  again  been 
very  considerable.  At  tho  commencement  of  the  administration  it 
consisted  of  76  vessels,  and  of  these  only  42  were  in  commission.  Ta 
December,  1862,  the  number  of  vessels  was  427;  during  the  current 
year  it  was  increased  to  588. 


734  ADMINISTBATION   OP   LINCOLN.  ^, 

The  following  is  a  general  exhibit  of  the  navy. 

No.  of       No.  of         T„„-._. 
VeweU.       Gum.         Tonnr^pi. 

Iron-clad  stoamors,  coaat  service 46  150  62,518 

Iron-clad  Htearaers,  inland  service 29  152  20,784 

Side-wheel  steamers 203  1,240  126,517 

Screw  steamers 198  1,578  187,892 

Sailing  vessels 112  1,323  70,256 

Total 588        4,443        497,667 

The  number  of  vessels  captured  by  the  squadrons  and  reported  to 
the  department  on  the  1st  of  November  is  1,045,  classified  as  follows: 
schooners,  647  ;  steamers,  lV9  ;  sloops,  131  ;  brigs,  30;  barks,  26; 
ships,  15  ;  yachts  and  small  boats,  llV.  This  is  exclusive  of  a  large 
number  destroyed  on  the  Mississippi  and  other  rivers,  and  on  the 
coast. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  gives  the  following  as  the  receipts 
and  expenditures  for  the  fiscal  year  ending  June  30,  1863. 

Prom  Customs $69,059,642  40 

From  Lands 167,617  17 

From  Miscellaneous 3,046,615  35 

From  Direct  Tax 1,485,103  61 

From  Internal  Eevenue 37,640,787  95 

Balance  from  last  year 13,043,546  81 

Total  receipts  from       ordinary  resources $124,443,313  29 

The  disbursements  were  as  follows : 

The  Civil  Service $23,253,922  08 

Pensions  and  Indians 4,216,520  79 

War  Department 599,298,600  83 

Navy  Depai-traent 63,?10,105  27 

Interest  on  De 24,729,846  61 

Total $714,709,995  58 

On  the  1st  of  February,  1864,  as  an  indication  of  the  vigor  with 
which  the  approaching  campaign  was  to  be  conducted,  the  President 
ordered  a  draft  of  500,000  men,  to  serve  for  three  years  or  during  the 
war.  The  policy  of  employing  negroes  in  the  service  was  now  fully 
approved,  after  a  fair  trial,  and  under  the  laws,  white  men  liable  to 
the  draft  could  enlist  as  substitutes  the  liberated  negroes  of  the  South. 


ADMINISTKATION   OF    LINCOLN. 


735 


On  the  5tli  of  February,  a  detachment  of  three  brigades,  under 
General  Seymour,  left  Port  Royal  for  Jacksonville,  Florida.  On  the 
20th,  after  a  successful  march  into  the  interior,  and  the  destruction  of 
a  large  amount  of  supplies  and  war  material,  the  enemy  were  met  in 
force  at  Olustcc,  when  a  severe  engagement  ensued,  which  ended  in 
a  complcto  rout  of  the  Union  forces,  with  the  loss  of  about  1,000  men 
and  a  number  of  guns. 

On  the  28th  of  the  same  mont'i.  General  Kilpatrick  crossed  the 
Rapidan  with  a  heavy  cavalry  force,  and  passing  to  the  rear  of  Lee's 
army  unobserved,  pushed  directly  for  Richmond.  lie  reached  a  point 
within  three  miles  of  that  city,  and  destroyed  a  large  nuuiber  of  mills, 
besides  doing  incalculable  damage  to  railroads  and  canals.  He  re- 
turned by  way  of  the  Peninsula,  and  reached  Williamsburg  safely  on 
the  3d  of  March.  In  this  expedition,  Colonel  Dalilgrcn,  a  son  of  the 
naval  hero  of  that  name,  was  killed. 

On  the  12th  of  March,  the  President  assigned  to  General  U.  S. 
Grant  the  command  of  the  armies  of  the  United  States,  and  at  the 
same  time  assigned  to  General  Sherman  the  military  department  of 
the  Mississippi,  which  Grant  had  vacated,  and  to  General  McPherson 
the  department  of  the  Tennessee.  lie  then  called  for  an  additional 
force  of  200,000  men. 

The  appointment  of  General  Grant  was  received  with  acclamation 
by  the  country.  His  brilliant  campaigns  in  the  West  had  display  id 
such  eminent  abilities,  that  Congress  had  conferred  upon  hira  the  rank 
of  Lieutenant-General — an  honor  never  before  conferred  upon  any 
man  in  this  country  except  George  Washington, 

General  Grant  immediately  proceeded  to  Washington,  and  com- 
menced preparations  to  crush  the  grand  army  of  General  Lee,  which 
had,  for  nearly  three  years,  resisted  successfully  the  shock  of  the  Union 
armies.  He  at  once  organized  an  immense  force,  consisting  of  the 
army  of  the  Potomac,  under  General  Meade,  consisting  of  three  corps 
of  infantry,  numbering  nearly  150,000  men,  under  Hancock,  Warren, 
and  Sedgwick ;  a  cr.vah  y  corps  under  General  Sheridan ;  and  a  reserve 
corps  of  about  40,000  men,  under  General  Burnside.  The  army  of  the 
James,  under  Generals  Butler  and  Gillmore ;  and  the  army  of  the 
Shenandoah,  under  Generals  Sigcl  and  Emory,  were  stationed  for  co- 
operation with  the  main  army. 

Turning  from  the  army  of  the  Potomac  to  the  country  west  of  the 
Missisoippi,  we  find  General  Smith,  early  in  March,  proceeding  up  the 
Red  River,  accompanied  by  a  mortar  fleet  under  Admiral  Porter.    On 


■#: 


i 


136 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


the  13th  of  March  they  captured  Fort  de  Russey,  a  stroog  fortification 
seventy  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river.  Reaching  Alexandria, 
that  town  immediately  surrendered.  The  fruits  of  the  expedition  thus 
far  had  been  the  capture  of  an  immense  amount  of  cotton,  which  was 
sent  down  the  river  to  Now  Orleans.  General  Banks  had  now  united 
his  force  with  that  of  General  Smith,  and  together,  about  thirty  miles 
above  Alexandria,  they  met  the  rebel  army  under  General  Dick  Tay- 
lor, and  routed  them ;  but  following  up  their  successes,  they  were 
attacked  by  Taylor's  reinforced  army,  at  Pleasant  Hill,  and  after  a  san- 
guinary engagement,  were  routed  and  driven,  with  heavy  loss,  in  con- 
fusion down  the  river.  This  was  the  disastrous  Red  River  expedition. 
A  strong  auxiliary  force  under  General  Steele  had  set  out  from  Little 
Rock,  Arkansas,  to  join  General  Banks  at  Shreveport,  but  learning  the 
fate  of  the  main  army,  they  attempted  to  return,  and  were  only  able 
to  do  so  after  being  seriously  harassed  by  the  enemy,  and  losing  some 
2,000  men,  a  number  of  guns,  and  a  large  train  of  wagons. 

On  the  12th  of  April,  the  rebel  General  Forrest  attacked  Fort  Pil- 
low, about  seventy  miles  above  Memphis.  Overpowered  by  numbers. 
Major  Booth,  who  was  in  command,  surrendered.  An  immediate  and 
indiscriminate  massacre  of  the  garrison  followed.  Out  of  the  600  in 
the  fort,  only  200  escaped.  The  larger  portion  of  the  garrison  were 
negro  soldiers,  and  it  was  against  them  that  the  special  malice  of  the 
rebel  soldiery  was  aimed. 

On  the  1*7 th  of  April,  the  rebels  attacked  Plymouth,  North  Carolina, 
which  place  was  occupied  by  our  forces  under  General  Wessels.  By 
She  aid  of  gunboats  and  an  iron-clad  ram,  they  compelled  General 
Wessels  to  abandon  Plymouth  aad  retire  to  Fort  Williams.  This  place 
they  carried  by  storm,  capturing  the  entire  garrison. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  May,  the  army  of  the  Potomac  broke 
camp  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Rapidan,  near  Culpepper  Court  House, 
and  on  that  and  the  following  day  crossed  the  river.  The  Second 
corps,  under  Hancock,  crossed  at  Ely's  Ford,  and  the  Fifth  and  Sixth 
corps,  under  Warren  and  Sedgwick,  crossed  at  Germania  Ford,  farther 
up  the  river.  General  Burnside  followed  up,  and  held  his  corps  as  a 
reserve  on  the  north  bank  of  the  river. 

General  Lee  was  strongly  entrenched  at  Mine  Run,  and  seeing  that 
General  Grant's  design  was  to  flank  his  right,  at  once  endeavored  to 
resist  his  progress.  The  country  into  which  General  Grant's  army  had 
plunged,  on  crossing  the  river,  consisted  of  the  dense  forest,  called  the 
"  Wilderness,"  which  was  wholly  unfit  for  tho  service  of  cavalry  or 


r:lii   'i 


ADM1N18TUAT10N    OF   LINCOLN. 


131 


artillery.  Whilst  struggling  for  a  position  in  this  forest,  Sedgwick's 
corps  was  violently  attacked  by  Longstrcet  on  the  6th.  The  attack 
was  successfully  resisted.  Longstreet  withdrew  for  a  time,  and  re- 
turned to  the  fight  with  renewed  vigor.  He  was  again  repulsed,  and 
withdrew.  At  the  same  time  a  desperate  attack  was  made  upon 
Warren's  corps,  which  was  in  like  m.%nner  repulsed.  Burnside's 
reserves  had  been  ordered  up,  and  were  of  graat  service  in  checking 
the  enemy's  advance.  .,  >  ,,      ■ii-...'> 

On  the  morning  of  the  6th  the  engagement  became  general  all 
along  the  lines.  So  desperate  was  the  fighting  that  the  interval 
between  the  opposing  lines  was,  in  some  places,  lost  and  gained  by 
turns  five  or  six  times.  At  noon  Longstreet  and  Hill  made  a  furious 
attack  upon  the  left  and  centre,  and  gained  an  advantage,  which  they 
soon  lost.  Towards  dark  a  sudden  attack  was  made  upon  the  right, 
under  Generals  Seymour  and  Shaler,  which  resulted  in  the  cap- 
ture of  these  two  generals,  and  the  complete  overthrow  of  this  wing 
of  the  army.  Grant's  whole  army  was  now  in  peril,  and  might  have 
been  lost,  but  for  the  stubborn  resistance  of  General  Sedgwick,  who 
rallied  his  troops  and  hold  the  enemy  in  check  at  a  vital  point  until 
darkness  closed  the  scene.  During  the  night  the  enemy  retired. 
The  losses  in  Grant's  army  during  these  two  terrible  days  was  about 
15,'"^  Lee's  loss  was  not  less  than  this.  Among  the  killed  in 
Grant's  army  were  Generals  Wadsworth,  Hayes,  and  Webb.  Lee  lost 
in  killed  Generals  Jones,  Jenkins,  and  Pickett.  Longstreet,  Pegram, 
and  Hunter  were  severely  wounded. 

Lee  fell  back  to  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  and  Grant  changed  his. 
base  of  supplies  to  Fredericksburg.  »    i>         ..,."(( 

On  Saturday,  the  7th,  sharp  skirmishing  was  kept  up,  but  no. 
general  action  took  place.  On  the  8th,  Giaiit's  advance  towards 
Spottsylvania  was  checked  at  a  place  called  Alsop's  Farm,  where  a 
severe  engagement  was  had,  which  resulted  in  the  loss  of  at  least  1,300 
men  on  a  side.  On  the  9th  there  was  no  general  battle,  but  in  the 
skirmishing  that  was  kept  up  the  Union  army  lost  one  of  its  chief 
supports  by  the  death  of  the  accomplished  and  brave  General  Sedg- 
wick. While  superintending  the  mounting  of  artillery  in  what  was 
deemed  a  safe  position,  he  was  instantly  killed  by  a  ball  from  a  rebel 
sharpshooter,  which  entered  his  forehead. 

,  On  Tuesday,  the  10th,  and  the  following  day,  the  entire  strength  of  . 
both  armies  was  in  conflict  from  early  morning  till  nightfall,  but  no 
decisive  advantage  was  gained  to  either  side.    Early  on  the  morning 


138 


ADMINISTRATION  OP   LINCOLN. 


of  the  12th,  under  cover  of  a  dense  fog,  the  Second  corps,  under 
General  Iliincock,  made  an  unexpected  attack  on  the  enemy's  lines, 
compkitoly  surrounded  the  commands  of  Generals  Edward  Johnson 
and  G.  II.  Stewart,  and  captured  them  with  their  generals.  General 
Uancock  brought  oflF  4,000  prisoners,  but  was  obliged  to  leave  the 
thirty  heavy  guns  which  he  also  took,  in  consequence  of  the  galling 
fire  of  the  sharpshooters.  During  this  day  and  the  following,  the 
battle  raged  with  the  most  obstinate  fury  along  the  whole  line,  and  it 
■was  doubtful  whether  either  army  had  any  advantage  over  the  other. 
Both  Generals  Lee  and  Meade  issued  congratulatory  orders  to  their 
armies  for  great  successes  which  each  claimod.  For  eight  days  the 
two  great  armies  had  been  almost  constantly  engaged.  General  Grant 
had  lost  about  35,000  men,  in  killed,  wounded,  and  captured,  and  the 
rebel  loss  could  not  have  been  less. 

The  fighting  was  now  suspended  till  the  18th  of  May,  when  Han- 
cock and  Burnside  again  attacked  the  enemy,  but  with  no  decisive 
result.  The  following  three  days  were  occupied  by  both  armies  in 
gaining  new  positions.  Lee  occupied  a  strong  position  between  the 
North  and  South  Anna  Rivers,  and  Grant  crossed  the  Pamunkey 
River,  established  his  base  of  supplies  at  the  White  House,  and 
fixed  his  headquarters  on  the  ground  occupied  by  McClellan  two  years 
before. 

Both  armies  wer^*  now  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  city  of  Richmond, 
and  Grant  determined  to  make  one  more  attempt  to  enter  the  city. 
On  the  1st  of  June  he  took  a  strong  position  near  Cold  Harbor,  and 
on  the  3d,  after  one  i  the  most  desperate  battles  of  the  war,  gained 
possession  of  that  place.  He  then  assaulted  the  enemy's  works 
beyond— the  last  barrier  that  lay  between  him  and  Richmond — but 
after  a  protracted  and  bloody  contest,  failed  to  carry  their  works,  and 
with  this  failure  ended  the  struggle  to  enter  Richmond  from  the  North. 
General  Grant  at  once  made  preparations  to  cross  the  James  River 
and  attack  Richmond  from  the  South.  So  rapidly  was  this  accom- 
plished that  by  the  16th  of  June  the  entire  army  had  crossed  the 
river,  and  was  encamped  before  Petersburg. 

Turning  to  the  Valley  of  the  Shenandoah,  we  find  a  strong  move- 
ment there,  having  for  its  object  the  capture  of  Lynchburg,  which  was 
the  depot  of  supplies  for  Lee's  army  at  Richmond.  On  the  4th  of 
May  General  Sigel  marched  upon  Staunton,  and  General  Averill  upon 
Wytheville,  designing  to  capture  those  places,  and  then  to  unite  with 
General  Crook  at  Dublin  depot,  and  march  upon  Lynchburg.    Neither 


r  '*ir^  '  .'I 


ADMINISTUATION   OF   LINCOLN. 

General  Avcrill  nor  General  Crook  were  able  to  carry  out  their  plans, 
and  on  the  13th,  General  Sigel,  with  the  main  body  of  the  array  of 
the  Shenandoah,  was  attacked  by  the  rebel  General  Breckinridge  and 
defeated,  and  driven  back  in  great  confusion  to  Strasburg.  Sigel  was 
at  once  removed,  and  hia  command  given  up  to  General  Hunter,  (n 
the  6th  of  June,  Hunter  fought  the  rebel  General  Jones  at  Staunton, 
killed  him,  and  took  1,500  prisoners.  After  the  capture  of  Staunton, 
he  joined  Crook,  Averill,  and  Sullivan,  and  marched  upon  Lynchburg, 
which  place  lie  invested,  destroying  all  the  railroads  leading  to  it 
within  his  reach.  On  the  18th,  the  united  commands  were  attacked 
with  such  force  by  General  Early,  that  General  Hunter  was  forced  to 
retreat  His  line  of  retreat  up  the  Shenandoah  was  cut  off,  and  he 
was  obliged  to  cross  the  mountains  into  Western  Virginia.  He 
reached  (iauley  on  the  28th,  after  a  toilsome  march,  in  which  his  men 
suffered  not  only  the  fatigue  of  cutting  their  way  through  the  forests, 
but  the  deprivations  of  hunger. 

Relieved  of  Hunter,  General  Early,  with  a  force  of  22,000  men, 
marched  rapidly  up  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  and  crossed  the  Potomac 
above  Harper's  Ferry.  General  Sigel,  who  was  at  Martinsburg,  fell 
back  to  Sharpsburg,  July  3,  for  the  better  protection  of  his  commissary 
stores.  Early  marched  upon  Hagerstown,  and  took  possession  of  that 
place.  Pressing  down  towards  Baltimore,  he  was  met  on  the  9th  of 
July  by  General  Lewis  Wallace,  at  Monocacy,  where  a  severe  engage- 
ment was  had,  but  without  checking  the  enemy's  advance.  The  next 
day  Early  took  possession  of  Fredericktown.  From  this  time  for  four 
days,  the  rebel  raiders  were  engaged  in  gathering  plunder  from  the 
defenceless  people  of  Maryland,  passing  down  at  one  time  to  within 
six  miles  of  the  city  of  Washington,  cutting  the  railroad  and  tele- 
graphic communication  from  the  North,  and  filling  the  country  with 
apprehensions  for  the  safety  of  the  capital  itself.  But  the  storn: 
gathering  around  him  admonished  Early  that  he  must  retire.  On  the 
13th  he  recrossed  the  Potomac,  with  an  immense  amount  of  booty, 
ind  safely  made  his  way  back  to  Richmond,  after  a  two  days'  fight 
Jiear  Winchester,  in  which  the  Union  Colonel  Mulligan  was  killed. 
While  at  Martinsburgh,  Early  sent  General  McCausland,  with  a 
javalry  force,  to  Chambersburg,  Pennsylvania,  which  place  he  entered 
on  the  30th,  and  destroyed.  Twenty-five  hundred  people  were  made 
homeless,  and  property  of  the  value  of  $4,000,000  was  destroyed. 

When  General  Grant  crossed  the  Rapidan  with  the  main  body  of 
feis  armv.  an  important  cooperative  movement  was  made  by  General 


m 


:1'  f   '1»? 


■ ,  iifcV  .f 


f-,:.:i:. 


r4o 


ADM1NI8TEATI0N   OF  LINCOLN. 


Butler  from  Fortress  Monroe.  With  a  large  force  he  ascended  the 
Janaes  River,  and  landed  at  City  Point,  on  the  5th  of  May,  and  at 
once  entrenched  himself  at  Bermuda  Hundred.  He  then  sent  a 
cavalry  force  under  General  Kautz  to  destroy  the  railroad  communica- 
tions south  of  Petersburg.  This  expedition  succeeded  in  seriously 
damaging  the  enemy,  and  safely  returned.  General  Butler  theu 
moved  upon  Fort  Darling,  a  strong  fortress  which  commanded  the  ap- 
proach to  Riclimond  by  way  of  James  River.  This  place  he  was  pre- 
paring to  invest,  when  the  enemy  made  a  sortie  from  the  fort  on  the 
16th,  attacked  Butler,  and  drove  him  back  into  his  entrenchments. 
On  the  19th,  General  Kautz  made  another  great  raid  around  Petersburg, 
cutting  the  Richmond  and  Petersburg  and  Danville  railroads,  and 
destroying  a  large  amount  of  rebel  property. 

The  time  was  now  approaching  when  the  people  of  the  loyal  States 
would  be  called  upon  to  pass  judgment  upon  the  administration  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  as  his  constitutional  term  of  oflBce  was  expiring. 
On  the  31st  of  May  a  convention  met  at  Cleveland,  Ohio,  and  nomi- 
inated  for  President,  John  C.  Fremont,  and  for  Vice-President,  John 
Cochrane,  of  New  York.  Finding  no  response  from  the  people,  this 
nomination  was  soon  after  declined  by  the  candidates. 

On  the  Tth  of  June  the  friends  of  the  administration  met  In  conven- 
tion at  Baltimore,  and  with  entire  unanimity  re-nominated  Mr.  Lincoln 
for  President,  and  Andrew  Johnson,  of  Tennessee,  for  Vice-President. 
The  convention  resolved  as  follows  : 

1.  The  rebellion  must  be  suppressed  by  force  of  arms.  2.  The  rebels 
must  not  be  compromised  with  upon  any  terms  short  of  unconditional 
surrender.  3.  In  favor  of  an  amendment  to  the  constitution  forever 
prohibiting  slavery  in  the  United  States.  4.  That  the  gratitude  of 
the  American  people  is  due  the  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the  army  and 
navy.  5.  A  full  endorsement  of  President  Lincoln  for  all  the 
measures  he  had  adopted  to  suppress  the  rebellion.  6.  In  favor  of 
harmony  in  the  President's  cabinet.  7.  In  favor  of  securing  full  protec- 
tion to  the  colored  soldiers  of  the  army.  8.  In  favor  of  fostering  and 
encouraging  foreign  immigration.     9.  In  favor  of  the  Pacific  railroad. 

10.  In  favor  of  adopting  cfiective  measures  to  pay  the  national  debt. 

11.  A  protest  against  the  establishment  of  foreign  iuiiueuce  on  this 
continent. 

The  opposition  to  the  administration  called  their  convention  to  meet 
at  Chicago  on  the  4th  of  July,  but  afterwards  postponed  the  same  to  the 
29th  of  August.    At  that  time  the  convention  met,  and  nominated 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  LINCOLN. 


741 


George  B.  McClcllan  for  rrfesidcnt,  and  George  II.  Pendleton,  of  Ohio, 
for  Vicc-rrosidcnt.     The  convention  resolved  : 

1.  Adherence  to  the  Union,  under  the  Constitution.  2.  That  after 
four  years  of  failure  to  restore  the  Union  by  the  experiment  of  war, 
efforts  be  made  for  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  with  a  view  to  an  ullimato 
convention  of  thj  States,  or  other  peaceable  means,  to  the  end  that, 
at  the  earliest  practicable  moment,  peace  may  be  restored,  on  the  basis 
of  the  federal  Union  of  the  States.  3.  Protesting  against  military 
interference  in  elections,  and  threatening  resistance  if  it  is  repeated. 
4.  In  favor  of  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  and  protesting 
against  arbitrary  arrests  and  military  trials  in  States  not  in  insurrec- 
tion. 5.  In  favor  of  prompt  nu-asures  for  the  relief  of  Union  prisoners 
of  war  at  the  South.  6.  Pledging  care,  protection,  regard,  and 
kindness  to  the  soldiers  of  the  army,  "  in  the  event  of  our  attaining 
power." 

The  canvass  that  followed  these  conventions  was  remarkably  excit- 
ing, but  the  following  table  shows  how  overwhelmingly  the  people 
sustained  the  administration  of  Lincoln  when  the  day  of  trial  came, 
on  Tuesday,  the  8th  of  November : 


STATES. 


California 

Conuc'ctK'ut . . . 

Delaware 

Illinois 

Itidiuoa 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky  . . . . . 

Maino 

Maryland 

Maasjidiusetu  . 

Michigan 

Minne«ola 

Missouri 

Nevada 

New  Ilampsliiru 
New  Jersey. . . 
New  York .... 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania. . 
Bhode  Island. . 

Vermont 

West  Virginia. 
Wisconsin 

Total 


POPULAR    VOTE. 


58,698 

44.691 

8,116 

189,496 

1.50,238 

89,075 

16,441 

26,592 

61.803 

40.153 

126,742 

85,352 

25,060 

71,676 

9.826 

36,400 

60,723 

368,735 

264,975 

9,888 

296,391 

13,692 

42,419 

2.3,152 

83.458 


2,203,831 


MCCLKLLAN. 


42,255 

42,285 

8,767 

158,730 

130,233 

49,596 

3,691 

61,478 

44,211 

32,739 

48,745 

67,370 

17,375 

31,<526 

6,594 

32,871 

68,024 

361,986 

205,557 

8,457 

276,316 

8,470 

13,331 

10,438 

65,884 


1,797,019 


ELECTORAL  VOTE. 


LINCOLN.      MCrLELLAN. 


5 
6 

16 
13 


7 
7 

12 
8 
4 

11 
3 
6 

33 

21 

3 

26 
4 
6 
5 
8 


II 


!'  \   :* 


214 


21 


742 


ADMINiSTBATION   OV    LINCOLN. 


On  Uio  10th  of  June,  the  rebel  privateer,  Alabama,  Captain  ScnimcB, 
which  had  scourged  the  soa  from  nearly  the  opening  of  the  war,  was 
engaged  in  the  British  Channel,  by  the  Union  steamer  Kcarsarge, 
Captain  WiiiNJuw,  and  in  less  than  an  hour  was  sunk.  The  vessels 
were  every  way  evenly  matclied.  The  fight  took  place  near  the  har- 
bor of  Cherbourg,  on  the  French  coast.  The  Alabama  commenced 
the  attack  at  11.10  in  the  morning.  At  twelve  she  was  in  a  sinking 
state,  and  attempted  to  run  into  Cherbourg,  but  Captain  Winslow  ran 
up  within  400  yards  of  her,  and  gave  her  a  broadside,  which  rendered 
her  condition  liopeless.  Scmmcs  then  struck  his  colors,  and  his  men 
took  to  their  boats  or  jnni[)ed  into  the  sea.  An  English  yacht,  the 
Decrhountl,  owm-d  by  oue  Mr.  Lancaster,  was  a  witness  to  the  com- 
bat, and  when  the  Alabama  sunk,  ran  up  and  rescued  Semmes  and  his 
officers,  and  about  forty  of  his  crew.  The  Kcarsarge  saved  sixty,  and 
nine  were  picked  up  by  a  French  pilot  boat.  The  Deerhound  took 
Semmes  and  his  men  into  Southampton,  where  they  were  lionized  by 
the  people.  Captain  Winslow  took  the  prisoners  he  had  into  Cher- 
bourg, and  released  them  on  parole.  The  Alabama  had  seven  men 
killed  and  seventeen  wounded.     The  Kcarsarge  did  not  lose  a  man. 

We  have  traced  the  grand  array  of  the  Potomac  to  the  South  bank 
of  the  James  River,  where  it  is  seated  before  Petersburg.  Turning 
now  to  the  West,  we  find  General  Sherman  at  Chattanooga,  with  an 
army  of  99,000  men,  moving  tQwards  Atlanta,  according  to  a  plan 
agreed  upon  between  himself  and  General  Grant.  For  corps  com- 
manders he  had  Thomas,  McPherson,  Schofield,  and  Hooker.  He 
found  opposed  to  him  the  corps  under  Hardee,  Hood,  and  Polk,  all 
under  the  general  command  of  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston.  On  the 
15th  of  May,  Sherman  attacked  Johnston  at  Resaca,  and  drove  him 
out  of  that  place  in  a  southerly  direction.  Following  him  up,  he  over- 
took him  at  Adairsville,  and  after  a  sharp  engagement,  pressed  him 
still  farther  south.  Sherman  now  encamped  at  Kingston.  On  the 
23d  of  May,  he  supplied  his  men  with  twenty  days'  rations,  broke 
camp,  crossed  the  river  Etowah,  and  entered  tl^e  dangerous  defile 
known  as  Altoona  Pass.  On  the  24th  he  met  the  enemy  at  Dallas, 
and  defeated  them.  On  the  6th  of  June,  he  reached  Ackworth,  six 
miles  south  of  the  Pass,  where  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that 
lie  had  passed  through  the  roughest  portion  of  the  mountainous 
region,  and  was  within  reach  of  the  fertile  plains  of  the  centre  of  the 
State.  Johnston  confronted  him  at  Keneaaw  Mountains,  with  strong 
posts  at  Pilot  Knob,  and  Pine,  and  Lost  Mountaios.     On  the  14th  of 


ADMINISTRATIOK  OF   LINCOLN. 


743 


June,  in  an  nttnclc  on  tho  rebel  lino  between  Kcnoflaw  and  Pine 
Mountains,  the  rebel  General  Polk  was  killed.  On  tho  16th,  Sherman 
compelled  tho  enemy  to  cvaciiato  Pino  Mountain,  and  on  tho  20th  he 
drove  them  from  Lost  Mountain.  On  tho  27th  he  made  an  assault  on 
their  position  on  Kencsaw  Mountain,  and  was  repulsed  with  tho  loss 
of  nearly  .3,000  men.  The  enemy,  however,  evacuated  their  position 
on  tho  3d  of  July,  and  being  succossivoly  flanked  in  tho  positions  they 
removed  to,  fell  back  to  Atlanta. 

General  Hood  was  now  placed  in  command  of  tho  rebel  army  con- 
fronting General  Sherman,  and  he  adopted  a  now  policy.  Sherman's 
lino  was  now  extended  to  the  length  of  fourteen  miles,  resting  in  tho 
form  of  an  arch  on  the  northeast,  and  within  five  miles  of  Atlanta. 
On  the  20th  of  July  General  Hood  sallied  from  Atlanta,  and  made  a 
desperate  charge  upon  Hooker's  corps,  but  was  repulsed  with  tho  loss 
of  5,000  men.  Hooker  lost  1,700.  Again  017  the  22d,  he  attacked, 
with  terrible  energy,  tho  left  wing  under  McPherjJon,  and  at  first  suc- 
ceeded in  breaking  the  Union  lines ;  but  they  8t)on|  rallied,  and  checked 
his  advance.  Six  times  he  burled  bis  massed  (lolumns  against  the 
Union  lines,  but  was  repulsed  in  every  attempt!  On  this  day  the 
brave  McPherson  fell,  mortally  wounded.  His  death  was  a  national 
misfortune,  but  no  one  felt  it  so  keenly  as  General  Sherman,  who 
looked  to  him  as  his  strongest  support.  Hood's  loss  in  these  assaults 
was  about  12,000,  and  Sherman's  less  than  2,000.  On  the  28th  Hood 
again  massed  his  forces  and  attacked  Sherman's  right  wing,  com- 
manded by  Logan,  and  was  again  repulsed  with  fearful  loss. 

The  month  of  August  was  consumed  in  breaking  up  Hood's  linos 
of  communication.  Stoncman,  Kilpatriok,  and  McCook,  with  strong 
cavalry  commands,  made  desperate  havoc  in  all  directions.  In  one  of 
these  raids,  Stoneman,  with  nearly  his  whole  command,  was  captured, 
and  McCook  was  compelled  to  cut  his  way  out  with  great  loss;  but 
the  effect  upon  the  enemy  was  to  make  Atlanta  untenable  for  them. 
All  the  attempts  of  Hood  to  break  the  commnnications  of  Sherman 
were  disastrous  failures.  He  made  a  determined  attack  on  Dalton,  for 
that  purpose,  but  was  defeated  by  General  Steadman,  and  forced  t6 
retire.  Finally,  on  the  night  of  the  1st  of  September,  Hood  blew  up 
liis  ammunition  trains  and  evacuated  Atlanta,  retreating  southward. 
The  next  day  Sherman  entered  tho  city,  and  determining  to  make  it  a 
strictly  military  post,  ordered  all  civilians  out  of  it,  sending  the  loyi" 
North,  and  the  disloyal  South.  The  grand  campaign  of  Atlanta  was 
thus  closed,  after  a  conspicuous  display,  on  the  part  of  its  great  leader, 


■  *■*'«{« 


744 


ADMINISTBATIOX   OF    LINCOLN. 


of  all  the  qualities  that  go  to  make  up  a  perfect  master  of  the  art  of 
van 

Immediately  on  transferring  his  army  to  the  south  bank  of  the 
JamL>8,(ieiieral  Grant  cummcnced  opcrutionit  against  Petersburg.  This 
placi!  communicates  with  the  8outh  by  moans  of  three  railroads— Suf- 
folk, WcUion,  and  Lynchburg.  The  Sutlolk  road  was  in  his  |)os8cn- 
sion.  On  the  'J2d  of  June,  he  moved  his  Second  and  Sixth  corps  upon 
the  VW'ldon  road.  The  cavalry  commands  of  Wilson  and  Kautz  were 
also  ordered  to  break  up  as  much  of  this  and  the  Lynchburg  road  as 
possibK'.  Tlicso  expeditions  were  eminently  successful  in  destroying 
the  railroads,  but  were  severely  handled  at  Uoams'  Station  and  other 
points  on  the  two  roads,  and  returned  in  disorder  on  the  30th,  with 
considerable  loss.  During  all  this  time  a  heavy  bombiirdmcut  was 
kept  up  upon  Petersburg. 

General  Grant  now  prepared  for  a  grand  assault  upon  the  enemy's 
works.  He  constructed  a  mine  400  feet  in  length,  with  two  g.illeries, 
which  ran  to  u  point  just  in  front  of  Cemetery  Hill,  the  salient  of  the 
rebel  fortifications.  This  mine  was  charged  with  eight  tons  of  pow- 
der. On  the  morning  of  the  30th  of  July,  at  forty  minutes  pjist  four 
o'clock,  everything  being  in  reailiness,  and  a  strong  force  having  been 
despatched  to  the  north  side  of  the  James  River  to  attack  the  enemy's 
left  and  divert  their  attention,  the  mine  was  exploded  with  all  the  vio- 
lence of  an  earth  juake.  A  largo  gap  was  made  by  it  in  the  .memy's 
■works,  and  a  North  Carolina  regiment  was  blown  up  or  buriet'.  At 
once  one  hundred  and  fifty  heavy  guns  were  opened  upon  the  enemy's 
works.  During  the  previous  night  the  storming  party  had  been 
arranged,  consisting  of  the  Ninth  corps  in  the  centre,  supported  by 
the  Fifth  and  Eighteenth  corps.  When  the  mine  exploded  there  was 
a  fatal  delay  of  the  storming  party,  and  when  they  did  move,  the 
enemy's  artillery  was  so  trained  upon  them  that  they  were  fairly 
crushed  to  death  in  the  awful  chasm  made  by  the  explosion  of  the 
mine.     They  were  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  nearly  six  thousand  men. 

True  to  his  policy  of  giving  the  enemy  no  rest,  General  Grant 
attacked  them  on  the  13th  of  August  on  the  north  bank  of  the  James, 
near  Deep  Bottom,  capturing  500  prisoners;  and  on  the  18th  made 
another  attack  upon  them  at  Reams'  Station,  on  the  Weldon  road, 
and  took  possession  of  the  road.  The  fighting  at  this  point  continued 
for  six  days,  with  great  loss  on  both  sides,  but  resulted  in  the  rebels 
being  repulsed. 

Dissatisfied  with  the  management  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley,  Gen- 


AI>MIN18TUATI0N    OK    LINCOLN. 


745 


rrnl  Tirant  organisscd  it  into  a  new  dopartinent,  and  put  Oencral  IMiilip 
II.  Sheridan  in  command  of  it.  On  the  10th  of  August  (Jenoral 
Mosby  broko  Sheridan's  commiinicntioim  at  Rcrryvillo.  On  the  2Ut, 
SheridHii  waH  nttnciccd  near  (Jharlestown,  and  compcllod  to  fail  back 
to  llfditown.  (icncrai  Sheridan  now  gathered  the  full  strength  of  his 
command,  and  pursued  Early,  defeating  liim  on  the  19th  at  Opcquan 
Creek,  and  on  tiie  22d  at  Kislier's  Hill,  and  driving  him  out  of  the 
valley.  Sheridan  now  turned  his  att«'ntion  to  the  destruction  of  every- 
thing in  the  lower  part  of  the  valley  wliich  was  capable  of  protecting  or 
sustaining  the  guerrilla  forces  which  had  given  our  armies  so  much  an- 
noyance. By  the  7th  of  October  lie  had  fallen  back  to  Woodstock, 
after  having  rendered  desolate  everything  in  his  path  up  to  that  point. 
Among  tlio  property  destroyed  were  two  thousand  barns,  filled  with 
wheat,  hay,  and  farming  implements,  and  seventy  mills  filled  with  flour 
and  wheat.  He  also  captured  four  thousand  cattle  and  a  large  number 
of  horses.  From  Woodstock,  Sheridati  fell  back  to  Cedar  Creek,  beyond 
Strasburg.  Here  he  was  attacked  by  Early,  who  had  followed  him  up, 
on  the  19th  of  October.  At  the  time  of  the  attack,  Sheridan  was  fifteen 
mdes  away  from  his  conmiand,  and  everything  threatened  disaster  to 
bis  army.  His  left  flank  was  turned,  and  his  men  all  fell  back  four 
miles,  losing  twenty-four  pieces  of  artillery.  Sheridan  arrived  on  the 
field  at  noon,  re  formed  bis  broken  columns,  infused  his  own  spirit  into 
Lis  men,  and  turning  upon  Early,  defeated  and  almost  annihilated  bis 
army.  ' 

A  provoking,  rather  than  a  serious  affair,  occurred  on  the  16th  of 
September.  General  Wade  Hampton,  at  the  head  of  a  small  party  of 
rebel  cavalry,  swept  around  General  Grant's  cattle-yard  at  Harrison's 
Landing,  and  carried  safely  off  2,500  head  of  cattle. 

Fighting  was  kept  up  incessantly  around  Richmond  and  Petersburg, 
on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  a  terrific  bombardment  of  Petersburg 
never  ceased.  At  Chapin's  Farm  and  on  Newmarket  Heights,  on  the 
29th  and  30th  of  September,  severe  engagements  were  had  with  unim- 
portant advantages  to  General  Grant  On  the  Tth  of  October,  a  des- 
perate attack  was  made  on  Terry's  division  on  the  Darbytown  road, 
which  was  unsuccessful.  Indeed  the  whole  of  the  month  of  October 
w.is  passed  by  both  armies  near  Richmond  in  determined  movements, 
with  great  loss  on  both  sides,  but  no  apparent  advantage  to  either.  It 
was  evident,  however,  that  the  rebels  were  losing  strength,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  destruction  of  their  supplies  and  the  interruption  of  their 
means  of  communication.       *  .  .. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


I.I 


b;|2^     |2.5 

|J0     ~^~       ■■■ 

I. 


11.25  1 1.4   1 1.6 


V2 


W 


/a 


V 


/A 


■4^ 


6^ 


7<6 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


After  the  battle  of  Cedar  Creek,  General  Sheridan's  army  moved 
back  to  the  vicinity  of  Winchester,  and  during  the  winter  was  mainly 
engaged  as  an  army  of  observation.  Sheridan,  in  the  meantime,  how< 
ever,  desolated  the  Blue  Ridge  Valley,  as  he  had  that  of  the  Shenan- 
doah, to  break  up  the  guerrilla  marauding. 

On  the  7th  of  October,  the  rebel  privateer  Florida  was  captured  in 
the  harbor  of  Bahia,  on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  by  the  United  States 
steamer  Wachusett,  Captain  Collins.  At  the  time  of  the  capture,  the 
captain  and  crew  were  ashore.  She  was  brought  back  to  Hampton 
Roads  by  her  captors,  and  while  a  discussion  was  going  on  between 
the  Brazilian  government  and  ours,  whether  Captain  Collins  did  right 
to  take  the  ship  in  the  friendly  waters  of  Brazil,  the  Florida  was  run 
into  and  sunk  by  an  army  transport,  on  the  night  of  the  10th  of 
Novcmb.T.     This  brought  ♦he  controversy  about  her  to  a  close. 

In  November  a  most  damaging  blow  was  struck  at  the  rebel  power 
by  General  Stoneman,  who  penetrated  southwestern  Virginia,  and  on 
the  20th  of  that  month  destroyed  the  immense  salt  and  lead  works  at 
Saltvillc,  and  broke  up  a  large  portion  of  the  East  Tennessee  and  Vir- 
ginia railroad,  in,;  .• 
.  On  the  1 3th  of  December,  a  fleet  of  sixty-five  vessels  of  war  and 
one  hundred  transports  sailed  from  Fortress  Monroe,  bound  for  Fort 
Fisher,  which  commanded  Wilmington  harbor.  The  land  force  on 
board  was  7,000  men,  ind  the  whole  expedition  was  under  command 
of  General  Butler.  Wilmington  was  the  only  seaport  left  the  rebels 
on  the  Atlantic  coa^t,  and  an  immense  trade  was  carried  on  between 
that  port  and  Bermuda,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  the  blockading  squad- 
ron to  prevent  it.  On  the  23d  the  fleet  reached  the  harbor  in  front 
of  the  fort,  and  commenced  operations  by  exploding  a  powder  vessel 
within  five  hundred  ya!ds  of  the  fort.  Although  this  vessel  was 
loaded  with  two  hundred  barrels  of  powder,  and  it  was  supposed  would 
tlow  the  fort  down  and  render  it  untenable,  it  made  no  impression 
upon  the  fortification  whatever.  A  heavy  bombardment  from  the  fleet 
followed,  and  a  force  of  3,000  men  was  landed  and  made  an  assault 
upon  the  fort,  but  the  first  attack  was  repulsed,  and  General  Butler 
hurriedly  withdrew  his  forces  on  the  27th,  and  returned  to  Fortress 
Monroe. 

Mortified  at  this  failure,  which  h^  deemed  unnecessary,  General 
Grant  at  once  ordered  General  Butler  to  turn  over  his  command  to 
General  Alfred  H.  Terry,  and  to  report  from  Lowell,  Massachusetts. 
General  Terry  was  ordered  back  to  Fort  Fisher.     He  reached  the  fort 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


747 


on  the  13th  of  January,  and  landed  his  troops  and  carried  the  place 
by  assault  on  the  14th,  capturing  one  thousand  prisoners.  General 
Terry's  loss  was  mostly  caused  by  the  explosion  of  the  magazine  of  the 
fort  on  the  16th,  which  was  occasioned  by  a  careless  soldier,  and  by 
which  265  men  were  killed  and  wounded. 

Eirly  in  August  a  fleet,  consisting  of  fourteen  sloops-of-war  and  four 
iron-clad  monitors,  under  the  invincible  Farragut,  sailed  from  New 
Orleans  for  Mobile  harbor,  to  seize  the  foils  at  the  entrance  of  that 
harbor,  and  break  it  up  as  a  port  for  blockade-running.  The  three 
forts,  Morgan,  Powell,  and  Gaines,  at  the  entrance  of  Mobile  Bay, 
Were  very  strong  works,  and  considered  impregnable  by  the  rebels. 
On  the  morning  of  the  4th,  the  fleet  sailed  up  the  channel,  and  the 
gunboat  Tecumsch,  Captain  Craven,  fired  the  first  shot,  when  she  was 
almost  immediately  seen  to  careen  and  sink,  carrying  her  commander 
and  all  her  crew  down  with  her.  She  had  struck  one  of  the  torpedoes 
with  which  the  harbor  was  filled.  But  the  main  reliance  of  the  rebels 
was  an  enorn.oiis  iron-clad  ram,  the  Tennessee,  which  was  considered 
the  most  powerful  war  vessel  ever  constructed.  This  monster  was 
supported  by  three  formidable  gunboats.  Such  was  the  power  with 
which  Farragut's  fleet  moved,  that  before  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning 
the  forts  were  captured  and  passed,  and  all  the  rcbc!  gunboats  dis- 
persed or  crippled.  Then  commenced  what  Farragut  hi^isolf  describes 
as  "  one  of  the  fiercest  naval  combats  on  record."  The  whole  fleet 
attacked  the  great  rebel  ram.  The  attack  was  made  not  only  with 
their  guns,  but  "  bows  on  at  full  speed."  Not  less  than  four  of  the 
largest  vessels  of  the  fleet  ran  upon  the  monster  full  force,  doing  them- 
selves far  more  damage  than  they  did  the  r&in.  while  at  the  same  time 
the  smaller  vessels  swnrmcd  around,  and  pc  .led  volley  after  volley  of 
heavy  shot  into  all  parts  ot  it.  This  contest  lasted  only  two  hours, 
when  Admiral  Buchanan,  commanding  the  Tennessee,  struck  his 
colors,  and  the  contest  was  over.  No  attempt  was  made  to  take  pos- 
session of  Mobile,  for  the  possession  of  the  harbor  broke  up  the  trade 
of  the  city,  which  was  the  object  of  the  expedition.  During  this  fight 
Admiral  Farragut  was  lashed  into  the  maintop  of  his  vessel,  the  better 
to  observe  the  progress  of  the  battle. 

When  General  Sherman  took  possession  of  Atlanta  in  September, 
he  intended  to  -  remain  there  only  long  enough  to  recruit  his  troops, 
and  then  push  forward  for  Savannah,  through  the  heart  of  Georgia. 
But  he  soon  found  that  he  must  first  contest  with  General  Ilood  for 
the  possession  of  the   railroad   to   Chattanooga,  by  which   he  was 


'!!■  ii' 


f,\i' 


748 


▲DUINISniATION  C?    LINCOLN. 


receiving  his  supplies.  Hood  attacked  the  rood  between  Resacs 
and  Daltou,  and  took  possession  of  it,  but  was  quickly  driven  into 
Northern  Alabania  by  General  Sherman.  Forrest  made  a  demonstra- 
tion upon  the  road  between  Nashville  and  Chattanooga,  but  he,  too, 
was  soon  driven  out  of  the  way  by  General  Thomas.  General  Sher- 
man had  now  no  difficulty  in  bringing  up  all  needed  supplies,  and  was 
soon  in  condition  for  a  forward  movement  He  sent  to  General  Thomas 
force  enough,  so  that  he  knew  that  brave  soldier  could  take  care  of 
Tennessee,  and  then  took  up  the  railroad  from  Atlanta  to  Chattanooga, 
and  sent  it  back  to  the  latUtr  pluco,  together  with  all  the  property  of 
value  at  Atlanta.  On  the  4th  of  NuvemUtr  he  sent  the  President  the 
foil  )wing  characteristic  telegram  : 

"  Hood  has  crossed  the  Tennessee.  Tliomas  will  take  care  of  hira 
and  Nashville,  while  Schofield  will  not  let  him  into  Chattanooga  or 
Knoxville.  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  are  at  my  mercy — and  1  shall 
strike.     Do  not  be  anxious  about  me.     I  am  all  right." 

On  the  1 5th  of  November  Atlanta  was  evacuated  and  destroyed,  and 
Sherman  took  up  his  march  to  the  sea,  which  was  distant  by  the  route 
he  proposed  to  take,  300  miles.  Ilis  army  consisted  of  60,000  infantry 
and  artillery,  and  10,000  cavalry,  and  moved  in  two  main  columns,  ex- 
tending nearly  sixty  miles.  Gen.  Howard  commanded  the  right  wing, 
composed  of  the  F.ftccnth  and  Seventeenth  corps,  and  General  Slocum 
the  left,  consistnig  of  the  Fourteenth  and  Twentieth  corps,  while  the 
cavalry,  under  General  Kilpatrick,  covered  the  flanks.  The  orders  to 
march  not  over  fifteen  miles  a  day  were  strictly  enforced.  The  route 
lay  through  one  of  the  most  fertile  regions  of  the  South,  and  the  army 
found  no  difficulty  in  subsisting  upon  the  country.  The  march  of  the 
army  was  attended  with  the  destruction  of  everything  in  its  path.  No 
white  men  were  found,  but  the  negroes  gathered  around  the  army  in 
swarms.  On  the  20th  the  army  reached  Millcdgoville,  the  capital  of 
Georgia,  but  everything  movable  of  value  had  been  taken  away.  On 
the  9th  of  December,  the  advance  was  so  near  the  coast  that  one  of 
Shermai-'s  scouts  succeeded  in  reaching  General  Foster  at  Hilton 
Head,  and  reporting  himself.  On  the  lath  the  whole  army  was  within 
ten  miles  of  Savannah,  On  the  13th  Sherman  stormed  Fort  McAllis- 
ter, which  commanded  the  approach  of  Savannah  from  the  sea,  and 
captured  it,  which  put  the  city  of  Savannah  at  his  feet.  On  the  20th 
Savannah  was  evacuated  by  Hardee,  and  on  the  22d,  Sherman  took 
possession,  and  wrote  the  President  as  follows  : 

"  I  beg  to  present  to  you  as  a  Christmas  gift,  tho  city  of  Savannah, 


ADMINISTIIATION   OF    LINCOLX. 


749 


with  160  heavy  guns  and  plenty  of  amnaunition,  and  also  about  26,000 
bales  of  cotton." 

On  the  28th,  a  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  Savannah  was  held,  under 
a  call  from  Mayor  Arnold,  and  a  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted, 
"  to  accept  peace,  submitting  to  the  national  authority  under  the  con- 
stitution, liiying  aside  all  differences,  and  burying  by-gones  in  the 
grave  of  the  past." 

When  General  Sherman  left  Atlanta  for  the  coast.  General  Ilood 
commenced  his  movements  for  the  recapture  of  Tennessee.  Hood  and 
Beauregard  moved  np  the  Tennessee  lliver  to  Athens,  wliile  Thomas 
fell  back,  concentrating  his  army  at  Nashville.  At  Franklin,  eighteen 
miles  south  of  Nashville,  General  Schofield  was  posted  with  a  strong 
force.  On  the  30th  of  November,  Hood's  entire  army  attacked  Scho- 
field at  tliis  place,  with  desperate  energy,  but  were  repulsed  with  the 
lofts  uf  0,000  men.  Schofield's  loss  was  2,500.  Schofield  then  fell 
hnr.k  and  junied  General  Thomas  at  Nashville.  Ilood  j)re8sed  forward 
boldly  and  laid  siege  to  Nashville,  where  for  two  weeks  there  were  no 
movements  on  either  side.  Being  in  readiness  on  the  IStli,  Thomas 
assumed  the  offensive,  and  attacked  Ilood  in  his  intrenehinents. 
Hood  was  not  only  defeated,  but  his  army  was  utterly  destroyed.  Six 
days'  terrible  fighting,  ending  in  the  shattered  remnants  of  his  army 
being  driven  across  the  Tennessee  River,  with  the  loss  of  eighteen 
generals,  1 7,000  men,  and  sixty-eight  pieces  of  artillery.  A  cooper- 
ating force  under  Forrest  attacked  Murfrcesboro  on  tlie  15tli,  where 
Rousseau  was  stationed,  and  was  as  bndly  cut  up  as  the  maiti  body. 
Tliis  ended  the  war  in  Tennessee.  Hood  escaped  into  Alabama,  after 
being  still  further  harrassed  by  General  Grierson's  cavalry,  and  passed 
out  of  sight. 

The  vigorous  measures  of  General  Sheridan  had  clcired  the  valley 
ol'ilic  Shenandoah  of  all  hostile  troops,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  year 
1805,  the  attention  of  the  country  was  fixed  upon  the  armies  under 
Sherman  and  Grant. 

Immediately  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Fisher,  on  the  15th  of 
January,  General  Terry  moved  up  the  river  to  Wilmington,  which 
place  he  took  possession  of  on  the  22d  of  February,  after  a  slight  re- 
sistance by  the  rebel  troops. 

At  the  opening  of  the  year  1866,  it  will  be  seen,  then,  that  the 
theatre  of  military  operations  had  been  iiarrowe<l  down  to  the  country 
between  the  James  and  Savannah  Rivers,  including  the  south  half  of 
Virginia  and  the  two  Carolinas ;  and  in  this  region  there  were  two 


no 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  LINCOLN. 


rebel  armies — one  under  General  Lee  of  100,000  men,  commanding 
at  Ricbinoud,  and  the  other  under  General  Joseph  E.  Johnston,  with 
with  60,000  men,  confronting  the  victorious  legions  of  Sherman. 
Grant's  and  Lee's  armies  were  at  dead-lock  in  front  of  Petersburg 
during  the  month  of  January,  the  monotony  being  varied  only  by  an 
unsuccessful  attempt  to  open  a  canal  at  Dutch  Gap,  six  hundred  feet 
long,  by  which  seven  miles  of  river  navigation  could  be  saved.  This 
project  was  conceived  by  General  B.  F.  Butler. 

On  the  5th  of  February  General  Grant  swung  his  left  around  at 
Hatcher's  Run,  and  advanced  his  lines,  after  a  hard  struggle,  the  dis- 
tance of  four  miles.     This  was  the  only  important  event  of  the  month. 

A  "  Peace  Conference,"  so  called,  was  held  on  the  third  of  February, 
on  board  the  steamer  River  Queen,  at  Fortress  Monroe.  The  parties 
to  the  conference  on  the  Union  side  were  President  Lincoln  and 
Secretary  Seward  ;  on  the  other  side.  Vice  President  A.  H.  Stephens, 
K.  M.  T.  Hunter,  and  Judge  J.  A.  Campbell,  the  representatives  of 
Jefferson  Davis.  This  interview  was  arranged  by  the  veteran  politician 
Francis  P.  Blair,  who  visited  Richmond  by  Mr.  Lincoln's  sanction,  for 
that  purpose.  Nothing  came  of  this  conference,  for  Mr.  Lincoln  de- 
manded, as  a  preliminary,  "First,  the  restoration  of  the  national 
authority  throughout  all  the  States ;  second,  no  receding  by  the 
executive  of  the  United  States  on  the  slavery  question  from  the 
position  assumed  therein  in  the  late  annual  message  to  Congress,  and 
in  the  preceding  documents  ;  third,  no  cessation  of  hostilities  short  of 
an  end  of  the  war,  and  the  disbanding  of  all  the  forces  hostile  to  the 
government." 

Early  in  the  montllt  of  February,  General  Sherman  commenced 
moving  northward  towards  Charleston.  On  the  11th  he  reached  and 
occupied  Branchville,  sixty-two  miles  northwest  of  Charleston,  the 
junction  of  several  railroads  by  which  Charleston  was  supplied  with 
the  necessaries  of  life.  On  the  18th  he  entered  Columbia,  the  capital 
of  the  State.  Charleston  was  thus  cut  off  from  supplies,  and  the  only 
thing  remaining  for  General  Hardee,  who  commanded  at  that  place,  to 
do,  was  to  save  as  many  of  his  men  as  possible,  and  leave  the  city. 
General  Gillmore,  who  commanded  the  Union  forces  in  Charleston 
harbor,  noticed  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  that  Forts  Sumter  and 
Moultrie  had  been  evacuated  during  the  preceding  night.  He  at 
once  entered  and  took  possession  of  the  city,  and  once  more  raised  the 
Stare  and  Stripes  on  Fort  Snmter.  The  city  was  fired  by  the  retreat- 
ing troops  in  many  parts,  aud  before  the  fire  could  be  extinguished, 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  LINCOLN. 


751 


two-tbirds  of  the  business  portion  was  in  atihes.  The  appearance  of 
tho  city  as  our  troops  entered  it,  was  in  the  last  degree  desolates 
Business  streets  were  so  overgrown  with  undisturbed  vegetation,  that 
people  walking  on  opposite  sides  of  them  were  invisible  to  each  other. 
An  actual  bombardinont  upon  it  for  the  space  of  542  days — com* 
tuencing  August  22,  1863 — Lad  fairly  riddled  with  shot  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  buildings,  and  many  were  utterly  demolished.  Only 
1 5,000  people,  black  and  white,  were  found  remaining  in  this  once 
proud  capital  of  the  South.  Order  was  soon  restored  in  the  city,  and 
the  fleets  of  steam  and  sailing  vessels  arriving  and  departing  signified 
that  intercourse  with  the  world  was  once  more  resumed. 

General  Sherman  pressed  on  to  the  northward  without  interruption, 
and  on  the  3d  of  March  occupied  Cheraw,  and  on  the  11th  entered 
Fayettcville,  North  Carolina,  and  opened  Communication  with  Wil- 
mington, by  way  of  Cape  Fear  River.  The  only  collisions  with  the 
enemy  during  his  march,  were  at  Aiken,  Cheraw,  and  near  Fayette- 
ville,  where  Kilpatriek  had  a  skirmish  with  Wade  Hampton. 

On  the  4th  of  March,  President  Lincoln  was  inaugurated  for  a 
second  term  of  office.  On  this  occasion  he  delivered  the  following 
address,  which,  in  the  light  of  subsequent  events,  will  be  read  with 
deep  interest  while  anything  connected  with  his  administration  is 
remembered  among  men : 


SECOND   INAUGURAL  ADDRESS  OP  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 

Fkllow  Countrtmkn: 

At  this  second  appearing  to  take  the  oath  of  the  presidential  oflBce, 
there  is  less  occasion  fur  an  extended  address  than  there  was  at  the  first  Then  a 
statement  somewhat  in  detail  of  a  course  to  be  pursued  seemed  very  fittmg  und 
proper.  Now,  at  the  expiration  of  four  years,  during  which  public  declarations 
havre  been  oonstantlj  called  forth  on  every  point  and  phase  of  tho  great  contest 
which  still  absorbs  the  attention  and  engrosses  the  energies  of  the  nation,  little 
that  is  new  could  be  presented. 

The  progress  of  our  arms — upon  which  all  else  chiefly  depends — is  as  well 
known  to  the  public  as  to  myself;  and  it  is,  I  trust,  reasonably  satisfactoiy  and 
encouraging  to  all.  With  high  hope  for  the  future,  no  prediction  in  regard  to  it  is 
ventured. 

On  the  occasion  corresponding  to  this  four  years  ago,  all  thoughts  were  anjdously 
directed  to  an  impending  civil  war.  All  dreaded  it ;  all  sought  to  avoid  it.  While 
the  inaugural  address  was  being  delivered  from  this  place,  devoted  altogether  to 
saving  the  Union  without  war,  insurgent  agents  were  in  the  city  seeldng  to 
destroy  it  without  war — seeking  to  dissolve  the  Union  and  divide  the  efieots  by 
negotiatton. 


^62 


ADHnnSTBATION  OP  LH/COLN. 


Both  parties  deprecated  war ;  but  one  of  them  would  make  war  rather  than  let 
the  nation  aurrive,  and  the  other  would  accept  war  rather  than  let  it  perish  ;  and 
the  war  came 

One-eighth  or  the  whole  population  were  colored  slaves,  not  distributed  gen- 
erally over  the  Union,  but  localized  in  the  southern  part  of  it.  These  slaves  con- 
stituted a  peculiar  and  powerful  interest.  All  know  that  this  interest  was  somo< 
how  the  cause  of  the  war.  To  strengthen,  perpetuate,  and  extend  tliia  interest 
was  tlie  object  for  which  the  insurgents  would  rond  the  Union  by  war,  while 
the  government  claimed  no  right  to  do  more  than  restrict  the  territorial  enlarge- 
ment of  it. 

Neither  party  expected  for  the  war  the  magnitude  or  the  duration  which  it  has 
already  attained.  Neither  anticipated  that  the  cause  of  the  conflict  might  cease, 
even  before  tiio  conflict  itnclf  should  cease.  Each  looked  for  an  easier  triumph  and 
a  result  less  fundamental  and  astounding. 

Both  read  tlio  same  Bible,  and  pray  to  the  same  God,  and  each  invokes  His  aid 
against  the  other.  It  may  ^em  strange  that  any  men  should  dare  to  nsk  a  just 
God's  assistance  in  wringing  tlieir  bread  from  the  sweat  of  other  men's  faces ;  but 
let  us  judge  not,  that  we  be  not  judged.  The  prayers  of  both  should  not  bo  an- 
swered. That  of  neither  has  been  answered  fully.  The  Almighty  has  His  own  pur- 
poses Woe  unto  the  world  because  of  oflences,  for  it  must  needs  be  that  oflencos 
comoi  but  woe  to  that  man  by  whom  the  offence  cometh.  If  we  shall  suppose 
that  American  slavery  is  one  of  these  offences — which,  in  the  providence  of  God, 
must  needs  come,  but  which,  having  continued  through  His  appointed  time.  He 
now  wills  to  remove,  and  thnt  He  gives  to  both  North  and  South  this  terrible  war 
as  the  woe  duo  to  those  by  whom  the  offence  came — shall  we  discern  therein  any 
departure  from  those  divine  attributes  wliich  the  believers  in  a  living  God  always 
ascribe  to  Him  ?  Fondly  do  we  hope,  fervently  do  we  pray,  that  this  mighty 
scourge  of  war  may  speedily  pass  away.  Yet,  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  until 
all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondman's  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  of  unrequited 
toll  shall  bo  sunk,  and  until  every  drop  of  b'ood  drawn  with  the  lash  shall  be  paid 
by  another  drawn  by  the  ^word,  as  was  said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still  it 
must  be  said  that  the  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and  righteous  altogether. 

With  malice  toward  none,  with  charity  for  all,  with  flrmnesa  in  the  right,  as 
God  gives  us  to  see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work  we  are  in,  to  bind 
up  the  nation's  wound,  to  care  for  him  who  shall  have  borne  the  battle,  and  for 
bis  widows  and  orphans ;  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a  just  and  last- 
ing peace  among  ourselves  and  with  all  nations. 

Up  to  the  time  of  his  arrival  at  Fayetteville,  General  Shcnnan  had 
captured  fourteen  cities,  eighty-five  cannon,  four  thousand  prisoners, 
twenty-iivc  thousand  horses,  mules  and  cattle,  and  liberated  over  fifteen 
thousand  prisoners  and  slaves. 

On  the  14th  he  left  Fayetteville  for  Goldsborough,  where  he  had 
arranged  to  form  a  junction  with  General  Scbofield  on  the  22d,  and 
where  he  would  be  put  in  direct  communication  with  Washington,  by 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


753 


way  of  the  Nciwe  River  and  Newbern.  The  ciiamy  now,  for  the  first 
time  since  he  left  Atlanta,  lucnaccd  Sherman  in  front  with  a  forniid- 
ublo  army.  Ilardoe  and  Bragg  had  joined  Johnston,  and  on  the  15th 
and  16ih  8trii<;2lcd  wit'ioiit  avail  to  resist  Shennan's  maicli.  On  the 
19th,  at  Bentonsvillc,  Sherman  found  thom  strongly  ontronchud,  de- 
termined to  prevent  his  junction  with  Schoficid  ;  for  Johnston  well 
knew  that  if  that  junction  was  once  effected,  the  combined  army  could 
not  be  successfully  resisted  anywhere.  As  Sherman  approached, 
Johnston  threw  his  massed  forces  upon  tho  left  wing,  commanded  by 
General  Sherman,  and  drove  it  back.  Reinforcements  were  at  once 
brought  up,  and  the  rebel  advance  checked.  Again  and  again  John- 
ston threw  his  whole  strength  in  the  most  desperate  charges  upon 
Sherman's  lines,  but  the  veterans  stood  firm  as  a  rock,  and  repelled 
them.  Night  closed  the  conflict,  and  during  the  night  the  cueniy 
retired.  On  the  22d,  agreeable  to  an  appointment  made  in  Savannah, 
Sherman  entered  Goldsborough,  and  met  Scliofiuld. 

Schofield's  march  from  Newbern  to  Goldsborough  %aa  resisted  at 
Kinston  by  General  Bragg,  on  the  7th,  the  day  after  he  left  Newbern, 
where  Bragg  captured  1500  prisoners  and  gained  a  temporary  advan- 
tage by  a  flank  movement.  But  Schofield  rallied  and  repulsed  him, 
and  moved  forward  to  Goldsborough  unobstructed. 

Arrived  at  Goldsborough,  General  Sherman  reported  to  General 
Grant  that  he  had  lost,  since  leaving  Savannah,  in  killed,  wounded, 
and  prisoners,  only  2,500  men.  Sherman  at  once  hastened  to  City 
Point,  where  he  had  an  interview  with  General  Grant  and  the  Presi- 
dent, and  where,  between  them,  the  plans  were  arranged  for  the  finish- 
ing blows  at  the  rebel  power.  * 

We  now  approach  the  grand  movements  of  Grant  and  Sheridan,  by 
which  the  rebel  power  was  crushed,  and  the  war  brought  to  a  close. 

On  the  27th  of  February,  Sheridan  left  Winchester  with  nearly  the 
whole  of  his  command,  and  on  the  6th  of  March  had  defeated  Early 
at  Waynesborough,  and  entered  Charlottesville.  Here  he  divided  his 
command  in  two  columns ;  one  under  General  Deven  took  a  direct 
southern  route  to  Scottsville,  destroying  everything  capable  of  subsist- 
ing an  army,  and  then  turned  towards  Lynchburg,  to  meet  the  other 
division,  which  had  proceeded  directly  to  that  place.  Both  divisions 
then  moved  around  the  north  side  of  Richmond,  destroying  everything 
in  their  path,  including  the  Lynchburg  canal,  crossed  the  James  River 
at  Deep  Bottom,  and  joined  Grant  south  of  Petersburg. 

On  the  26th  of  March,  '     daybreak,  General  Lee  made  an  attack 


m 


ADMINISTRATION   OF   LINCOLN. 


upon  Fort  Stcadroan,  tho  strongest  position  in  Grant's  lines,  and  cap* 
tured  it,  but  was  soon  driven  out  of  it  with  a  loss  of  3,000  men.  The 
same  day  General  Grant  attacked  tho  enemy  at  Hatcher's  Run,  and 
succeeded  in  gaining  an  advanced  position,  after  a  desperate  fight. 

On  the  29th  the  main  column  of  the  army  moved  out  on  the 
Vaughan  road,  towards  Dinwiddie  Court  House.  They  crossed 
Hatcher's  Run,  the  enemy  resisting  languidly.  General  Meade  was  in 
the  front,  and  General  Grant  accompanied  him.  At  night  officers  and 
men  encamped  on  the  field  during  a  pelting  rain. 

On  the  30th,  the  lines  were  pushed  forward  to  Dabney's  Mills, 
where  the  enetny  were  entrenched  and  soon  opened  fire,  which  im- 
peded the  advance  for  the  day,  although  full  possession  was  taken  of 
the  Boy dton  road.       •'''  »«^   *  '-       ■   •  •  .,;'''"  •■  "' 

At  daylight  on  the  morning  of  tho  31st,  General  Warren  advanced 
with  the  Fifth  corps,  in  a  northwesterly  direction,  to  secure  the  White 
Oak  road,  lie  had  not  proceeded  more  than  two  miles  when  he  was 
attacked  furiously  in  front  and  on  both  fianks,  and  driven  back  in 
great  disorder.  The  elated  enemy  pursued  incautiously,  and  were  in 
turn  attacked  by  General  Miles,  and  driven  from  the  field.  Again 
General  Warren  advanced,  and  secured  the  position  for  which  he 
started  in  the  morning.  General  Grant  moved  over  the  field  during 
the  day,  and  carefully  watched  every  movement.  At  night,  dissatisfied 
with  Warren,  he  displaced  him,  and  gave  the  supreme  command  of 
his  corps  to  General  Sheridan. 

The  next  morning,  Saturday,  April  1,  Sheridan  moved  his  entire 
command  against  the  enemy  at  Five  Forks,  and  after  one  of  the  most 
terrible  battles  of  thh  war,  succeeded  in  driving  them  into  their 
;A-  intrenchments,  where  he  flanked  them  and  captured  six  thousand 
prisoners.  This  victory,  indeed,  had  no  more  been  done,  would  have 
compelled  the  evacuation  of  Richmond  ;  but  Grant  did  not  stop  here. 

On  Sunday  he  ordered  an  attack  along  the  entire  line  in  front  of 
Petersburg,  with  the  whole  power  of  his  army.  The  attack  was  suc- 
cessful. During  that  night  Petersburg  was  abandoned,  and  at  two 
o'clock  on  Monday  morning  was  occupied  by  our  troops.  Simulta- 
neously with  tho  evacuation  of  Petersburg,  the  rebels  fled  from  Rich- 
)  'ond. 

The  first  indication  that  the  troops  under  General  Weitzel  had  of 
the  evacuation  of  Richmond  was  the  explosions  early  on  Monday  morn- 
ing in  the  river  above,  which  were  very  heavy,  and  gave  the  assurance 
that  something  extraordinary  was  transpiring.    General  Weitzel  im- 


ADMINISTRATION   OV    LINCUI^N. 


758 


mediately  advanced  his  picket  lino,  and  soon  afler  the  Twenty-fourth 
corps  was  formed  and  ordered  forward  cautiously.  The  rcbul  picket 
lino  was  found  evacuated,  and  immediately  tho  whole  corps  followed 
with  the  wildest  enthusiasm.  The  works  were  of  the  most  formidable 
character,  and  could  not  have  been  carried  by  assault,  except  at  a  fear- 
ful loss  of  life.  They  consisted  of  earthworks  constructed  in  the  most 
skilful  manner,  and  protected  by  artfully  planned  abatis  and  ditches. 
The  forts  mounted  in  all  about  three  hundred  guns,  many  of  tbem  of 
very  heavy  calibre,  and  to  a  great  extent  uninjured. 

The  advance  into  the  city  was  led  by  General  Ripley,  commanding 
the  second  brigade  of  the  Twenty-fourth  army  corps.  General  Weitzel 
and  staff  accoinpniiyiiig  it.  When  near  the  city  a  detachment  of  the 
Fourth  Massachusetts  cavalry  was  sent  in  with  a  demand  upon  Mayor 
Mayo  for  its  surrender,  which  was  at  once  complied  with.  As  the 
colunm  entered  the  city  it  was  greeted  with  the  most  enthusiastic 
demonstrations  of  joy,  especially  on  the  part  of  the  negro  population, 
who  hailed  with  the  most  extravagant  ji'ViiatioD  the  appearance  of 
their  sable  brethren  in  anus.  •■  :    '    •'.' 

The  Twenty-fourth  army  corps  then  took  possession  of  the  city,  and 
General  Weitzel  established  his  headquarters,  temporarily,  at  the  Vir« 
gmia  House  of  Delegates  in  Capitol  Square.  He  issued  an  order  pro- 
claiming martial  law,  and  assuring  the  people  that  he  had  come  to 
restore  the  blessings  of  peace  under  the  flag  of  the  Union.  He 
requested  them  to  remain  in  their  homes  and  to  avoid  all  assemblages 
in  the  street.  He  appointed  General  Shepley  military  governor,  and 
Colonel  Frederick  S.  Manning,  provost-marshal  of  the  city. 

On  taking  command  as  military  governor.  General  Shepley  issued 
an  order,  in  which  he  said  that  the  armies  of  the  rebellion  having 
abandoned  all  etforts  to  enslave  Virginia,  and  having  attempted  to  fire 
the  capital,  which  thuy  could  no  longer  hold  by  force  of  arms,  it  would 
be  the  first  duty  of  our  armies  to  extinguish  the  flames,  and  save  the 
city.  He  ordered  Colouel  Manning  to  detail  a  force  under  the  provost 
guard  to  use  the  utmost  eflbrts  to  stay  the  ravages  of  the  flames, 
which  had  already  destroyed  nearly  forty  blocks  of  houses.  He  also 
ordered  the  prompt  punishment  of  every  man  who  was  foimd  pillaging 
or  foraging  on  his  own  account. 

The  evacuation  of  Richmond  had  been  in  progress  for  some  weeks,  and 
the  citizens  generally  understood  that  the  city  was  to  be  given  up,  but 
at  what  time  no  one  except  General  Lee  knew.  The  public  archives 
were  removed  to  Lynchburg,  and  the  valuable  effects  of  the  banks  and 


[J 


t9« 


ADMINiSTBATION    OF    LINCOLN. 


private  citizens  also  took  their  flight  for  a  place  of  security  about  tho 
same  tune.  As  soon  as  General  Grant's  movement  from  tho  imtiu'di* 
ate  front  of  Petersburg  became  clearly  defined,  prominent  citizens  pre- 
pared for  a  hasty  departure,  feeling  confident  that  the  city  could  not 
much  longer  be  held  by  the  army  of  Lee.  Upon  the  departure  of  the 
army  on  Sunday,  the  cotton,  tobacco,  and  commissary  stores  wore  set 
on  fire  by  tho  rebel  troops,  but  owing  to  the  exertions  of  Colonel  Man- 
ning, the  fire  was  extinguished,  and  tho  entire  city  was  saved  from 
being  left  a  mass  of  smoking  ruins. 

Jefl".  Davis  left  on  Sunday  noon,  with  his  family,  taking  the  Danvillo 
road.  lie  had  removed  the  most  valuable  portion  of  his  fiirnituro 
luany  days  previous.  Just  before  lie  left  he  received  a  cipher  despatch 
from  General  Lee,  which,  doubtless,  accelerated  his  departure. 

On  the  4th,  President  Lincoln  entered  Richmond,  and  was  received 
with  great  enthusiasm.  lie  occupied  the  mansion  of  tho  late  rebel 
President. 

General  Lee,  on  leaving  Richmond,  aimed  to  reach  Lynchburg. 
On  the  morning  of  the  5th,  he  had  reached  Amelia  Court  House, 
forty-seven  miles  rora  Richmond,  with  a  still  large  and  formidable 
army.  The  fier^  Sheridan,  by  a  wide  detour,  had  reached  Burkosville 
the  same  day,  fifteen  miles  in  advance  of  him.  lie  at  once  sent  word 
to  General  Grant  to  come  up  immediately,  for  there  was  now  no  escape 
for  Lee.  In  the  meantime  he  attacked  the  enemy's  flank  with  success, 
and  at  Dentonville,  General  Meade,  who  had  arrived,  attacked  his 
centre,  and  captured  several  thousand  prisoners. 

General  Grant  arrived  on  the  7th,  and  seeing  the  situation,  at  once 
addresiscd  the  following  letter  to  General  Lee  : 

"General  :  The  result  of  tho  last  week  must  convince  you  of  the 
hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on  the  part  of  tho  army  of  Northern 
Virginia  in  this  struggle.  I  feel  that  it  is  so,  and  regard  it  as  my  duty 
to  shift  from  myself  the  responsibility  of  any  further  eff"usion  of  blood, 
by  asking  of  you  the  surrender  of  that  portion  of  the  C.  S.  army,  known 
as  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia." 

To  which  General  Lee  replied  :  i  - 

'*  General :  I  received  your  note  of  this  date.  Though  not  entirely 
of  the  opinion  you  express  of  the  hopelessness  of  further  resistance  on 
the  part  of  the  army  of  Northern  Virginia,  I  reciprocate  your  desire 
to  avoid  useless  effusion  of  blood,  and  therefore,  before  considering 
your  proposition,  ask  the  terms  you  will  offer,  on  condition  of  its  sur- 
render." 


AnMINTSrnATION   OF    LINCOLN. 


757 


Ooneral  Grant  replied  on  the  next  day,  the  8th,  that  "peace  beiii<it 
ray  first  desire,  there  is  but  one  condition  that  I  insist  upon,  viz.,  that 
the  men  surrendered  shall  be  diaqnaiifind  for  taking  up  arms  agniust 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  until  properly  exchanged." 
"  On  General  Leo  asking  for  more  particular  terms,  General  Grant 
replied  on  the  9th,  as  follows  : 

"General  R.  E.  Leo,  Commanding  C.  S,  A. : 

"  In  accordance  with  the  substfincc  of  my  letter  to  you,  of  the  8th 
instant,  I  propose  to  receive  the  surrender  of  the  army  of  Northern 
Virginia  on  the  following  terms,  to  wit : 

"Rolls  of  all  the  officers  and  men  to  be  made  in  duplicate,  one  copy 
to  be  given  to  an  officer  designated  Lv  mc ,  the  other  to  be  retained  by 
such  officers  as  you  may  designate. 

"The  officers  to  give  their  individual  paroles  not  to  take  arms 
against  the  United  States  until  properly  exchanged,  and  each  com- 
pany or  regimental  commander  to  sign  a  like  parole  for  the  men  of  their 
commands. 

"  The  arms,  artillery,  and  public  propert}'  to  be  parked  and  stacked, 
and  turned  over  to  the  officers  appointed  by  mo  to  receive  them. 
This  will  not  embrace  the  side-arms  of  the  officers,  nor  their  private 
horses  or  baggage. 

"This  done,  each  officer  and  man  will  be  allowed  to  return  to 
their  homes,  not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  United  States  authority,  so 
long  as  they  observe  their  parole  and  the  laws  in  force  where  they 
may  reside." 

These  terms  were  at  once  accepted  by  General  Lee,  and  the  soldiers 
were  soon  dispersed  to  their  homes. 

As  soon  as  General  Johnston  heard  of  the  surrender  of  Lee,  he 
capitulated  to  General  Sherman,  receiving  the  same  terms  as  were 
accorded  to  Lee.  A  few  weeks  later,  the  rebel  army  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, under  Kirby  Smith,  surrendered,  Mobile  was  given  up,  and 
the  Southern  Confederacy  vanished  from  human  sight. 

While  the  country  was  ringing  with  joy  over  the  close  of  the  great 
war,  which  for  four  years  had  taxed  the  resources  and  absorbed  the 
best  blood  of  the  land,  an  event  occurred  that  turned  all  hearts  to 
mourning,  and  struck  the  world  with  horror. 

On  the  evening  of  Friday,  April  14,  President  Lincoln  and  wife, 
with  other  friends,  visited  Ford's  Theatre,  in  Washington,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  witnessing  the  performance  of  the  "  American  Cousin." 

The  theatre  was  densely  crowded,  and  everybody  seemed  delighted 


s 


:::i)<- 


M":k 


768 


ADMINISTRATION   OP   LINCOLN. 


with  tbo  scene  before  thein.  During  tlio  third  act,  and  while  there 
was  a  temporary  pause  for  one  of  the  actors  to  outer,  at  O.JiO  v.  m.,  u 
sharp  report  of  a  pistol  was  heard,  which  merely  attracted  attention, 
hut  siiggeRted  nothing  serious,  until  a  man  rushed  to  the  front  of  the 
President's  box,  waving  a  long  dagger  in  his  right  hand,  and  exclaim- 
ing, "  Sic  semper  ii/nmnis"  and  itumediately  leaped  from  the  box, 
which  was  in  the  second  tier,  to  the  stage  beneath,  and  ran  across  to 
the  opposite  side,  making  his  escape  amid  the  bewilderment  of  the 
audience,  from  the  rear  of  the  theatre,  and  mounting  a  horsi,  lied. 

In  his  leap  from  the  box,  ho  cuught  his  spur  in  a  flag  that  was  fes- 
tooned in  front,  ami  was  thrown  violently  upon  the  stage,  seriously 
fracturing  one  of  his  legs, 

.  The  screams  of  Mrs.  Lincoln  first  disclosed  the  fact  to  the  audience 
that  the  President  had  been  shot,  when  all  present  roso  to  their 
feet,  rushing  toward  the  stage,  many  exclaiming,  "Hang  liini !  hang 
him  :" 

The  excitement  was  of  the  wildest  possible  description,  and  of  course 
there  was  an  abrupt  termiinition  of  the  theatrical  performance. 

There  was  a  rush  towards  the  President's  box,  when  cries  wore 
heard,  "Stand  back  and  give  liim  air."  "Has  any  one  stimulants?" 
On  a  hasty  examination,  it  was  found  that  the  President  ha*l  been  shot 
through  the  head,  above  and  back  of  the  temporal  bone,  and  that 
some  of  the  brain  was  oozing  out.  lie  was  removed  to  a  private  house 
opposite  the  theatre,  and  the  surgeon-general  of  the  army  and  other 
surgeons  sent  for  to  attend  to  liis  condition. 

On  an  examination  of  tlie  private  box  blood  was  discovered  on  the 
back  of  the  cushioned  rocking-chair  on  which  the  I'residcnt  hail  hccu 
sitting,  also  on  the  partition  and  on  the  floor.  A  common  single-bar- 
.reled  pocket  pistol  was  found  on  the  carpet 

The  assassin,  John  Wilkes  Booth,  a  play-actor,  had  been  observed 
working  his  way  through  the  crowd  of  persons  towards  the  box 
occupied  by  the  presidential  party,  but  of  course  no  suspicion  was 
excited  by  the  circumstance.  When  ho  reached  the  sentry,  at  the  door 
of  the  box,  ho  was  of  course  refused  admittance ;  but  in  a  wliisper  ho 
announced  himself  as  a  senator,  and  said  the  President  had  sent  for 
him.  Ho  was  then  allowed  to  pass  in,  when  an  attendant  confronted 
in  a  low  tone  of  voice  with,  "  You  mistake,  sir ;  this  is  the  President's 
box."  Booth  graciously  begged  pardon,  turned  to  go,  and  struck  at 
liitn  with  A  knife,  inflicting  a  severe  but  not  dangerous  wound.  He 
stepped  out  of  the  box,  passed  on  to  the  second  door,  which  was  closed, 


,k„  :i:ii; 


ADMINISTUATION   OP   UNCOLN. 


758 


wfts 

loor 
ho 
for 

itcd 

kftt 

He 

)8ed, 


firod  through  it,  Btoppod  back  again  in  tho  box  at  tho  first  door,  and  in 
an  instant  had  sprung  out  upon  tho  stage.  Tho  wholo  atfair  was  tho 
•work  of  thirty  seconds. 

In  a  few  minutes  after  water  and  stimidants  l»ad  been  liandod  up  to 
tho  box,  a  way  was  cleared  through  tho  excited  and  conftiscd  crowd, 
and  tho  President  was  taken  across  to  tho  residence  of  Mr.  Peter- 
son, opposite  tho  theatre,  on  Tenth  Street,  where  ho  ren)ainod  till  ho 
expired. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  fJurlcy,  of  the  New  York  Avenue  Presbyterian  Church, 
imineuiiHcly  on  its  being  ascertaineil  that  life  was  extiiift,  knelt  at  tho 
bedside  and  offered  an  impressive  prayer,  which  was  responded  to  by 
all  present 

J)r.  Ourley  then  proceeded  to  tho  front  parlor,  where  Mp^.  Lincoln, 
Captain  Robert  Lincoln,  Mr.  John  Hay,  the  private  secretary,  and 
others,  were  waiting,  where  he  again  otfered  a  prayer  for  the  consola- 
tion of  the  family. 

The  scenes  in  the  sick  chamber  are  reported  to  liave  been  of  an  un- 
usually affecting  character.  Mrs.  Lincoln  and  her  two  sons  gave  way 
to  the  most  uncontrollable  grief  and  lamentations ;  tho  former  accusing 
lierself,  in  her  frantic  grief,  for  having  gone  to  the  theatre,  and  other 
womanly  exhibitions  of  deep  suffering,  too  sad  and  too  delicate  for 
descrijttion.  Around  the  bedside,  at  intervals,  were  Secretary  Stanton, 
who  fairly  wept  tears  at  tho  sad  spectacle.  The  President  was  insen- 
sible, and  spoke  no  word  after  ho  was  shot  At  about  half-past  eleven, 
the  motion  of  the  muscles  of  his  face  indicated  as  if  ho  were  trying,  or 
about  to  speak,  but  no  intelligible  word  escaped  him.  The  blood  from 
tho  wound  in  his  neck  interfered  with  his  breathing ;  hia  pulse  was 
low,  but  otherwise  he  seemed  to  bo  without  pain.  At  four  o'clock, 
the  symptoms  of  restlessness  returned,  and  at  six  tho  premonitions  of 
dissolution  set  in.  His  face,  which  had  boon  quite  pale,  began  to 
assume  a  waxy  transparency,  the  jaw  to  fall,  and  the  teeth  to  be  seen. 
Gradually  and  calmly,  without  a  ruffle  or  a  groa'ji,  his  spirit  passed 
away,  and  at  twenty-two  minutes  past  seven,  on  tho  morning  of  April 
16th,  all  that  bound  the  soul  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  earth  was  loosened, 
and  tho  heavenly  spark  fled  to  its  Maker.  And  so  closed  the  eventful 
career  of  one  of  tho  most  remarkable  men  of  our  country's  history,  one 
whose  lot  it  was  to  take  a  leading  part  in,  perhaps,  the  greatest  drama 
of  all  time. 

A  few  minutes  before  :ho  assassinBtion  of  the  l^resident,  a  man,  tflll, 
athletic,  and  dressed  in  lightFColcrcd  clothes,  alighted  from  a  horse  in 


760 


ADMINISTRAnoX   OF    LINCOLIT. 


front  of  Mr.  Seward's  residence  in  Madison  place,  where  the  secretary 
was  lying  very  feeble  from  recent  injuries.  Leaving  his  horse  stand- 
ing, the  stranger  rang  at  the  door,  and  informed  the  servant  who  ad- 
mitted him  that  he  desired  to  see  Mr.  Seward.  The  servant  responded 
that  Mr.  Seward  was  very  ill,  and  that  no  visitors  were  admitted. 
"  But  I  am  a  messenger  from  Dr.  Verdi,  Mr.  Seward's  physician ;  I 
have  a  prescription  which  I  must  deliver  to  him  myself."  The  servant 
still  demurring,  the  stranger,  without  further  parley,  pushed  him  aside 
and  ascended  the  stairs.  Moving  to  the  right,  he  proceeded  toward 
Mr.  Seward's  room,  and  was  about  to  enter  it,  when  Mr.  Frederick 
Seward  appeared  from  an  opposite  doorway  and  demanded  his  business. 
He  responded  in  the  same  manner  as  to  the  servant  below,  but  being 
met  with  a  refusal,  suddenly  closed  the  controversy  by  striking  Mr. 
Seward  a  severe  blow  across  the  forehead  with  the  butt  of  a  pistol. 
As  the  first  victim  fell.  Major  Seward,  another  and  younger  son  of  the 
secretary,  emerged  from  his  father's  room.  Without  a  word  the  man 
drew  a  knife  and  struck  the  major  several  blows  with  it,  rushing  into  the 
chamber  as  he  did  so ;  then,  after  dealing  the  nurse  a  horrible  wound 
across  the  bowels,  lie  sprang  to  the  bed  upon  which  the  «ecretary  lay, 
stabbing  him  two  or  three  times  in  the  face  and  neck.  Mr.  Seward 
arose  convulsively  and  fell  from  the  bed  to  the  floor.  Turning  and 
brandishing  his  knife  anew,  the  assassin  fled  from  the  room,  cleared 
the  prostrate  form  of  Frederick  Seward  in  the  hall,  descended  the 
stairs  in  three  leaps,  and  was  out  of  the  door  and  upon  his  horse  in  an 
instant.  It  is  stated  by  a  person  who  saw  him  mount  that,  although 
he  leaped  upon  his  horse  with  most  unseemly  haste,  he  trotted  away 
around  the  corner  of  the  block  with  circumspect  deliberation. 

The  miscreant  who  committed  this  act  was  Lewis  Payne  (his  real 
name  was  Powell),  the  son  of  a  Baptist  clergyman  in  Florida,  and  a 
deserter  from  the  rebel  army.  He  was  arrested  on  the  night  of  the 
1 7th,  at  the  house  of  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Surratt,  and  at  the  same  time  Mrs. 
Surratt  was  herself 'arrested.  George  A.  Atzerott,  an  accomplice  with 
Booth  and  Payne,  whose  designated  work  was  the  murder  of  Vice- 
President  Johnson,  lacked  courage  to  perform  his  work,  and  was 
arrested  on  the  20th,  at  Middlebnrg,  in  Maryland.  f  ■»ift  h<"i 

After  committing  the  fatal  deed.  Booth  mounted  his  horse,  and  was 
joined  by  David  C.  Harold,  a  young  man  whom  he  had  engaged  as 
an  accomplice  to  aid  him  in  his  escape.  They  rode  thirty-five  miles  to 
Bryantown,  Maryland,  the  residence  of  one  Dr.  Samuel  Mndd,  where 
his  fractured  leg  was  dressed.    Ho  represented  to  the  doctor  that  his 


ADM1N18TEATI0N  OF  LINC0L:M. 


761 


1 


leg  was  fractured  by  being  thrown  from  his  horse.  After  leaving 
Bryantown  they  contrived  to  cross  the  Potomac,  and  secrete  them- 
selves in  the  vicinity  of  Port  Royal,  on  the  Rappahannock  River 
where  they  were  traced  by  a  cavalry  detachment  under  Lieut. -Colonel 
Conger.  Finally  they  were  traced  to  the  house  of  a  man  named  Gar- 
rett, three  miles  from  Port  Royal.  The  cavalry  party  surrounded  the 
house  and  barn  at  two  o'clock  on  Wednesday  morning,  April  26tL, 
twelve  days  after  the  murder  of  the  President.  Booth  and  Harold 
had  taken  refuge  in  the  barn.  The  barn  was  surrounded,  and  Booth 
ordered  to  give  himself  up.  This  he  refused  to  do ;  but  Harold  thrust 
out  his  hands,  and  was  pulled  from  the  door,  tied,  and  placed  in  the 
charge  of  a  guard. 

•  When  Harold  had  come  out.  Colonel  Conger  was  satisBed  that  fur- 
ther parley  with  Booth  was  vain ;  that  he  would  not  surrender ;  and, 
passing  to  the  other  side  of  the  barn,  he  pulled  out  a  wisp  of  hay  from 
one  of  the  crevices,  and  lighting  it  by  a  match,  thrust  it  back  among 
the  hay.  Within  a  few  minutes  the  blazing  hay  lighted  up  the  inside 
of  the  barn.  Booth,  who  was  at  first  discovered  leaning  upon  a  crutch, 
threw  it  down,  and  with  a  carbine  in  his  hands,  came  towards  the 
side  where  the  fire  had  been  applied.  But  the  light  of  the  fire  inside 
prevented  him  from  seeing  who  was  on  the  outside.  He  paused, 
looked  at  the  fire  for  a  moment,  and  then  started  towards  the  door. 

When  about  the  middle  of  the  barn,  he  was  shot  by  Sergeant  Cor- 
bett,  who  had,  meanwhile,  crept  up  to  the  barn,  and  fired  through  a 
crevice  of  the  boards. 

Bo  /th  fell  on  the  floor  of  the  barn.  Colonel  Conger  and  Lieutenant 
Bak' '  immediately  entered,  and  with  the  assistance  of  two  of  the  sol- 
ders, removed  the  wounded  man,  and  placed  him  on  the  grass  outside 
the  barn.  He  appeared  to  be  insensible,  but  in  a  few  minutes  partially 
revived,  and  made  efforts  to  speak.  By  placing  his  ear  close  to 
Booth's  mouth.  Colonel  Conger  heard  him  say,  "  Tell  mother  I  die  for 
my  country." 

He  was  then  carried  to  the  porch  of  Garrett's  house.  Colonel  Con- 
ger sent  to  Port  Royal  for  a  physician,  who,  on  his  arrival,  found 
Booth  dying.  Before  the  moment  of  final  dissolution  he  repeated, 
"  Tell  mother  I  died  for  my  country.  I  did  what  I  thought  was  for 
the  best." 

When  an  effort  was  made  to  revive  him,  by  bathing  his  face  and 
hands  in  cold  water,  he  uttered  the  words,  "  useless — useless." 


W 


■Ti  ir  jji_ 


V62 


ADMINISTBA.TION   OP   UNCOLN. 


He  was  shot  at  about  Hfteen  minutes  past  three,  a.  iti.,  and  died  a 
little  after  seven,  a.  m. 

The  body  of  Booth  was  taken  to  Washingtjn,  and  was  disposed  of 
secretly,  so  that  no  one  now  knows  what  was  done  with  it  except 
those  who  had  it  in  charge.     Harold  was  sent  to  prison. 

The  parties  implicated  as  principals  and  accomplices  in  the  murdpr 
of  the  President,  were  arraigned  before  a  military  commission,  in 
Washington,  and  after  a  long  and  full  trial,  four  of  them,  viz.,  Mre. 
Surratt,  Payne,  Harold,  and  Atzerott,  were  sentenced  to  death,  and 
hung  on  Friday,  the  Itla  of  July.  Dr.  Mudd,  Arnold,  and  O'Laughlin 
are  now  in  the  Dry  Tortugas,  sentenced  to  imprisonment  for  life ;  and 
Spangler,  the  servant  of  Booth,  is  serving  out  his  sentence  of  six  years' 
in  the  same  place.  John  Surratt,  a  son  of  Mrs.  Si'rratt,  who  was  exe- 
cuted, fled  to  Europe,  but  was  pursued  and  found,  —  an  enlisted  sol- 
dier in  the  army  of  the  Pope.  He  was  captured,  and  brought  back 
for  trial. 

The  confederate  president,  Davis,  as  we  have  stated,  left  Rich- 
mond on  Sunday  noon,  April  2,  under  a  large  cavalry  escort,  taking 
his  family  with  him.  At  Danville  he  issued  a  proclamation  declaring 
that,  although  under  a  cloud,  he  would  soon  return,  and  restore  the 
fortunes  of  his  people.  The  capitulation  of  Gen.  Johnston,  howev- 
er, to  Sherman,  dispelled  all  hope  of  further  resistance  ;  and  Davis 
and  his  party  rapidly  fled  towards  Georgia.  His  design  was  to 
reach  and  cross  the  Mississippi  River,  and  escape  through  Mexico. 
After  reaching  the  borders  of  Georgia,  the  party  were  surrounded 
by  Union  cavalry,  and  were  obliged  to  direct  their  course  for  the 
coast,  with  the  hope  of  escaping  by  sea. 

Reaching  Irvvinville  on  the  9th  of  May,  they  were  intercepted 
by  a  detachment  of  the  Fourili  Michigan  Cavalry,  under  Col.  Pritch- 
ard,  and  captured.  Mr.  Davis  was  taken  to  Fortress  Monroe,  and 
put  in  close  confinement.  On  the  23d  of  May  he  was  duly  in- 
dicted for  treason  by  the  Grand  Jury  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, but,  through  various  flaws  and  formalities,  was  not  brought  up 
for  trial  till  May  13,  1867.  He  then  appeared  before  the  United 
States  Court  at  Richmond,  Va.,  and  was  admitted  to  bail  in  the  sum  of 
$100,000,  and,  on  being  set  at  liberty,  proceeded  to  Canada  to  join 
his  family  ;  where  he  afterwards  resided. 


Mr. 
P 

of  n 
theii 
Dost- 


CHAPTER  LYH. 

"•  ADMINISTRATIOF  OP  ANDREW  JOHNSON. 


N  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  April,  Andrew  Johnson 
took  the  oath  of  office,  and  entered  upon  his  duties  as 
President  of  the  United  States.  Born  in  Raleigh, 
North  Carolina,  on  the  29th  day  of  December,  1808,  he 
was  left  fatherless  at  the  age  of  four  years.  At  the  early  age  of 
ten  years,  and  without  ever  having  attended  school,  ho  was 
apprenticed  to  a  tailor  in  his  native  city.  During  his  apprenticeship 
he  learned  to  read,  and  passed  much  of  his  time  at  night  in  reading 
the  works  of  the  best  English  authors  within  his  reach.  In  1826  he 
removed  to  Greenville,  Tenn.,  taking  his  mother  along  with  him,  who 
was  dependent  upon  him  for  support.  Here  he  soon  married,  and  was 
taught  by  his  wife  all  the  branches  of  a  good  English  education,  which 
he  then  lacked.  In  1830,  at  the  age  of  twenty-two,  he  was  elected 
mayor  of  the  city,  and  five  years  later  he  was  sent  to  the  State  Legis- 
lature, and  was  afterward  frequently  re-elected.  In  1843  he  was 
elected  to  Congress,  and  served  ten  years,  when  he  was  elected  Gov- 
ernor of  his  State,  which  office  he  held  till  1857,  when  he  was  elected 
a  Senator  of  the  United  States.  In  this  capacity  he  was  acting  when 
the  rebellion  broke  out.  He  was  a  defiant  enemy  of  the  spirit  of 
secession  from  the  first;  and  by  President  Lincoln  was  appointed  Gov- 
ernor of  Tennessee,  with  full  military  power  to  protect  the  Stite.  His 
nomination  for  Vice-President  on  the  ticket  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
his  accession  to  the  office  of  President  made  vacant  by  the  death  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  have  been  already  noticed. 

President  Johnson  found  the  Southern  people  prostrate  at  the  feet 
of  national  authority,  and  his  first  care  was  to  restore  the  States  to 
their  proper  position  in  the  Union,  and  to  establish  custom-houses, 
post-roads,  and  post-offices,  &c. 

As  the  first  btep  towards  restoring  the  State  Governments,  be 


764 


AOMINISTBATION   OF  JOHNSON. 


appointed  provisional  governors  in  all  the  States  where  loyal  govern- 
ors were  not  in  power,  and  directed  them  to  call  conventions  of  dele- 
gates fresh  from  the  people,  to  revise  the  State  Constitutions,  and 
cause  them  to  harmonize  with  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

By  direction  of  these  governors,  conventions  were  held  in  every 
State,  all  ordinances  of  secession  were  repealed,  the  war  debts  were 
repudiated,  slavery  was  abolished  forever,  and  State  constitutions 
were  formed  conforming  to  the  national  authority. 

All  recognized  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  repudiation  of  the  rebel 
debt,  and  the  amendment  of  the  Constitution  of  th<  United  States 
prohibiting  slavery  wherever  the  national  authority  extends. 

This  amendment  to  the  Constitution  required  the  assent  of  twenty- 
seven  States,  or  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  States  now  in  the 
Union.  The  required  number  of  States  ratified  it,  and  tlie  abolition 
of  slavery  throughout  the  United  States  is  now  complete  and  eternal. 
.  One  of  the  duties  devolving  upon  the  Executive  has  been  to  bring 
to  trial  the  persons  guilty  of  murdering  and  otherwise  cruelly  treating 
the  Union  prisoners  of  war  in  the  hands  of  the  Southern  authorities. 
The  first  one  of  these  miscreants  brought  to  trial  was  Henry  Wirz,  by 
birth  a  Swiss,  but  a  captain  in  the  rebel  army,  and  from  the  spring  of 
1864  to  the  close  of  the  war,  the  officer  in  charge  of  the  rebel  prison 
at  Andersonville,  Georgia.  His  trial  came  on  before  a  military  com- 
mission in  the  City  of  Washington,  on  the  21st  of  August,  1865,  and 
was  completed  on  Saturday,  the  4th  of  November.  Many  hundreds 
of  witnesses  were  examined,  and  the  cruelties  they  testified  to  have  no 
parallel  in  the  history  of  civilized  men.  Suffice  it  for  the  limits  of 
this  volume  to  say,  that  the  terrible  charges  in  the  indictment  upon 
which  Wirz  was  tried  were  most  fully  proved. 

He  was  charged  with  maliciously  starving,  wounding,  maiming, 
poisoning,  worrying  with  ferocious  dogs,  and  even  killing  with  his 
own  hands,  the  prisoners  in  his  charge. 

The  cburt  found  him  guilty  of  all  these  charges,  and  sentenced 
him  to  death  by  hanging.  The  President  approved  the  sentence, 
and  the  wretch  was  hung  in  the  yard  of  the  Old  Capitol  prison,  at 
Washington,  on  Friday,  the  10th  of  November. 

During  the  year  1865,  President  Johnson  proceeded  with  the  work 
of  re-organizing  the  Southern  States  on  the  general  plan  decided  upou 
by  President  Lincoln  and  his  Cabinet,  as  it  was  then  unu^rstood.     •? 

Worthy  of  record  in  this  place  was  the  attempt  made  in  the 
months  of  July  and  August  to  contiect  Europe  and  America  b  v  tele- 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JOHNSON. 


765 


graphic  wires.  On  the  22d  of  July,  the  Great  Eastern  stearasliip, 
with  the  wire  cable  ou  board,  sailed  from  the  harbor  of  Valentia,  on 
the  coast  of  Ireland.  She  proceeded  for  eleven  days  with  but  very 
little  interruption,  paying  out  the  cable  as  she  passed  along.  On 
the  eleventh  day,  Aug.  3,  when  1,312  miles  of  the  cable  were 
laid,  and  the  ship  was  witliiu  607  miles  of  the  American  shore,  the 
cable  broke  ;  and  all  ciTortd  to  recover  it  were  unavailing. 

Ou  the  4th  of  December,  1865,  Congress  assembled ;  and  Mr. 
Johnson  delivered  his  first  message.  He  recited  all  the  steps  he 
had  taken  to  rc-organize  the  Southern  States,  and  advised  that  all 
the  representatives  from  those  States,  then  in  waiting,  should  be 
admitted  to  their  seats.  But  the  mode  of  election  at  the  South, 
and  in  many  cases  the  men  elected,  not  being  satisfactory  to  a  ma- 
jority of  Congress,  a  Joint  Committee  on  Reconstruction  was  raised, 
to  whom  was  referred  the  wliole  matter  of  arranging  for  the  recon- 
struction of  the  South.  Early  i»  the  session  a  wide  difference  of 
opinion  was  seen  to  exist  between  the  President  and  a  majority 
of  Congress.  In  January,  Cougrcfis  passed  the  Civil  Rights  Bill, 
placing  the  blacks  and  whites  of  the  South  upon  a  jicrfect  civil 
equality.  The  same  month  they  passed  a  bill  conferring  the  right 
of  suffrage  upon  the  negroes  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  In 
February,  they  passed  a  bill  enlarging  the  powers  of  the  Freedman's 
Bureau.  The  first  two  bills  were  vetoed  by  the  President,  but 
were  passed  over  the  veto.  The  latter  bill  was  vetoed  by  the  Presi- 
dent, and,  not  being  passed  by  the  requisite  two-thirds  vote  in  the 
Senate,  was  defeated. 

The  rupture  between  the  President  and  Congress  was  now  com- 
plete. On  the  22d  of  February,  the  President,  in  a  public  speech 
at  the  White  House,  denounced  several  of  the  leading  Republican 
members  of  the  Senate  as  no  better  than  traitors,  and  replied  with 
extreme  severity  to  some  of  the  speeches  made  against  him  in 
Congress.  On  the  2d  of  April,  he  issued  a  proclamation  declaring 
the  civil  war  at  an  end. 

The  passage  by  Congress,  the  veto  by  the  President,  and  the  pas- 
sage over  the  veto,  of  the  second  Freedman's  Bureau  Bill,  in  July, 
still  furtlier  excited  the  public  mind,  and  increased  the  hostility  be- 
tween the  President  and  Congress. 

On  the  6th  day  of  July,  the  steamship  Great  Eastern  again  left 
Valentia  in  Ireland,  with  the  Atlantic  cable  on  board,  and  sailed  di- 
rectly for  the  American  shore,  laying  the  cable  as  she  proceeded. 


r66 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JOHNSON. 


■N 


She  reached  Heart's  Content,  Newfoundland,  on  tbe  morning  of  the 
29th,  with  the  cubic  in  perfect  order,  and  commuuicatiou  without  iu- 
terniplion.  Not  a  mishap  had  occurred  on  the  voyage.  The  whole 
length  of  the  cable  was  1,8GG  miles,  which  was  laid  at  the  rate  of 
120  miles  per  day.  The  first  message  sent  through  it  from  Europe 
was :  "  A  treaty  of  peace  has  been  signed  between  Austria  and 
Prussia."  The  Queen  of  England  at  once  telegraphed  President 
Johnson  :  "  The  Queen  congratulates  the  President  on  the  success- 
ful completion  of  an  undertaking  which  she  hopes  may  serve  as  au 
additional  bond  of  union  between  the  United  States  and  England." 
To  which  the  President  replied,  "  The  President  of  the  United 
States  acknowledges  with  prol'ouud  gratification  the  receipt  of  her 
Majesty's  despatch,  and  cordially  reciprocates  the  hope  that  the  ca- 
ble which  now  unites  the  Eastern  and  Western  hemisplieres  may 
serve  to  strengthen  and  perpetuate  peace  and  amity  between  the  Gov- 
ernment of  Great  Britain  and  the  Republic  of  the  United  States." 
Subsequently  the  old  cable  of  18G5  was  recovered,  and  lengthened 
out  to  the  shore,  and  found  equally  as  serviceable  as  the  new  cable. 

The  strife  between  the  President  and  Congress  was  renewed  when 
Congress  assembled  in  December.  On  the  7th  of  January,  1867, 
Mr.  Ashley  of  Ohio  presented  formal  articles  of  impeachment 
against  the  President,  charging  him  with  usurpation  of  power,  vio- 
*lation  of  law,  and  a  corrupt  use  of  the  appointing,  pardoning,  and 
veto  power.  The  House  voted  down  the  charges  by  yeas  56,  nays 
109.  The  56  yeas  were  Republicans.  The  109  nays  were  68  Re- 
publican?, and  41  Democrats. 

The  Joint  Reconstruction  Committee  of  Congress  reported  several 
bills  for  the  government  of  the  Southern  States,  all  of  which  were 
vetoed  by  the  President,  and  passed  over  his  veto.  These  acts,  in 
effect,  divided  the  Statea  lately  in  rebellion  into  military  districts, 
placing  each  district  under  the  control  of  a  military  commander,  and 
taking  from  the  President  all  authority  over  them,  except  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  commanders.  A  bill  was  also  passed  taking  from 
the  President  the  power  of  appointing  civil  officers,  or  removing 
them,  except  with  the  advice  of  the  Senate  previously  obtained.  In 
fact,  nothing  was  left  undone  that  could  be  done  by  Congresato  indi- 
cate that  there  was  an  utter  want  of  confidence  on  their  part  in  the 
executive  department. 

The  State  elections  through  the  year  appeared  to  turn  in  favor  of 
the  policy  of  the  President.  This  was  clearly  the  case  in  Connecti- 
cut, California,  New  York,  Ohio,  New  Jersey,  and  Maryland. 


ADMINISTRATION   OP  JOHNSON. 


767 


The  storm  which  had  been  long  gathering  could  not  longer  be  re- 
strained. Secretary  Stanton,  the  head  of  the  War  Department,  was 
the  representative  of  the  Congressional  sentiment  in  the  Cabinet ;  and 
the  President  desired  to  get  rid  of  liim.  On  the  5th  of  September, 
he  requested  him  to  resign.  Mr.  Stanton  refused.  On  the  12th  of 
tlie  same  month,  Gen.  Grant  accepted  the  trust,  and  was  requested  to 
act  as  Secretary  of  War  ad  interim  i  and  Mr.  Stanton,  yielding,  as  he 
declared,  to  superior  force,  withdrew.  On  the  25th  of  November, 
Mr.  Boutwell  of  Massachusetts  reported  from  the  Judiciary  Com- 
mittee a  resolution,  that  President  Johnson  had  been  guilty  of  high 
crimes  and  misdemeanors,  and  asking  permission  to  introduce  arti- 
cles of  impeachment.  This  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  57  to  108. 
On  the  14th  of  January,  the  Senate  having  passed  a  resolution  dis- 
approving the  removal  of  Mr.  Stanton,  Gen.  Grant  at  once  retired 
from  the  otfice ;  and  Mr.  Stanton  resumed  his  duties.  Again  the 
President  attempted  to  remove  him,  on  the  21st  of  February,  by  ap- 
pointing in  his  place  Gen.  Lorenzo  Thomas  ;  and  again  Mr.  Stanton 
refused  to  leave. 

This  last  act  of  the  President  aroused  the  resentment  of  Congress  ; 
and  articles  of  impeachment  were  at  once  ordered  to  be  prepared, 
and  presented  to  the  Senate.  The  vote  on  this  order  was  126  to  47. 
The  following  is  the  substance  of  the  articles  of  impeachment  agreed 
upon :  — 

Article  I.  That  the  President  issued  an  order  to  remove  Secretary  Stanton  with 
intent  to  violate  the  Tenure-of- Office  Act. 

Article  II.  That  he,  by  letter,  authorized  Lorenzo  Thomas  to  act  as  Secretary  of 
War  ad  inttrim,  when  there  was  no  vacancy  in  that  office,  with  intent  to  violate  the 
same  iict. 

Article  III.  That  ho  so  authorized  Thomas  to  act  as  Secretary  with  intent  to  vio- 
late che  Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Article  IV.  That  ho  conspired  with  Lorenzo  Thomas  and  others,  by  intimidations 
ami  threats,  to  hin<ler  Mr.  Stanton  from  holding  his  office  as  Secretary  of  War,  violat- 
ing the  Constitution,  and  the  Conspiracy  Act  of  July  31,  1861,  thus  committing  a 
high  crime  in  office. 

Article  V.  That  he  conspired  with  Lorenzo  Thomas,  and  other  persons  unknown, 
to  prevent  the  execution  ot  the  Tenure-of-Office  Act,  and,  in  pursuance  of  this  con- 
spiiiicy,  atti'inptcd  to  prevent  Mr.  tstanton  from  holdi:ig  his  office  of  Secretary  of 
War,  thus  commit  ting  a  high  misdemeanor  in  office. 

Article  VI.  lliat  ho  conspired  with  Lorenzo  Thomas  to  seize  by  force  the  War 
Dopaitmont,  contniry  to  the  Conspiracy  Act,  and  with  intent  to  violate  the  Tenure- 
of- UHioc  Act,  thus  coramitung  a  high  crime  in  office. 

Article  VII.  That  ho  conspired  with  Lorenzo  Thomas  to  seize  by  force  the  War 
Department,  wiili  intert  to  viohite  the  Tenure-of-Offlce  Act,  thus  committing  a  high 
uiistlemeanor  in  office. 

Article  VIII.  That  he  delivered  to  Lorenzo  Thomas  a  letter  of  authority  to  act  as 
Secretary  of  War  Of/ jn<eriffi,  with  intent  unUiwfully  to  control  the   military  appro- 
priations, in  violation  of  the  Constitutioa  9nd  of  the  Tenure-of-Office  Act,  and  so 
committed  a  high  misdemeanor  in  office. 

Article  IX.  That  on  Feb.  22  last  he  instructed  Major-Gen.  Emory  that  that  part  of 
the  Appropriation  Act  of  March  2,  1807,  which  provides  that  all  orders  of  the  I'resi- 
dent  and  War  Department  relating  to  military  operations  shall  be  issued  through  the 
(ieiieral  of  the  Army  was  unconstitutional,  and  tried  to  induce  Emory  to  violate  it, 
by  receiving  orders  directly  from  the  President,  with  the  further  intent  to  prevent  the 


768 


ADMINISTRATION   OF  JOHNSON. 


execution  of  the  Tennre-of-OfBce  Act,  and  to  prevent  Mr.  Stanton  fk-om  holding  tlie 
office  of  Secretary  (if  Wiir. 

Article  X.  ThiU  he  ilelivered  inflammatory  and  AcandalouR  harnnf^ueH  at  Turiong 
timeD,  to  bring  contempt  upon  (Joiif^rexH.  In  t\m  chiireo,  Siieci Ileal iun  1st,  (|uoteH  a 
ipeecii  at  WuHhington,  Aug.  18,  1N(16,  about  a  body  "  hanging  on  the  verge  of  the 
Governmont." 

Specilication  2d.  The  Cleveland  Speech  of  Sept.  3,  18tI6,  "  Your  Congress  that  is 
trying  to  break  up  the  (lovernninnt,"  etc. 

Spociflcation  Hd.  I'he  St.  Louis  Speech  of  Sept.  8,  IHoe,  "  If  I  hiivn  played  the 
JudiiH,  who  has  been  mv  Christ  that  I  have  played  the  Juiias  with  V  Wa8  it  Thad. 
Stevens  V     Wan  it  VVenllell  Phillips  V  "  &c. 

These  speeches  are  charged  as  a  high  mis  'imeanor  in  office. 

Article  \l.  That  be  declared  in  a  pii!.'  ,  speech  In  Wnshington,  Aug.  Ifi,  IHrtfl 
that  the    Thirty-ninth   Congress  was   not  a  constitutional  Con>rro>i8  of  the  United 
States,  but  a  Congress  of  part  of  the  States,  thus  denying  the  validity  of  their 
legislation,  except  so  far  as  he  chose  to  approve  it;  and,  inpur^uniice  of  this  decliira- 


tion,  attempted  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the  Tennre-ot'-0(Rce  Act,  by  unlawfully 
riving  means  or  preventing  Kdwin  M.  Stanton  from  resuming  the  odice  of  Secre- 
tary of  War  when  the  Senate  had  refused  to  concur  in  his  su-^pcnsion,  nnd  also 


attempted  to  prevent  the  execution  of  the  Appropriation  Act  of  March  2,  1HG7  (as  in 
Article  I.\.),  and  also  of  the  Act  of  March  '2,  1867,  "  for  the  more  clHcient  govern- 
ment of  the  rebel  States,"  thus  committing  a  high  misdemeanor  in  otHcu. 

To  proaecutc  these  articles  before  the  Senate,  the  House  elected 
John  A.  Biughum  of  Oliio,  George  S.  Boiitwell  of  Mussaehusetts, 
James  F.  Wilsou  of  Iowa,  Benjainiu  F.  Butler  of  Massacliusetts, 
Thomas  Williams  of  Peuusylvauia,  Johu  A.  Logan  of  Illinois,  and 
Thaddeus  Stevens  of  Pennsylvania. 

For  the  defence,  the  President  selected  Henry  Stanberry  of  Ohio, 
Benjamin  F.  Curtis  of  Mas,sachusetts,  AV^illiam  M.  Evarts  of  New 
York,  William  S.  Groesbeck  of  Ohio,  and  Judge  Nelson  of  Tennessee. 

The  trial  was  formally  opened  on  Monday  the  thirtieth  day  of 
March,  and  closed  on  the  6th  of  May.  Chief  Justice  Chase  of  the 
United  States  Supreme  Court  presided.  It  was  conducted  on  both 
sides  with  transcendent  ability.  For  vavious  reasons  the  Senate  did 
not  reach  a  vote  on  either  article  until  the  14th  of  May.  Tiiey  then 
took  up  the  eleventh  article  first,  and  failed  to  pass  it  by  the  reqiii.>jite 
two-thirds  vote.  The  vote  stood  35  ayos  to  19  uoes.  Further  pro- 
ceedings were  then  postponed  to  Tuesday,  May  2(5.  On  that  day 
the  Senate  met  as  a  Court  of  Impeachment,  and  voted  on  the  second 
and  third  articles.  The  vote  was  in  each  case  the  same  as  on  the 
eleventh  article.  The  President  being  acquitted  on  all  the  articles 
voted  upon,  further  voting  was  deemed  unnecessary,  and  the  court 
thereupon  dissolved ;  on  hearing  which,  Mr.  Stanton  at  once 
vacated  the  War  Ottice,  and  Gen.  Thomas  took  formal  possession. 
The  President,  however,  immediately  nominated  Gen.  John  M. 
Schofield  of  Illinois,  for  the  place,  which  nomination  the  Senate 
confirmed,  and  order  was  once  more  restored. 

At  a  convention  of  the  National  Union  Republican  party,  held  on 
the  20th  of  May,  at  Chicago,  Gen.  Ulysses  S.  Grant  was  nominated 
for  president,  and  Schuyler  Colfax  of  Indiana  for  vice-president. 


WIIiblAM     PITT,     SON    or     TH>     XARL    O*     OBATBAIf. 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 


CANADA    UNDER  THB   BRITISH. 


i 


Uie  cultivators- 


HE  history  of  Canada  under  the  French 
has  been  given  in  a  previous  part  of 
this  work;  and  for  an  account  of  its 
conquest  by  the  British,  the  reader  is 
referred  to  Chapter  XXV.  The  popu- 
lation at  the  time  of  the  conquest  was 
about  seventy  thousand,  divided  in  a 
poor  yet  much  respected  nobility,  and 
race  frugal,  industrious,  and  moral.     General  Mur- 

769 


770 


CANADA    UNDER    inB   BRITISH. 


ray  was  appointed  governor,  and  during  his  administration  the  rights 
of  the  old  settlers  were  faithfully  guarantied  to  them.  In  fact,  the 
British  government,  immediately  after  the  conquest,  exercised  toward 
the  Canadians  a  policy  at  once  liberal  and  wise.  The  habituns,  as  they 
are  now  called,  were  secured  in  their  property,  invested  witii  the  rights 
of  citizens,  and  allowed  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  religion.  The  luws 
of  England,  both  civil  and  criminal,  including  trial  by  jury,  were  also 
introduced,  and  though  the  Fre>.ch  still  preferred,  in  many  cases,  the 
customs  reconoilod  to  them  by  habit,  they  did  not  fail  to  appreciate 
most  of  the  improvements  introduced  by  the  new  government. 

At  the  time  of  the  conquest,  the  British  residents  of  Canada,  exclu- 
sive of  military  men,  were  few  and  weak.  Some  five  hundred  traders, 
mostly  of  small  capital,  were  scattered  through  the  provinces.  They 
seem  to  have  been  but  ill-fitted  for  their  station,  often  exhibiting  a 
bigoted  spirit,  and  an  unjustifiable  contempt  of  the  French  population. 
But  owing  to  the  firmness  of  the  governor,  the  latter  were  protected  by 
aU  the  means  at  his  disposal  j  and  by  this  impartiality  not  only  were 
many  collisions  between  the  two  races  avoided,  but  the  old  inhabitants 
became  attached  to  the  governor,  and  respected  his  government. 

Little  of  historic  interest  occurred  in  the  colony  from  this  time  until 
the  revolt  of  the  Thirteen  colonies  south  of  Canada.  Tiie  importance  of 
maintaining  the  Canadians  in  a  state  of  loyalty  wiw  well  understood  by 
the  mother  country;  and  in  order  to  gratify  national  partialities,  Par- 
liament, in  1774,  passed  the  Quebec  Act,  by  which  the  English  civil 
law  was  superseded  by  the  old  French  code,  which  had  existed  before 
the  conquest.  The  only  reservation  was  that  of  the  criminal  branch, 
which  continued  similar  to  that  of  England.  The  French  language 
was  to  be  used  in  the  courts ;  but  no  provision  was  made  for  a  national 
representation.  It  is  probably  owing  to  the  latter  cause,  that  this  act, 
designed  to  effect  a  complete  reconciliation  between  the  two  races, 
failed  to  accomplish  that  object.  But  during  the  struggle  between 
Great  Britain  and  her  revolted  colonies,  the  Canadians  steadily  main- 
tained their  allegiance.  This  was  the  more  singular,  from  the  fact  that 
the  American  Congress  and  other  republican  bodies  issued  stirring  ap- 
peals to  the  inhabitants,  exhorting  them  to  join  against  the  common  foe. 
Yet  the  British,  as  though  confiding  in  the  fidelity  of  the  Canadians, 
withdrew  almost  all  their  troops  from  the  province,  in  order  to  employ 
*hem  in  the  south. 

Tt 9  Americans,  failing  in  their  attempts  to  enlist  the  Canadians  in 
their  cause,  adopted  the  bold  resolution  of  invading  Canada  with  a  view 
tiO  its  conquest.     Of  the  daring  manner  in  which  the  invasion  was  con- 


i 


filVIDED    tNTO  TWO   PR0VINCB8. 


771 


OBARiiXs   jA.uas   rox. 


ihictpd, — of  the  appalling  sufferings,  and  heroic  fortitude  of  officera 
and  men,  the  fate  of  their  leader,  and  the  ultimate  issue  of  the  expedi- 
tion, the  reader  will  find  an  account  in  the  twenty-eighth  chapter  of 
this  volume. 

From  this  time  until  the  close  of  the  American  war,  few  events  of 
sufficient  importance  to  narrate  occurred  in  Canada.  In  1783,  when 
peace  was  concluded,  numbers  of  loyalists,  obnoxious  to  the  Americans, 
passed  into  Canada,  where  they  received  liberal  grants  of  land,  and  by 
their  sobriety  and  industry  laid  the  foundation  of  the  prosperity  which 
Bubse<iuently  distinguished  the  Upper  Province.  But  the  people  were 
still  anxious  for  a  representative  government.  The  Quebec  Act  had 
DTOvided  for  the  appointment  of  a  legislative  council  of  twenty-three 


m 


i'\ 


i 


,rt' 


!  1  '  ii    k 


•72 


CANADA    UNDKR   THE   BRITISH. 


mcrabci's,  but  tlie  nomination  of  these  rested  with  the  sovcrcigfj ;  besides 
wliieh,  (ho  administration,  civil  and  military,  was  conducted  by  an  indi- 
vidual exercising  the  powers  of  governor  and  commander-in-chief. 
Hence  dissatisfaction  rather  increased  than  diminished ;  and  this  was 
the  case  more  especially,  after  the  example  of  the  United  States'  govern- 
ment  had  begun  to  operate.  In  1784,  a  petition  asking  for  a  rcpro- 
sentative  government,  and  signed  mostly  by  British  settlers,  and  by 
many  of  the  French,  was  presented  to  Parliament.  The  pf^tition  re- 
ceived but  little  attention,  until  1790,  when  Mr.  Pitt  proposed  in  Par- 
liament a  scheme  of  government  for  Canada,  based  upon  that  of  tlio 
English  constitution.  The  first  change  to  be  effected  was  the  dividing  of 
the  province  into  Upper  Canada  and  Lower  Canada,  of  which  each  was 
to  have  a  separate  constitution.  This  division  was  strongly  opposed  by 
Fox  and  other  Whig  members,  who  based  their  hopes  for  the  successful 
legislation  of  the  colony,  upon  the  reconciliation  and  ultimate  amalj^a- 
mation  of  the  two  classes  of  population.  On  the  other  hand,  Pitt  con- 
tended that  the  attempt  at  union,  when  race,  language  and  manners, 
were  so  different,  would  only  produce  dissension  and  disunion.  Ho  pre- 
vailed, and  the  measure  became  a  law.  Other  difforcncos  arose  in  Par- 
liament, concerning  the  constitution  of  the  legislative  council.  Pitt 
proposed  that  it  should  consist  of  a  hereditary  nobility,  among  whom 
were  to  be  included  the  more  respectable  Freneh  lords.  Fox  advocated 
a  ri-i.i'i.-ontative  council,  but  as  this  was  ill  received,  he  suggested  that 
the  members  be  chosen  by  the  king  for  life.  The  latter  plan  was 
adopted. 

In  1792,  the  first  house  of  Assembly,  numbering  fifty-two  members, 
was  opened  by  Lieuteimut-governor  Clai'k;  but  their  proceedings  for 
some  years  were  not  of  sufficieut  importance  to  merit  notice.  In  1798 
troubles  arose  concerning  the  granting  of  land,  the  board  appointed  for 
that  purpose  having  appropriated  large  districts  to  themselves.  Loud 
complaints  were  made  against  this  proceeding,  as  it  tended  to  prevent 
the  general  settlement  of  the  province.  Much  time  elapsed  before  this 
affair  was  adjusted.     In  1803,  slavery  was  abolished  in  Canada. 

In  1807,  Sir  James  Craig  was  appointed  governor.  Ilis  administra- 
tion forms  an  era  in  Canadian  history.  Hitherto  the  affairs  of  the  co- 
lony had  been  left  almost  entirely  to  the  discretion  of  the  executive; 
now  the  House  of  Assembly,  as  though  suddenly  conscious  of  its  im- 
portance, appeared  anxious  to  render  itself  independent.  One  of  the 
first  acts,  with  a  view  to  attain  this  object,  was  to  demand  that  the 
judges  should  be  expelled  from  their  body,  as  they  were  removable  bj 
the  crown.     Should  it  'oe  done,  the  members  offered  to  defray  th9  ex- 


•-* 


THE    REIQN   OF   TERROR. 


773 


VIBW     VROIf     THB     OITADII.     AT     XIHOSTOH. 

pensos  of  the  civil  admiuistration  from  the  funds  of  the  colnny.  The 
offer  was  nn;;;ril3'  rejected,  and  the  Assembly  dissolved.  A  new  Assem- 
bly, which  convened  in  1811,  displayed  the  same  independent  s])irit.  A 
newspaper — the  Canadian — defended  the  Assembly  and  attacked  the 
government.  The  printer  was  .sent  to  prison,  and  his  stock  destroyed. 
Several  other  individuals  were  seized,  and  a  course  pursued  by  the  execu- 
tive which  has  caused  this  "period  to  bo  designated  as  the  reign  of  terror. 
This  period  may  be  considered  as  the  beginning  of  the  dissensions  which 
have  since  agihited  the  colony;  but  at  the  time,  their  progress  was  sus- 
pended by  the  war  of  IHI'2.  The  principal  events  of  Canadian  history 
connected  with  that  war  "are  elsewhere  narrated. 

At  the  close  tif  that  war,  tlie  former  disturbances  were  renewed,  and 
have  continued  to  agitate  tlie  province  with  more  or  less  violence  to  the 
present  time.  From  1 H 1 5 — 2'.i  successive  governors  were  engaged  in 
proposing  measures  of  reform  in  the  system  of  finance;  but  their  oiForts 
wore  not  generally  seconded  by  the  Assembly.  Tn  1824,  under  the 
administration  of  Lord  D.ilhousie,  the  IIouso  of  Ilepresentjitives  con- 
demned many  of  the  former  appropriations  of  the  public  money,  and 
denied  the  right  of  the  crown  to  interfere  in  that  matter.  These  measures 
increased  the  prevailing  discontent.  In  1828,  a  petition,  complaining  of 
the  governor's  conduct,  and  urging  compliance  with  the  acta  of  Assoiu 


774 


CANADA    UNDER   THE   BRITISH. 


SIR     ROBIRT     PSai. 


hiy,  was  sent  to  the  lung.  It  contained  eigbty-seven  thousand  signatures. 
A  committee  in  the  House  of  Commons  reported  favourably  for  the  pe- 
titioners— a  measure  vpbich  gave  great  satisfaction — and  important  re- 
forms wore  in  consequence  introduced.  After  the  death  of  George  IV., 
new  disputes  arose  on  the  questions  of  making  judges  independent  of 
the  crown,  and  granting  a  permanent  provision  to  the  governor.  The 
Assembly  decided  against  the  latter,  a  result  which  placed  them  at  va- 
riance with  the  crown.  Under  Lord  Godcrich's  administration,  (1833,) 
the  breach  widened,  in  consequence  of  the  Assembly  demanding  powers 
which  that  nobleman  regarded  as  exorbitant.  In  the  same  year,  the 
Assembly  asked  that  the  legislative  council  might,  like  themselves,  be 
elected  by  the  body  of  the  people.  Lord  Stanley,  as  head  of  the  colonial 
office,  refused  in  severe  terms  to  lay  the  subject  before  the  king  j  in  con- 
■equence  of  which  the  Assembly  voted  no  supply  that  year. 


EARL   OF   G08F0BD,    QOVBRNOR. 


7^5 


When  Sir  Robert  Peel  assumed  the  direction  of  aflFairs  in  England, 
he  determined  on  sending  a  commissioner  to  Canada,  empowered  to 
examine  and  redress  every  real  grievance  which  might  be  found.  The 
overthrow  of  the  Peel  ministry  prevented  the  execution  of  this  plan. 
Soon  after,  the  Earl  of  Gosford  was  appointed  governor.  He  seems  to 
have  been  sincerely  desirous  of  reform.  His  first  intercourse  with  the 
Assembly  and  the  popular  leaders  was  amicable  and  conciliatory ;  but 
the  somewhat  harsh  character  of  his  instructions  caused  a  violent  tumult 
as  soon  as  known,  and  produced  an  open  rupture  with  the  Assembly. 
The  council  strongly  opposed  the  Representatives,  so  that  no  business 
of  importance  could  be  transacted.  A  meeting  of  the  Provincial  Par- 
liament, in  September,  1836,  failed  to  effect  a  reconciliation.  As  no 
supplies  could  be  obtained  from  the  Assembly,  the  government  was  re- 
duced to  the  alternative  of  suspending  official  operations,  seizing  sup- 
plies, or  demanding  the  interposition  of  the  mother  country.  Parliament 
promptly  decided  upon  coercive  measures,  declaring,  by  large  majorities, 
that  the  money  withheld  by  the  Assembly  should  be  seized  for  adminis- 
trative purposes,  and  that  the  executive  council  was  not  responsible  to  the 
Representatives  for  its  acts.  The  death  of  William  IV.  prpvented  these 
measures  from  becoming  laws. 

Meantime,  violent  popular  demonstrations  had  taken  place.  On 
hearing  of  tLe  movements  of  the  leaders,  the  governor  requested 
a  regiment  of  troops  from  New  Brunswick,  and  warned  the  people 
about  engaging  in  seditious  movements.  The  Assembly  denounced 
the  measures  of  Parliament,  and  declared  that,  if  carried  into  effect, 
the  colony  would  no  longer  be  attached  to  the  mother  country  by 
feelings  of  duty  or  affection,  but  by  force.  The  popular  leaders  resolved 
on  an  appeal  to  arms.  Secret  associations  were  formed,  violent  meetings 
held,  and  arras  collected.  Men  calling  themselves  the  "  Sons  of  Liberty," 
paraded  the  streets  of  Montreal.  Similar  associations  were  formed  at 
the  village  of  the  Two  Mountains.  Numbers  refused  to  obey  the  magis- 
trates ;  a  popular  militia  was  organized ;  and  many  openly  declared  a 
separation  from  the  mother  country  to  be  necessary. 

Meanwhile  government  was  on  the  alert.  Two  more  regiments  wern 
ordered  from  Nova  Scotia  and  New  Brunswick.  Volunteer  corps  of  the 
loyal  inhabitants  were  formed ;  and  various  proclamations  made  to  the 
societies  and  the  people.  In  Montreal,  a  party  of  the  "  Sons  of  Liber- 
*y"  were  defeated  and  driven  through  the  streets,  and  the  office  of  a 
liberal  paper  destroyed.  Warrants  were  issued  against  twenty-six  of 
the  popular  leaders,  and  nine  of  them  were  arrested.  Two  of  these 
were  subsequently  rescued  near  Longuevil  by  an  armed  force  of  tbr«« 


778 


CANADA   UNDER   THE   BRITISH. 


LAXB     OV    TBB    TWO     U0OMTA.IHS. 


hundred  men.  The  principal  leaders,  Papineau,  Brown,  and  Wilson, 
were  reported  to  have  taken  refuge  in  the  villages  of  St.  Denis  and  St 
Charles.  A  considerable  force,  under  Colonels  Gore  and  Wetherall,  was 
sent  against  them.  On  reaching  St.  Denis,  Colonel  Gore  found  the  en- 
trance defended  by  a  stone  house,  from  which  a  fire  of  musketry  was 
opened  upon  him.  His  eflForts  to  batter  it  down  were  unavailing ;  and 
after  a  sharp  skirmish  he  retreated.  Wetherall  attacked  St.  Charles, 
defended  by  Brown,  with  fifteen  hundred  insurgents.  The  village  was 
st(jrmed,  the  palisades  and  fortified  houses  were  set  on  fire,  and  the  gar- 
rison driven  oflF.  The  loss  of  the  insurgents  was  about  three  hundred. 
The  vindictive  measures  pursued  towards  this  unfortunate  garrison  have 
cast  a  stigma  upon  Wetherall's  memory.  Soon  after,  Gore  entered  St. 
Denis  without  resistance;  the  popular  leaders  concealed  themselves  or 
Sed  to  the  United  States,  and  the  insurrection  in  this  quarter  was 
suppressed. 

The  districts  of  Terrebonne  and  Two  Mountains,  north  of  Montreal, 
were  still  in  arms.  In  December,  Sir  John  Colborne,  commander-in- 
chief  rf  the  Canadian  army,  marched  with  thirteen  hundred  troopa 
against  St.  Eustache.  Four  hundred  insurgents  threw  themselves  into 
a  church,  which  they  defended  with  desperate  valour.  They  were  finally 
dislodged  by  the  building  being  set  on  fire.     At  St.  Benoit,  tbe  loyalists 


INSURRECTION    AT   ST.    DENIS   AND   ST.    CnARLES. 


77 


■"'IHJ:    V    ii 


m 

.Jib-] 

ill 

11 

■!   ■  ( 

S      if) 

1  ■ 

HATT    ISLAND. 


burned  the  houses  of  the  insurgents  and  committed  other  atrocities.  Simi- 
lar proceedings  took  place  at  Toronto,  and  the  neighbouring  provinces. 

In  Upper  Canada,  Mackenzie  and  other  leaders  endeavoured  to  erect 
that  province  into  an  independent  nation.  His  attempt,  on  the  4th  of 
December,  to  seize  the  government  arms,  failed.  Three  days  after,  his 
force  of  five  hundred  men  was  routed  by  a  body  of  loyalists  under 
McNab.  Mackenzie  fled  to  Buffalo,  where  he  succeeded  in  organizing 
a  corps  which  took  possession  of  Navy  Island.  After  fortifying  it  with 
thirteen  pieces  of  cannon,  he  issued  a  proclamation  inviting  volunteers 
from  Canada  and  the  United  States  About  one  thousand  joined  him, 
and  he  established  a  provisional  government.  It  was  at  this  period  that 
President  Van  Buren  issued  his  proclamation  warning  the  citizens  of 
this  country  of  the  consequences  of  j-^ining  the  opposition  to  a  friendly 
nation.  The  burning  of  the  Caroline  caused  so  much  irritation  upon 
the  border,  that  the  American  government  stationed  there  a  small  force 
under  General  Scott,  to  maintain  order. 

From  this  time  until  November,  1 838,  the  spirit  of  rebellion  slum- 
bered. On  the  3d  of  that  month,  a  concerted  rising  took  place  in  all 
the  southern  counties  of  Montreal  district.  Sharp  skiiruishing  took 
place  on  the  frontier,  during  which  an  insurgent  force  under  Dr.  Nelson 
lost  one  hundred  men,  and,  in  about  one  week,  apparent  tranquillity 


778 


CANADA    UNDER   THE   BRITISH. 


was  restored.  At  Prcscott,  four  hundred  men,  after  a  gallant  resistance 
were  captured  or  dispersed  by  a  large  British  force.  A  number  of  th« 
leaders  were  put  to  death,  and  the  remainder  condemned  to  ignominious 
punishments. 

Meantime,  the  news  of  the  former  insurrection  had  excited  great  sen- 
sation in  England.  When  the  House  of  Commons  was  about  to  rise 
for  the  Christmas  hjlidays,  a  minister  proposed  that  instead  of  post- 
poning the  time  of  meeting,  as  usual,  until  February,  they  should  meet 
on  the  16th  of  January.  At  that  time  the  constitution  of  the  lower 
province  was  suspended,  and  a  bill  passed  for  forming  a  council,  its 
members  to  be  named  by  the  queen,  which,  in  conjunction  with  the 
government,  might  exercise  the  functions  then  performed  by  the  two 
legislative  bodies.  Its  powers  were  to  terminate  on  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber, 1840,  and  the  validity  of  their  enactments  two  years  afterwards. 
The  Earl  of  Durham,  a  mild  and  liberal  statesman,  was  appointed  go- 
vernor-general of  Canada,  with  instructions  to  carry  these  measures  into 
immediate  effect.  On  his  arrival  at  Quebec,  (May  29,  1838,)  he  was 
cordially  received  by  all  parties.  In  his  progress  through  the  country, 
as  far  as  Upper  Canada,  he  met  with  similar  expressions  of  confidence. 

This  prospect  of  reconciliation  was  quickly  clouded.  Nelson,  IJou- 
chette,  Viger  and  other  popular  leaders,  were  in  the  Montreal  jail, 
charged  with  high  treason.  Government  considered  it  necessary  that 
they  should  be  visited  by  exemplary  punishment.  Yet  an  impartial 
jury  could  not  be  expected  for  their  trial,  which  would  besides  inflame 
all  the  rancour  and  party  animosity  which  it  was  his  lordship's  object 
to  appease.  In  this  dilemma  he  adopted  a  course  that  would  enable 
him,  as  he  hoped,  to  avoid  both  evils.  After  the  prisoners  had  been 
induced  to  make  a  confession  of  their  guilt,  they  were  sentenced  to  be 
sent  to  Bermuda,  and  there  kept  in  strict  surveillance.  Should  they  at 
any  time  return  to  Canada  without  permission  from  the  governor,  they 
would  be  punishable  by  death.  Papineau,  and  others  who  had  escaped, 
received  the  same  sentence.  This  measure  produced  much  excitement 
in  the  British  Parliament.  Lord  Brougham  declared  it  illegal,  as  it 
condemned  to  death  without  trial,  and  to  transportation  to  a  colony 
which  was  not  within  the  governor-general's  jurisdiction.  As  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  case  were,  however,  extraordinary,  he  proposed  a  vote 
of  indemnity,  in  favour  of  the  governor-general.  Lord  Durham's  mea- 
sures were  accordingly  annulled.  On  receiving  information  of  these 
acts,  the  governor-general,  deeply  mortified,  publicly  announced  his  in- 
tention to  resign.  He  did  not  even  follow  the  customary  routine  of  re- 
questing permission  from  the  crown,  and  waiting  until  he  had  received  it 


EARL  OF   DURHAM,  GOVERNOR. 


779 


TORONTO. 


and  in  aimouncing  the  disallow.ance  of  his  ordinance,  he  commented  on 
the  decision  (if  Parliament  with  a  severity  which  was  considered  irregu- 
lar, as  it  tended  to  compromise  the  royal  authority.  On  the  1st  of  No- 
vember, two  days  before  the  last-mentioned  insurrection,  he  sailed  from 
Quebec,  and  on  the  26th  landed  at  Plymouth. 

During  the  winter  of  1838  <'ind  the  ensuing  summer,  (1839,)  the  Ca- 
nadian provinces  were  tolerably  tranquil.  Much  interest  was  excited 
by  the  proposal  for  a  union  between  Upper  and  Lower  Canada — a  mea- 
sure warmly  recommended  by  Lord  Durham.  A  proposition  to  that 
cflPect  was  before  the  British  ministry  in  1839,  and  the  House  of  As- 
sembly in  the  upper  province  was  favourably  disposed  toward  it.  But 
objections  from  other  quarters  caused  its  postponement  for  that  year. 
A  bill  was  passed  to  continue  the  extraordinary  powers  under  which 
Sir  John  Colborne  administered  the  affairs  of  the  lower  province;  and 
in  the  fall,  Poulctt  Thompson  was  nominated  to  the  important  office  of 
governor-general.  Under  this  gentleman  and  his  immediate  successor, 
government  adopted  a  system  of  conciliation,  directed,  of  course,  to  the 
retaining  of  Canada  as  a  province  of  the  mother  country.  Several 
prominent  patriots  were  admitted  into  the  executive  and  legislative  coun- 
cils, and  even  to  the  highest  offices.  Yet  dissatisfaction,  more  or  less 
general,  still  existed ;  and  the  populace  lost  no  opportunity  of  appro- 
priating the  advantages  of  ohauce  to  their  own  purposes. 


■i,r  ii. 


-Ijiiiiiiiiii. 


780 


CANADA    UNDER   THE   BUITISH. 


From  this  time  sntil  the  year  1848,  little  of  historical  interest  tran- 
spired in  Canada.  The  country  remained  in  an  unsettled  state,  and  in 
various  quarters  strong  opposition  was  manifested  from  time  to  time,  to 
the  measures  of  the  parent  government.  Some  of  the  governors  who 
succeeded  Lord  Durham  rendered  themselves  odious  by  opposing  popu- 
lar acts  passed  or  recommended  by  the  Assembly.  To  these  difficulties 
was  added  the  antipathy  between  the  two  principal  elements  of  the 
population.  The  descendants  of  the  original  French  settlers  of  Canada 
nnd  those  of  the  British  settlers  cannot  coalesce.  Differences  of  reli- 
gion, of  manners,  of  ideas,  of  living,  instead  of  disaippearing,  seem  to 
increase  yearly.  The  position  of  the  governor  is  consequently  a  delicate 
one,  frequently  involving  a  sacrifice  of  the  ir'jrest  of  one  race  to  those 
of  the  other.  This  has  been  one  principal  cause  of  tbe  failure  of  Bri- 
tish legislation  to  produce  legislative  and  social  concord  in  the  province. 
This  fact  became  strikingly  apparent  in  1848,  when  dissatisfaction  per- 
vaded all  Canada;  and  in  the  following  year,  when  this  dissatisfaction 
resulted  in  the  serious  riots  at  Montreal  and  other  places. 

Such  was  the  popular  feeling  in  the  province,  when,  under  the  governor- 
ship of  Lord  Elgin,  the  Canadian  leaders  formed  the  "  British  American 
League,"  which  has  been  rendered  memorable  by  the  unexpected  events 
that  occurred  during  its  existence.  Its  objects  were  of  a  general  nature 
— "to  decide  upon  and  publish  (such  was  their  language  to  the  people) 
a  declaratioii  of  their  opinions,  upon  the  commercial  and  political  ques- 
tions of  the  day."  The  means  to  be  employed  for  this  purpose  were 
expressed  in  a  single  word — "  organization."  On  the  19th  of  April,  1849, 
tne  League  met  at  Montreal,  to  elect  its  officers,  and  frame  an  address 
to  the  people  of  Canada.  In  this  paper,  after  mentioning  the  "com- 
mercial distress  and  general  depression  in  every  department  of  industry," 
and  disclaiming  all  intention  to  propose  remedial  measures,  the  League 
enumerated  several  causes  of  the  national  difficulties.  "  The  diversity 
of  national  origin,  in  itself  so  potent  an  impediment  to  progress ;  the 
system  of  representation  j  the  tenure  of  lands  in  the  lower  province ; 
the  composition  of  the  legislative  council,  and  many  other  topics  of  far 
too  great  importance  to  be  approached  without  caution  or  toxiched  with- 
out dispassionate  inquiry  by  the  people  at  large — all  point  to  the  neces- 
sity of  concentrating  and  asserting  public  opinion  upon  such  matters." 
The  address  led  to  a  warm  discussion,  during  which  the  most  liberal 
opinions  on  the  subject  of  dissolving  the  connection  with  Great  Britain 
were  openly  broached.  Meanwhile,  the  people  loudly  complained  of 
grievances,  and  one  or  two  papers  openly  advocated  secession  from  Great 
Britain  and  annexation  to  the  United  States.    Exciting  debates  took 


LORD   ELGIN,   GOVERNOR. 


731 


place  in  tbt  Assembly.     New  names  were  added  daily  to  the  Ast  of  the 
League 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs  when  a  rumor  became  general  that  Lord 
Elgin  would  sanction  a  measure  known  as  the  "llcbollion  Losses  Bill." 
It  provided  for  indemnifying  those  who  had  sustained  losses  through 
the  insurrections  of  the  province — among  whom,  through  a  singular 
oversight  of  legislation,  were  several  who  had  been  outlawed  by  Lord 
Durham,  for  participating  in  the  commotions  for  which  iudoninity  was 
to  be  granted.  The  former  loyalist  party  were  greatly  incensed.  Moba 
collected  in  various  quarters,  anxiously  inquiring  the  news.  On  the 
afternoon  of  April  25,  the  governor  repaired  to  the  council-chamber, 
whore  he  signed  forty-eight  bills.  The  "Rebellion  Bill"  was  one  of 
them.  Reports  of  this  proceeding  spread  so  rapidly,  that  before  Lord 
Elgin  left  the  chamber,  fil'tcon  hundred  persons  had  surrounded  it.  On 
entering  his  carriage;,  the  governor  was  pelted  with  stones  and  other 
missiles.  In  one  hour,  all  Montreal  was  in  commotion.  While  alarm 
bells  were  ringing,  men  passed  through  the  streets  crying  aloud  that  a 
popular  meeting  would  take  place  that  evening  at  the  Champs  de  Mars. 
Five  thousand  people  assembled.  Resolutions  of  a  most  decided  charac- 
ter were  passed.  One  speaker  mounted  a  chair,  and  with  a  loud  voice 
announced  "  We  have  passed  resolutions  enough — they  have  been  dis- 
regarded. The  time  for  action  has  arrived."  Deafening  cheers  inter- 
rupted him.  "To  the  Parliament-house,"  shouted  the  orator.  The 
words  were  echoed  amid  tremendous  uproar,  and  with  lighted  torches 
dancing  over  their  heads  in  every  direction,  the  masses  moved  at  a  fu- 
rious pace  toward  the  legislative  chamber.  At  ten  o'clock  eight  thousand 
persons  were  in  front  of  the  legislative  buildings.  The  Assembly  was  in 
full  session,  having  their  hall  brilliantly  lighted.  A  loud  crash  announced 
to  the  members  their  danger,  and  the  glass  panes  were  dashed  in 
by  thick  showers  of  stones  which  poured  through  the  windows.  The 
terrified  Assembly  rose  and  rushed  together  into  the  lobby.  The  next 
moment,  one  hundred  men,  completely  armed,  entered  the  hall.  One 
of  them  took  possession  of  the  speaker's  chair,  another  carried  away  the 
mace.  Others  chopped  to  pieces  the  furniture.  Some  cried  fire.  The 
members,  clerks,  and  ladies,  led  by  Colonel  Gugy,  collected  in  a  body, 
and  rushing  through  the  hall,  escaped  at  the  principal  door.  The  build- 
ings were  discovered  to  be  on  fire.  In  fifteen  minutes  the  Assembly 
hall  was  in  flames ;  by  midnight  the  whole  was  one  mass  of  ruins.  Out- 
side, an  immense  mob  gazed  upon  the  spectacle  in  stupid  wonder.  The 
troops  had  now  arrived  in  considerable  numbers.  They  were  enthu- 
siasticaLy  cheered,  but  could  do  nothing  tc  arrest  the  flames.     All  tha 


p| 


789 


CANADA   UNDER  THE   DRITISn. 


public  records  and  documents,  the  recent  bills,  and  the  public  library, 
were  consumed  with  the  buildings.  The  loss  of  the  books,  an  immense 
collection,  on  the  early  history  of  the  province,  was  irreparable.  A 
picture  of  the  Queen  was  destroyed  in  the  streets.  Before  morning  the 
mob  had  dispersed. 

Next  day,  four  of  the  popular  leaders  were  arrested  on  a  charge  of 
arson.  Three  thousand  persons  followed  tliinii  to  the  prison,  and  great 
excitement  prevailed  j  but  the  "  liberal"  chiefs  exerted  themselves  suc- 
cessfully to  prevent  an  outbreak.  Troops  continued  to  arrive  through- 
cut  the  day,  but  seem  to  have  made  no  efforts  to  prevent  the  assembling 
of  large  concourses  of  people.  Several  houses  of  obnoxious  persons 
wore  attacked,  and  another  meeting  was  called  to  deliberate  upon  the 
eondition  of  the  province.  It  voted  a  petition  to  the  queen,  demanding 
the  immediate  recall  of  Lord  Elgin.  The  governor  imprudently  armed 
five  hundred  young  Frenchn\en,  and  placed  them  among  his  escort, 
thus  augmenting  the  irritation  of  the  "British  party,"  as  the  more  nu- 
n  erous  po.xion  of  the  people  styled  themselves.  The  escort,  known  as 
*'  Lord  Elgin's  guard,"  were  hoot«d  and  threatened ;  and  the  governor 
burned  in  effigy.  The  popular  leaders  exerted  themselves  to  arrest  this 
dangerous  tendency  toward  rioting;  and  by  the  1st  of  May,  order  had 
been  restored  throughout  the  provinces.  On  the  10th,  fresh  disturb- 
ances occurred  at  Montreal.  While  the  governor-general,  with  the  minis- 
try, and  a  large  number  of  radical  members,  were  at  a  dinner  given  at 
5  itus's  hotel,  five  hundred  men  surrounded  the  building,  and  demanded 
an  entrance.  A  scuffle  ensued,  during  which  shots  were  fired  from  the 
hotel,  and  several  of  the  people  were  wounded.  The  affair  terminated, 
hDwever,  without  any  event  more  serious. 

'HE  more  recent  history  of  Canada  has  been 
marked  by  political  qniet  and  a  rapid  material 
advancement.  There  was  a  period,  after  the  popu- 
lar disturbances  above  narrated,  when  the  idea  of 
annexation  to  the  United  States  was  publicly  dis- 
cussed in  certain  quarters,  and  gained  a  number  of 
advocates;  but  the  sentiment  was  of  bat  brief  duration,  and 
'  never,  indeed,  was  extensively  entertained.  The  judicious  and 
conciliatory  treatment  of  the  Home  Government  was  sufficient 
to  restore  perfect  loyalty  of  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  colony. 
The  two  districts.  Upper  Canada  (or  Canada  West)  and  Lower  Canada 
(or  Canada  East),  after  remaining  separate  governments  for  some  years, 
were  again  united ;  and,  under  a  succession  of  able  governors,  and  the 
'iberal  measures  of  reform  and  progress  introduced,  have  gone  on  in  a 


PROSPERITY   or  CANADA. 


caropr  of  prosperous  development.  The  local  Icgialatnrc,  or  Provin- 
cial Parliament,  is  composed  of  a  Legislative  Council  of  forty-four 
members,  selected  by  the  crown,  and  retaining  office  for  life,  and  a 
Legislative  Assembly,  consisting  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  members, 
who  are  chosen  by  the  people.  Its  legislation  must  receive  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  crown,  before  becoming  of  binding  efficacy;  and  this  au- 
thority is  vested  in  the  Governor-General,  who  may  also  reserve  bills 
for  reference  to  the  Home  Government.  Of  late  years,  the  exclusive 
control  of  the  Post-Office,  the  Revenue,  and  other  leading  matters,  has 
been  granted  to  the  colonial  government;  and, generally,  the  province 
may  be  regarded  as  being,  in  every  essential,  an  independent  govern- 
ment, having  its  executive,  legislative,  and  judicial  departments  mod- 
elled alter  the  mother  country,  and  managing  its  affairs  in  its  own 
way.  A  very  liberal  franchise  exists,  so  that  the  ballot  box  is  nearly 
as  free  as  in  the  United  States.  The  executive  consists  of  a  erovernor- 
genoral,  appointed  by  the  crown,  and  a  council  appointed  ^•y  the  gov- 
ernor; the  members  of  the  latter  being  selected  from  the  Legislature, 
directing  the  different  departments,  and,  like  the  British  ministry, 
holding  office  only  so  long  as  they  are  supported  by  a  Parliamentary 
majority. 

The  advancement  of  Canada,  in  all  that  makes  a  prosperous  and 
powerful  state,  has,  as  we  have  remarked,  been  rapid  and  extensive  for 
the  past  few  years.  Its  population  has  more  than  doubled  since  1840, 
and  has  attained  to  nearly  three  millions.  In  agriculture,  manufac- 
tures, and  productive  industry  generally,  decided  progress  has  been 
made.  Numerous  canals,  railroads,  and  other  works  of  internal  im- 
provement, have  been  perfected,  requiring  the  expenditure  of  large 
amounts  of  money.  In  1850  there  were  over  fifteen  hundred  miles 
of  railroad  completed  in  the  province.  Its  commerce  also  has  expe- 
rienced a  great  increase,  the  exports  running  up  from  £2,669,998  in 
1850,  to  a  value  of  £5,950,325  in  1855,  and  yearly  increasing  since. 
A  prominent  cause  of  this  commercial  increase  was  the  adoption  of 
the  Reciprocity  Treaty  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
in  1854.  By  this  treaty,  the  British  colonies  were  permitted  to  enter 
upon  a  system  of  free  trade,  in  many  important  articles,  with  the 
American  States;  and  a  mutual  free  interchange  of  productions  has 
led  to  a  largely  extended  commerce,  resulting  in  marked  benefit  to 
Canada.  More  land  is  yearly  being  brought  under  cultivation,  its 
towns  are  advancing  in  prosperity,  increased  business  is  furnished  for 
its  railroads,  and  its  tonnage  shows  a  yearly  growing  importance.  In 
addition  to  its  ordinary  shipping,  important  steam  communications 


rim 


784 


CANADA   UNDER  THE  BUITISH. 


h»>e  boon  established,  and  powerful  screw  Htearaors  connect  ita  cliief 
aties  with  Liverpool  and  other  ports  of  Europe.  • 

With  this  material  growth,  the  prof,M-css  in  educational  and  religions 
matters  has  quite  corresponded.  In  short,  Canada,  with  its  intelligent 
and  enterprising  population,  its  healthy  climate,  its  developed  pros- 
perity, and  its  area  of  over  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square 
miles,  including  boundless  resources,  is  the  most  magjitiiient  colonial 
possession  of  the  British  crown,  and,  in  reality,  an  enipre  in  itselt 


SOUTH  AIMERICA. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CONFEDEEATION. 

'  HE  thirteen  provinces  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  which 
constitute  the  Argentine  Confederation,  comprehend 
a  hirge  part  of  the  surface  of  South  America.  The 
river  Rio  Negro  has  been  fixed  as  their  southern 
boundary ;  the  mouth  of  this  river  is  near  latitude 
41°  S.  The  parallel  of  22°  S.  lat.  chiefly  constitutes 
the  northern  boundary  line.  On  the  west,  they  are  divided  by 
the  Andes  from  Chili  and  Bolivia,  and  on  the  east  separated 
from  Paraguay  by  the  river  Paraguay,  and  from  Brazil  and  Uru- 
guay by  the  river  Uruguay.  The  area  of  the  Confederation  is 
estimated  at  seven  hundred  and  eighty-six  thousand  square  miles,  and 
the  population  at  something  less  than  one  million. 

Tliough  Amerigo  Vespucci  sailed  along  the  coast  before  the  end  of 
the  15th  century,  it  does  not  appear  that  he  observed  the  wide  estu- 
ary of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata.  It  was  discovered  by  Juan  Diaz  de  Soils, 
who  was  sent  to  these  parts  in  1512  by  the  Spanish  government,  and 
he  took  possession  of  it,  but  did  not  form  a  settlement. 

Sebastian  Cabot  was  sent  from  Spain,  in  1530,  to  make  discoveries 
in  South  America.  He  traversed  the  La  Plata,  and  following  the 
course  of  the  Rio  Parand  to  its  confluence  with  the  Paraguay,  sailed 
np  the  first-mentioned  river,  but  being  prevented  from  proceeding  far 
by  shoals  and  cataracts,  he  entered  the  Paraguay,  which  he  ascended 

786 


786 


SOUTH  AMEKICA. 


to  a  point  above  the  place  where  Asuncion  is  situated.  He  built  also 
a  smaU  fort  at  the  place  where  the  Rio  Tcrcero,  or  rather  the  Carcara- 
fiiil  joins  the  ParanA  (32°  30'  S.  lat.,)  which  he  called  Santo  Spiritu, 
whicli  however  was  destroyed  by  the  Indians  soon  after  his  departure. 
The  favorable  account  that  he  gave  of  the  country  called  Paraguay, 
induced  the  Spaniards  to  send  a  considerable  force  to  these  parts  un- 
der the  Adelantado  Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza,  in  1534,  who  built  a  fort 
near  the  spot  on  which  the  town  of  Buenos  Ayres  now  stands ;  and 
he  then  sailed  to  Paraguay  to  found  the  town  of  Asuncion.  The  fort 
was  soon  destroyed  by  the  Indians.  The  Spaniards  concentrated  their 
forces  in  Paraguay,  and  from  thence  they  gradually  began  to  establish 
their  settlements  over  the  country. 

In  1573,  Don  Juan  de  Garay  founded  the  town  of  Santa  F6.  In 
the  mean  time  other  Spaniards,  who  for  some  time  before  had  held  un- 
disturbed possession  of  Alto  Peru,  or  the  present  republic  of  Bolivia, 
a  Ivanced  southward,  passed  the  Abra  de  Cortaderas,  and  founded 
Salta,  Tucuraan,  and  Cordova,  about  the  same  time  that  Garay  built 
Santa  F6.  The  town  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  founded  by  Garay  in  1580. 
He  built  a  fort  aufficiently  strong  to  repel  the  attacks  of  the  Indians. 
All  the  countries  thus  conquered  were  joined  to  the  viceroyalty  of 
Peru,  of  which  they  formed  a  portion  until  1777,  when  Buenos  Ayres 
was  divided  from  it,  and  constituted  a  separate  viceroyalty. 

"N  1805  the  town  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  taken  by  the 
British,  but  they  were  soon  expelled.  In  1807  the  city 
jwas  again  unsuccessfully  attacked  by  a  British  force  under 
.General  Whitelocke,  who  on  his  return  to  England  was 
tried  by  court-martial  for  incapacity,  and  cashiered.  The 
/inhabitants  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  like  those  of  the 
?other  Spanish  colonies,  did  not  submit  to  the  authority  of  Jo- 
seph Bonaparte,  and  in  1810  they  organized  an  independent 
government  in  the  name  of  king  Ferdinand  VTI.  The  loyalty 
of  the  leading  men  who  had  assumed  power  was  however  from 
the  first  of  a  doubtful  character.  The  form  of  government  was  fre- 
quently changed  :  Buenos  Ayres,  on  the  one  hand  endeavoring  to  se- 
cure its  supremacy,  while  the  other  provinces  sought  to  obtain  a  na- 
tional government  with  equal  rights  for  the  several  provinces.  From 
1813  to  1816  the  Sovereign  Assembly  had  the  chief  power,  and  its 
meetings  were  held  at  Tucuman,  which  was  the  scat  of  government. 
On  the  dissolution  of  this  l^ody  in  April,  1816,  a  General  Congress 
was  called,  which,  on  July  Uth,  declared  the  independence  of  the 
*•  United  Provinces  of  the  Rio  do  la  Plata."     General  Puyerredon  was 


to   acki 


THE  ARGENTINE  CONFEBERATTON. 


7S7 


named  "  Supreme  Director,"  an  oflRce  which  lasted  till  1 820.  For  the 
next  four  yo<ars  the  provinces  remained  in  an  isolated  position,  when 
another  General  Conrjrcss  was  called,  which,  after  long  discussions,  pro* 
mulgated  in  182G  a  constitution,  the  1th  article  of  which  declared  that 
"the  Argentine  nation  adopts  for  its  government  the  republican  rep- 
resentative form,  consolidated  in  a  unity  of  representation."  This, 
known  as  the  Unitarian  Constitution,  lasted  a  very  short  time.  The 
several  provinces  withlield  their  approval,  civil  war  again  raged,  in 
1827  the  Congress  was  dissolved,  and  the  provinces  returned  to  their 
state  of  isolation.  Meanwhile  war  had  been  declared  between  the  re- 
public and  Brazil,  and  Buenos  Ayrcs  was  blockaded  by  a  Brazilian 
fleet  from  January,  1826,  to  October,  1828,  when  the  blockade  was 
put  an  end  to  by  British  intervention. 

In  January,  1831,  the  provinces  of  Buenos  Ayres,  Entre  Rios,  Cor- 
riontcs,  and  Santa  F6  entered  into  a  federal  compact,  to  which  all  the 
other  provinces  at  subsequent  periods  became  parties.  The  union  was 
a  voluntary  alliance.  No  general  constitution  was  promulgated,  and 
the  adhesion  of  the  several  members  was  left  to  be  secured  by  the  re- 
sources of  the  person  who  might  obtain  the  direction  of  affairs.  This 
Argentine  Confederation,  like  the  republic  which  it  had  succeeded,  soon 
fell  into  a  state  of  anarchy,  and  it  was  not  till  the  election  of  General 
Rosas  as  Governor  or  captain-general,  with  almost  absolute  power,  in 
1835,  that  even  temporary  quiet  was  secured.  By  this  arrangement 
the  provinchi)  governnjent  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  invested  with  extra- 
ordinary powers,  and  temporarily  charged  with  the  transaction  of  all 
matters  appertaining  to  the  common  interests  of  the  Confederation, 
and  the  carrying  out  of  its  business  with  foreign  nations.  Rosas  had 
previously  served  as  Governor  and  captain-general  for  Buenos  Ayres 
for  the  usual  term  of  three  years,  and  had  obtained  unrivalled  influence 
in  that  province,  chiefly  through  his  military  prowess,  as  displayed 
against  the  Indians.  His  decision  and  energy  secured  for  awhile  in- 
ternal peace,  and  the  provinces  began  to  recover  from  the  cflPects  of 
tlie  long  prevalent  anarchy.  But  cruelty  and  despotism  marked  his 
sway  at  home,  and  his  ambition,  which  constantly  prompted  him  to 
endeavor  to  extend  his  power  over  the  whole  country  watered  by  the 
Plata  and  the  Parang,  led  him  into  disputes  with  foreign  powers;  and 
these  ultimately  brought  about  his  downfall.  His  commercial  policy 
had  for  its  object  to  secure  to  Buenos  Ayres  the  monopoly  of  the 
trade  of  the  I'lata — his  political  policy  to  obtain  a  like  territorial  su- 
periority. On  the  death  of  Francia,  dictator  of  Paraguay,  he  refused 
to  acknowledge  the   independence  of  that  power,  insisting  that  i» 


r88 


SOUTH  AMERICA, 


should  join  the  Argentine  Confederation,  at  the  same  time  he  refused 
to  allow  the  navigation  of  the  Paran4  by  vessels  bound  to  Paraguay. 
Lopez,  the  new  dictator  of  Paraguay,  therefore  entered  into  alliance 
with  the  Banda  Oriental,  now  called  Urugua}',  witli  which  Rosas  was 
at  war.  These  powers  applied  for  assistance  to  Brazil.  The  war  was 
prolonged  until  the  whole  country  on  both  sides  of  tlie  Plata  and  Pa- 
rand  was  in  a  state  of  confusion.  On  the  earnest  appeal  of  the  mer- 
chants and  others  interested,  Great  Britain  volunteered  her  mediation, 
but  it  was  rejected  by  Rosas,  who  marched  his  troops  within  a  few 
miles  of  Monte  Video,  which  his  fleet  at  the  same  time  blockaded. 
Tlhe  emperor  of  Brazil  now  interfered,  and  sent  a  special  mission  to 
request  the  interposition  of  the  courts  of  London  and  Paris.  The 
British  and  French  governments,  in  February,  1845,  decided  on  send- 
ing plenipotentiaries  to  the  Plata,  to  offer  their  mediation,  and  to  an- 
nounce their  intention  to  enforce  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  if  needful, 
by  an  armed  intervention.  The  offer  was  rejected  by  Rosas,  but  readi- 
ly accepted  by  his  opponents.  The  United  fleets  of  England  and 
France  at  once  commenced  operations  by  seizing  the  fleet  of  Rosas, 
which  was  blockading  Monte  Video,  and  the  island  of  Martin  Garcia, 
which  commands  the  entrances  of  the  Paran4  and  the  Uruguay.  The 
harbor  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  at  the  same  time  declared  under  block- 
ade, and  the  combined  fleet  prepared  to  open  the  Parand,  and  convoy 
as  far  as  Corrientes  any  merchant  vessels  that  might  desire  to  ascend 
that  river.  Rosas  on  his  part  made  hasty  preparations  to  intercept  the 
fleet  by  planting  batteries  with  parks  of  heavy  artillery  at  Point  Obli- 
gado,  and  placing  three  strong  chains  across  the  river,  supported  by 
twenty-four  vessels  and  ten  fire-ships.  On  the  19th  of  November, 
1 845,  the  combined  fleet,  consisting  of  eight  sailing  and  three  steam  ves- 
sels, forced  the  passage  with  trifling  loss  to  itself,  but  entirely  destroy- 
ing the  batteries  and  considerably  injuring  the  army  of  Rosas.  On 
the  return  of  the  fleet,  with  a  convoy  of  one  hundred  and  ten  vessels, 
it  was  encountered  at  San  Lorenzo  by  a  very  powerful  battery,  which 
Rosas  had  erected  in  an  admirable  position,  in  the  full  expectation  of 
destroying  a  large  number  of  the  merchant  vessels,  and  of  crippling 
the  naval  force.  The  battery  commanded  the  river,  and  was  difficult 
of  attack  by  the  steamers,  but  it  was  speedily  silenced  by  a  rocket- 
brigade,  which  bad  been  the  previous  night  secretly  landed  on  a  small 
island  in  the  river.  The  combined  fleet  escaped  with*  trifling  loss. 
The  loss  to  the  Argentine  army  was  very  great.  Again  plenipoten- 
tiarips  were  sent  out  by  the  combined  powers,  but  Rosas  refused  to 
yield;  and  England  withdrew  from  the  blockade  in  July,  1848.     It 


THE  ARGENTINE   CONFEDERATION. 


789 


was,  however,  continued  by  France  until  January,  1849.  On  the  final 
withdrawal  of  the  two  great  powers  in  1850,  Brazil  determined  on  ac- 
tive interference.  The  power  of  Rosas,  essentially  despotic,  and  de- 
voted to  the  maintenance  of  the  supremacy  of  Buenos  Ayres,  had 
moreover  become  intolerable  to  the  provinces,  which  desired  a  federal 
and  equal  union.  Accordingly,  toward  the  close  of  1850,  Brazil,  Uru- 
guay, and  Paraguay  entered  into  a  treaty,  to  which  Corrientes  and 
Entre  Rios,  as  represented  by  General  Urquiza,  became  parties,  by 
which  they  bound  themselves  to  continue  hostilities  until  they  had 
effected  the  deposition  of  Rosas,  "  whose  power  and  tyranny "  they 
declared  to  be  "  incompatible  with  the  peace  and  happiness  of  this  pari 
of  the  world."  Early  in  the  spring  of  1851  a  Brazilian  fleet  blockaded 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  soon  after  an  Argentine  force,  commanded  by  Ur- 
quiza, crossed  the  Uruguay.  The  struggle  was  now  virtually  termi- 
nated. General  Oribe,  who  commanded  the  army  of  Rosas  in  Monte 
Video,  made  a  show  of  resistance,  but  it  was  merely  to  gain  time  in 
oraer  to  complete  his  arrangements  with  Urquiza,  and  he  soon  after 
capitulated.  His  soldiers  for  the  most  part  joined  the  army  of  Ur- 
quiza, who,  at  the  head  of  a  force  amounting  it  is  said  to  Y0,000 
men,  crossed  into  Buenos  Ayres.  A  general  engagement  was  fought 
on  the  plains  of  Moron,  February  2d,  1851,  when  the  army  of  R'das 
was  entirely,  defeated.  Rosas,  who  had  commanded  in  person,  suc- 
ceeded in  escaping  from  the  field ;  and,  in  the  dress  of  a  peasant,  he 
reached  in  safety  the  house  of  the  British  minister  at  Buenos  Ayi  »8. 
From  thence,  with  his  daughter,  he  proceeded  on  board  H.  M.'a 
steamer  Locust,  and  on  the  10th  of  February  sailed  in  the  Conflict/ 
steamer  for  England. 

UT  the  fall  of  the  tyrant  did  not  bring  peace  to  the 
unhappy  country.    Urquiza,  by  the  governors  of  the 
provinces  assembled  at  San  Nicolas,  was  invested 
with  the  chief  power,  and  appointed  Provisional  Di- 
rector of  the  Argentine  Confederation.     The  Cham- 
'  ber  of  Representatives  of  Buenos  Ayres,  however,  declared 
against  him,  and  protested  against  the  proceedings  of  the 
^convention,  on  the  ground  of  the  superior  privileges  of  Bueno' 
'Ayres  being  menaced.     Urquiza  dissolved  the  Chamber,  an'' 
insurrection  broke  out.     Civil  war,  with  all  its  aggravated  evil* 
continued.     February,  1863,  Buenos  Ayres  was  in  a  state  of  siege. 

The  condition  of  the  country  in  the  few  years  following  has  bei.n 
one  of  comparative  quiet.  The  province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  however, 
continued,  as  late  as  1869,  its  indepeudent  position,  and  Urquiza,  it 


rj*. 


790 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


was  rumored,  was  about  engaging  in  another  attempt  for  its  Bubj  iga 
tion. 

BOLIYIA. 


The  republic  of  Bolivia  was  formerly  called  Upper  Pern,  and  fDrmed 
a  portion  of  the  viceroyalty  of  Buenos  Ayres.  Being  separated  from 
the  more  populous  parts  of  Buenos  Ayres  by  the  desert  of  Chaco  and 
a  very  rugged  and  dreary  mountain  region,  it  had  little  in  common 
with  that  state,  and  it  consequently  soon  separated  from  it  after  the 
subversion  of  the  Spanish  authority.  The  republic  declared  itself  in- 
dependent on  the  6th  of  August,  1824,  and  assumed  the  name  of 
Bolivia  in  honor  of  Cienoral  Bolivar,  on  August  11th,  1825. 

The  northern  boundary  of  Bolivia  is  formed  by  the  parallel  10°  S.  lat. 
from  the  river  Purns  on  the  west,  to  the  peninsula  formed  by  the  con- 
fluence of  the  rivers  Sarard  and  Mamore,  thence  called  the  Madeira, 
on  the  east.  The  most  southern  point  is  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific 
at  the  Bahia  de  Nuestra  Senora,  about  25°  S.  lat.  The  most  eastern 
part  i?  contiguous  to  the  river  Paraguay,  where,  after  leaving  Brazil,  it 
forms  for  some  space  the  boundary  between  Bolivia  and  Paraguay,  and 
extends  to  57°  30'  W.  long.  The  most  western  portion  of  the  repub- 
lic borders  on  the  Pacific  at  Punta  del  Norte,  about  10°  30'  W.  long. 
Bolivia  is  bounded  on  the  west  for  about  250  miles  by  the  Pacific 
Ocean ;  the  remainder  of  its  western  and  north-western  frontier  is 
formed  by  the  republic  of  Peru.  It  borders  on  the  north-east  and 
east  on  the  empire  of  Brazil,  except  the  most  south-eastern  corner, 
where  it  joins  Paraguay.  To  the  south  of  it  extends  the  republic  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  where  it  approaches  the  Pacific  that  of  Chili.  It 
contains  an  area  of  473,298  square  miles,  and  is  divided  into  seven  de- 
partments and  two  provinces,  with  a  population  of  about  a  million  and 
half.  In  1825,  when  Buenos  xlyres  had  renounced  its  claim  on  Upper 
Peru,  and  the  representatives  of  the  country  determined  to  form  an 
independent  state,  they  adopted  a  constitution  proposed  by  Bolivar, 
according  to  which  the  executive  power  was  to  be  placed  in  the 
hands  of  a  president  chosen  for  life,  and  the  legislative  was  to  consist 
of  three  bodies,  the  senate,  the  tribunes,  and  the  censors.  At  the 
same  time  Bolivar  was  chosen  president.  In  the  following  year  a  suc- 
cessful revolution  occurred,  and  Bolivar's  constitution  was  superseded. 
Since  then  there  have  been  numerous  changes,  sometimes  merely  of 
dictators,  but  at  others  in  the  forms  of  government.  The  years  1847, 
1848,  and  1849  were  f^onsumed  in  civil  war;  and  the  country  has  been 


^Tchantd 


BRAZIL. 


791 


ever  since  in  a  more  or  less  unsettled  state.  The  legislative  power  is, 
however,  still,  at  least  nominally,  vested  in  three  bodies,  the  executive 
being  in  the  hands  of  an  elective  president.  J.  M.  Linares  held  the 
office  of  President  in  1859. 

BKAZIL. 


The  empire  of  Brazil  embraces  an  area  of  3,956,800  square  miles, 
or  considerably  more  than  half  of  South  America.  It  has  an  Atlantic 
sea-coast  of  about  3,700  miles,  extending  from  6°  N,  lat.  to  32°  30' 
S.  lat.,  and  its  gr.eatest  diameter,  in  lat.  8°  21'  S.  is  2,630  miles.  It 
is  divided  into  twenty-one  provinces,  and  the  population  is  estimated 
at  about  seven  millions. 

Brazil  was  discovered  in  the  first  year  of  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
voyages  of  Columbus  and  Vasco  de  Gama,  who  first  sailed  across  ex- 
tensive seas,  had  taught  navigators  to  adopt  the  practice  of  entering 
at  once  upon  the  open  ocean.  Accordingly  Pedro  Alvares  de  Cabral, 
who  after  the  return  of  Vasco  de  Gama  was  sent  by  the  king  of  Por- 
tugal with  a  large  navy  to  the  East  Indies,  directed  his  course  from 
the  Cape  Verde  Islands  to  the  south-west,  and  was  carried  by  the 
equatorial  current  so  far  to  the  west  that  he  found  himself  very  unex- 
pectedly in  sight  of  land  in  10°  S.  lat.  This  country  was  Brazil,  which 
he  saw  first  on  the  3d  of  May,  1500.  He  sailed  along  the  coast  as  far 
as  Porto  Seguro  (16°  S.  lat.),  where  he  landed  and  took  possession. 
He  sent  an  account  of  his  discovery  to  Lisbon,  and  continued  his 
voyage  to  India.  The  king  afterward  sent  Amerigo  Vespucci,  a  Flor- 
entine, to  examine  the  country,  who  took  a  rapid  survey  of  nearly  the 
whole  of  its  shores,  and  upon  his  return  published  an  account  of  it, 
with  a  map.  To  this  publication  this  navigator  is  indebted  for  the 
honor  of  having  given  his  Christian  name  to  the  new  continent. 

ESPUCCI,  and  others  who  were  sent  somewhat  later, 
I  reported  that  the  country  was  not  cultivated,  and  did 
not  offer  any  great  commercial  advantages,  but  that 
they  had  found  extensive  forests  of  Brazil-wood,  of 
which  they  brought  some  cargoes  to  Portugal.     This 
'was  not  sufficient  to  induce  the  Portuguese  to  form  a  settle- 
ment, especially  as  they  were  then  actively  engaged  in  their 
conquests  in  the  East  Indies ;  but  it  was  quite  enough  to 
induce  mercantile  speculators  to  send  their  vessels  for  the 
dye-wood.     This  trade  continued  for  some   years,  and  the 
B'^rchants  of  other  nation),  especially  the  French,  began  to  follow  the 


!!5!ll 


i 


'.'''■':.;i'..:.; 

:'    -',-'  '"i    ,.. 


HS 


702 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


example  of  the  Portnguese.  The  Portuguese  government  considered 
this  as  a  violation  of  their  rights  as  discoverers  of  the  country,  and 
they  accordingly  began  to  think  of  forming  a  permanent  establish- 
ment King  John  III.,  however,  on  calculating  the  expenses  neces- 
sary for  such  an  undertaking,  thought  it  more  advantageous  to  invest 
some  of  the  richest  noble  families  of  Portugal  with  the  property  of 
extensive  tracts  of  coast,  for  the  purpose  of  colonizing  them  with  Por- 
tuguese subjects.  Accordingly,  about  ten  or  twelve  Portuguese  noble- 
men obtained  the  property  each  of  about  100  leagues  of  coast,  and  40 
or  50  leagues  inland.  These  proprietors  were  called  donotarios.  Most 
of  them  made  great  sacrifices,  and  underwent  much  fatigue  and  dan- 
ger in  forming  settlements  in  Brazil.  The  towns  of  S.  Vincent,  Es- 
pirito  Santo,  Porto  Seguro,  and  Pernambuco  were  founded  by  them 
between  1631  and  1545.  But  it  soon  became  evident  that  the  private 
fortune  of  these  noblemen  was  not  adequate  to  the  establishment  of 
euch  settlements  in  an  uncultivated  country,  and  in  the  neighborhood 
of  warlike  savage  nations.  The  king  therefore  sent,  in  1549,  as  gov- 
ernor, to  Brazil,  Thom6  de  Sousa,  who  founded  the  town  of  Bahia,  in 
the  bay  of  Todos  os  Santos,  and  established  a  regular  colonial  admin- 
istration. The  government  gradually  found  means  to  acquire  the  prop- 
erty of  the  colonies  then  existing  from  the  donotarios,  either  by  pur- 
chase or  by  exchange. 

Before  the  religious  divisions  in  England  began  to  people  the  coasts 
of  North  America,  the  Protestants  of  France  made  a  similar  attempt 
in  Brazil.  A  colony  of  French  Protestants  was  established  in  1555, 
on  an  island  in  the  bay  of  Rio  Janeiro,  by  Nicolas  Durand  de  Ville- 
gagnon,  but  it  soon  fell  into  anarchy.  The  Portuguese  attack«d  it  in 
1565,  and  expelled  the  French,  though  not  without  encountering  con- 
siderable resistance.  On  this  occasion  the  town  of  Rio  Janeiro  was 
^Dunded  by  the  Portuguese. 

On  the  death  of  King  Sebastian,  when  Portugal  was  united  to  Spain 
(1580),  the  numerous  enemies  of  the  latter  country  began  to  annoy 
Brazil,  among  whom  the  English,  under  Thomas  Cavendish,  were  the 
most  active.  They  did  not  however  form  any  settlement.  The  French 
made  a  second  attempt  in  1612  to  settle  on  the  island  of  Maranhao, 
where  they  founded  the  town  of  San  Luiz  de  Marauhao,  but  in  1615 
they  were  compelled  to  abandon  it  to  the  Portuguese.  The  Dutch 
were  more  formidable  enemies  to  the  Portuguese.  Their  East  India 
Company  had  already  taken  from  them  many  settlements  in  the  Indian 
seas,  and  their  West  India  Company  was  thus  invited  to  similar  at 
tempts  in  America.     In  1623  they  sent  a  fleet  to  Brazil,  which  tools 


BRAZIL. 


793 


Bahia,  then  the  capital  of  the  country;  but  it  was  lost  again  in  1625. 
In  1629  the  Dutch  made  another  attempt,  and  possessed  themselve« 
of  Pernambuco,  from  which  the  Portuguese  were  unable  to  dislodge 
them.  They  afterward  extended  their  conquests  till  they  held,  in 
1643,  the  province  of  Seregipe  and  the  whole  of  Brazil  north  of  the 
Rio  Francesco,  with  the  exception  of  Par4.  A  few  years  later,  how- 
ever, the  settlers  of  Portuguese  origin  rose  upon  them  and  drove  them 
out  of  province  after  province,  till  at  last  the  Dutch  were  confined  to 
the  town  of  Pernambuco,  from  which  also  they  were  expelled  in  1664. 
By  the  peace  of  1660  the  Dutch  renounced  their  claims  on  these 
countries. 

At  that  time  the  mineral  riches  of  Brazil  were  not  known.  The 
town  of  S.  P.'iulo  had  been  founded  by  some  Portuguese  in  1620,  who 
had  ascended  to  the  table-land  of  the  Paran4  from  the  town  of  St. 
Vincent,  and  been  induced  to  settle  there  on  account  of  its  fine 
climate.  The  adventurers  established  a  kind  of  democratic  govern- 
ment, and  made  frequent  incursions  among  the  savage  nations  for  the 
purpose  of  capturing  them  and  using  them  as  slaves.  In  these  excur- 
sions, toward  the  end  of  the  iVth  century,  they  discovered  the  mines 
of  S.  Paulo;  and  near  Sabard,  on  the  Rio  des  Velhas,  in  1700,  the 
richer  mines  at  Villa  Rica;  and  in  1713  those  of  Marianna.  The 
mines  at  Cuyab4  and  Goyaz  were  discovered  between  1*715  and  1720. 
The  existence  of  diamonds  in  the  Rio  Jequitinhonha  was  not  known 
before  1728.  These  discoveries,  and  the  iches  which  government 
derived  from  the  mines,  induced  it  to  remove  the  administration  of  the 
colony  from  Bahia  to  Rio  S.  Janeiro  in  1773. 

The  government  of  Brazil  by  the  Portuguese  was  of  the  most  exclu- 
sive character,  and  led  to  a  constantly  growing  dissatisfaction  on  the 
part  of  the  bulk  of  the  inhabitants.  Foreign  vessels  were  not  permitted 
to  enter  the  ports  of  Brazil,  nor  the  Brazilians  to  send  their  com- 
modities to  any  other  country  than  Portugal.  This  of  course  caused 
discontent  among  the  merchants.  Fui-ther,  the  natives  of  Portugal 
who  had  emigrated  to  the  colony  constituted  a  privileged  class,  being 
exclusively  entitled  to  all  posts  of  honor  and  all  lucrative  employments 
under  government,  which  naturally  excited  dissatisfaction  among  the 
rich  descendants  of  the  Portuguese.  This  dissatisfaction  began  to 
generate  a  wish  for  change  as  soon  as  the  United  States  of  North 
America  had  obtained  their  independence ;  and  events  in  Europe  took 
Buch  a  turn  thai.  Brazil  obtained  its  object  almost  without  bloodshed 
or  war.  When  Bonaparte  had  formed  his  scheme  for  taking  posses- 
sion o    the  Peninsula,  he  begs  i  by  declaring  war  against  Portugal, 


m  i' 


i;  fl'l'  'n    I    '■! 


7U 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


upon  which  the  royal  family  left  Europe  for  Brazil,  where  they  arrived 
22(1  January,  1808.  Considering  Brazil  as  the  principal  part  of  bia 
remaining  dominions.  King  John  VI.  began  to  improve  its  condition 
by  placing  the  administration  on  a  moi-e  regular  footing,  and  throwing 
open  its  ports  to  all  nations.  On  the  fall  of  Bonaparte,  the  king  raised 
Brazil  to  the  rank  of  a  kingdom,  and  assumed  the  title  of  King  of 
Portugal,  Algarve,  and  Bra^l.  The  royai  family  remained  in  Brazil 
until  the  king  was  obliged  to  return  to  Europe  by  the  revolution  which 
took  place  in  Portugal  in  1820,  by  which  the  constitution  of  Spain  had 
been  adopted  in  that  kingdom  also.  The  news  of  that  event  had 
hardly  reached  Brazil  when  the  same  constitution  was  proclaimed  by 
the  inhabitants  in  the  town  of  Pernambuco,  and  soon  afterward  in 
Bahia  and  Par&.  It  was  feared  that  similar  measures  would  be  taken 
in  Rio  Janeiro,  and  accordingly  the  king  found  it  expedient  to  pro- 
claim the  constitution  himself  on  the  26th  February,  1821,  soon  after 
■which  he  sailed  for  Lisbon,  leaving  at  tlie  head  of  the  administration 
in  Brazil,  Pedro  his  eldest  son  and  successor,  as  lieutenant  and  regent. 
The  Cortes  of  Portugal  did  not  conceal  their  design  of  restoring  the 
old  relations  with  Brazil,  by  which  its  commerce  was  restricted  to  the 
mother  country  ;  and  they  did  not  treat  the  deputies  from  Brazil  quite 
as  well  as  they  should  have  done.  This,  of  course,  increased  the  dis- 
content of  the  Brazilians,  and  prepared  the  way  for  the  independence 
of  that  country. 

The  Cortes  in  Portugal  continued  their  course  of  policy.  They 
formed  a  scheme  for  a  new  organization  of  the  administration  in 
Brazil,  and  recalled  the  Prince  Regent.  But  the  prince,  induced  by 
the  representations  of  the  ^Brazilians,  refused  to  obey  their  orders,  and 
sent  the  Portuguese  troops  stationed  at  Pernambuco  and  Rio  Janeiro 
to  Europe.  The  Portuguese  commandant  of  Bahia,  however,  did  not 
yield ;  he  expelled  the  militia  and  remained  master  of  the  town.  This 
step  was  decisive,  and  immediately  followed  by  others.  On  the  13th 
of  May  the  Prince  Regent  was  proclaimed  protector  and  perpetual  de- 
fender of  Brazil.  The  General  Procurators  (Procuradores  geraes)  oi*  the 
provinces  were  assembled  by  the  Prince  Regent  to  consult  on  the  new 
form  of  government,  but  they  declared  that  they  were  not  competent 
to  such  a  task,  and  proposed  the  convocation  of  deputies  chosen  by 
the  people,  to  which  the  prince  acceded  after  a  short  delay.  As  the 
Cortes  in  Portugal  still  persisted  in  their  design,  it  was  thought  neces- 
sary to  declare  the  independence  of  Brazil,  and  the  Prince  Regent  did 
not  venture  to  oppose  the  torrent  of  public  opinion.  Accordingly  on 
the  12tb  of  October,  1822,  Brazil  was  declared  an  independent  state, 


m 


BRAZIL. 


795 


and  the  pruice  adopted  the  title  of  Emperor  of  Brazil ;  on  the  Ist  of 
December  ho  was  crowned. 

As  this  step  might  be  considered  a  declaration  of  war  against  Por- 
tugal, preparations  for  hostilities  were  immediately  made.  The  Por- 
tuguese troops  still  occupied  the  towns  of  Bahia,  Maranbao,  and  Par&. 
Babia  was  besieged  by  the  Brazilian  forces,  and  after  a  few  weeks  the 
garrison  was  obliged  to  abandon  it,  npon  the  appearance  of  the  admiral 
of  Brazil,  Lord  Cochrane,  before  the  harbor.  The  admiral  also  com- 
pelled the  garrisons  of  Maranbao  and  Para  to  sail  for  Europe.  Thus 
the  independence  of  Brazil  was  established,  with  no  other  loss  of  blood 
than  what  took  place  in  the  town  of  Bahia. 

A  General  Assembly  of  deputies  from  the  provinces  was  called  to 
consider  the  draft  of  a  constitution,  but  as  they  refused  to  frame  one 
to  which  the  omperor  would  agrue,  he  dissolved  them  in  November, 
1823,  and  a  few  days  after  pubiislied  a  constitution,  which,  as  already 
stated,  was  accepted  and  confirmed  by  the  new  General  Assembly 
convoked  in  the  early  part  of  1824.  The  independence  of  Brazil  was 
acknowledged  by  Portugal  in  1825. 

In  1826  two  events  took  place  which  gave  rise  to  great  discontent, 
the  death  of  King  John  VI.,  and  the  war  with  Buenos  Ayres,  for  the 
retention  of  Monte  Video  as  a  part  of  the  Brazilian  empire.  By  the 
decease  of  the  king,  Portugal  devolved  on  the  Emperor  of  Brazil,  and 
the  Brazilians  again  apprehended  that  they  might  be  placed  in  a  state 
of  dependence  on  that  country.  To  remove  such  fears  Pedro  declared 
his  daughter  Maria  Queen  of  Portugal,  intending  to  marry  her  to  his 
brother  Miguel.  Peace  was  concluded  with  Buenos  Ayres  in  1828, 
and  Monte  Video  became  the  independefit  republic  of  Uruguay.  But 
the  internal  peace  of  the  country  was  not  re-established.  Frequent 
disputes  arose  between  the  Chamber  of  Deputies  and  the  emperor,  and 
sometimes  great  disturbances  occurred  in  Rio  Janeiro.  In  the  spring 
of  1831,  one  of  these  disputes  assumed  a  form  of  more  than  common 
seriousness,  in  consequence  of  the  emperor  refusing  to  dismiss  some 
unpopular  ministers.  On  the  6th  of  April  a  tumultuous  populace  hav- 
ing assembled  before  the  palace,  the  emperor  ordered  the  military  to 
disperse  them.  This  they  refused  to  do,  and  the  emperor  issued  a 
proclamation  by  which  he  abdicated  the  throne  in  favor  of  his  son, 
Pedro  II.,  the  present  emperor. 

At  this  time  the  young  emperor  was  only  in  his  sixth  year.  The 
Chamber  of  Deputies  at  once  took  a  more  decided  lead  in  the  govern- 
ment. They  appointed  a  regency  of  three  persons ;  and  fixed  the  ter- 
mination of  the  empsro  b  minority  on  his  reaching  the  age  of  18 


796 


SOUTH   AMERICA. 


years.  Disturbances  and  revolutionary  nooveraents  broke  out  succes- 
sively in  various  parts  of  the  empire  during  several  following  years. 
Most  of  them,  however,  were  directed  against  the  power  of  the  Cham< 
ber  of  Deputies,  which  was  regarded  with  general  distrust.  The 
regency  was  in  1831  limited  to  one  person.  In  1841  the  desire  for 
the  termination  of  the  regency,  which  had  been  long  growing,  found 
vent  in  a  popular  rising,  which  the  government  was  unable  to  resist ; 
and  on  the  23d  of  July,  the  young  emperor,  then  only  in  his  fifteenth 
year,  was  declared  by  the  assembly  to  have  attained  his  majority  and 
to  the  full  exercise  of  his  constitutional  prerogatives.  Since  that  time 
there  have  been  various  outbreaks  in  different  parts  of  the  empire, 
some  directed  against  the  provincial  governments,  some  with  a  view  to 
erect  one  or  other  of  the  provinces  into  a  republic,  and  some  directed 
against  the  measures  or  the  ministers  of  the  imperial  government;  but 
on  the  whole  Brazil  has,  during  the  last  few  years,  had  more  internal 
tranquillity,  and  consequently  been  more  prosperous,  than  any  otLor  of 
the  states  of  South  America.  The  most  important  of  the  foreign  dif- 
ferences in  vyhich  Brazil  has  been  engaged  was  the  long  protracted 
w  t;  «vith  Buenos  Ayres,  which  led,  in  1851,  to  the  fall  of  Rosas,  and 
eventually  to  the  opening  of  the  Rio  Paran&. 

The  government  of  Brazil  is  a  constitutional  monarchy,  with  a  re- 
sponsible ministry,  and  a  legislature  consisting  of  a  Senate  and  ^ 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  The  members  of  both  are  i '  >sen  by  the  prov- 
inces ;  the  senators  for  life,  and  the  deputies  for  a  temporary  period. 
The  former  consisted,  in  1859,  of  65  members,  and  the  latter  of  112. 
Brazil,  next  to  the  United  States,  is  the  most  powerful  and  prosperous 
p.ountry  of  America. 

CHILI. 


war, 

does  i 
1809; 
four  or 
1814, 


'HE  republic  of  Chili  is  a  narrow  strip  of  country, 
lying  on  the  Pacific  shores  of  South  America,  be 
tween  25°  and  42°  S.  lat.     It  contains  an  area  of 
249,952  square  miles,  and  is  divided  into  thirteen 
provinces,  with  a  population  of  less  than  a  million 
and  a  half. 
This  countiy  was  subjugated  in  1450  by  the  Peruvians,  who 
retained  possession   of  it  till  they  were   driven  out  by  the 
Spaniards,  under   Almagro,  in   1535.     The    Spaniards   were 
driven  out  by  a  general  rising  of  the  natives  three  years  after- 
ward.    Pizarro  attempted  to  colonize  the  country  in  1540,  and  though 
opposed  by  the  natives  of  Copiapo,  he  succeeded  in  conquering  several 


CHILI. 


797 


provinces,  and  founded  the  city  of  Santiago,  February,  1541.  In  at- 
tempting to  extend  his  conquest  he  exposed  his  settlement,  for  six 
years,  to  the  strong  and  repeated  attacks  of  the  Mapochians,  in  whose 
district  Santiago  was.  His  lieutenant,  Pedro  de  Valdivia,  to  whom 
this  extension  was  entrusted,  made  the  rroniancians  his  allies,  and, 
surmounting  various  attacks  and  oppositions  from  the  natives,  founded 
the  cities  of  Concepcion,  Imperial,  and  Valdivia.  He  was  shortly  af- 
terward defeated  by  his  old  enemies,  the  Araucanians,  who  took  him 
prisoner,  and  he  was  at  length  dispatched  by  an  old  chief  with  the 
blow  of  a  club. 

These  Araucanians  kept  the  new  colonies  for  several  years  in  a  con- 
tinual state  of  alarm  and  distress;  and  so  far  succeeded  in  avenging 
their  former  defeats,  as  in  1598  to  capture  Vallansa,  Valdivia,  Impe- 
rial, and  other  towns,  and  form  the  cities  of  Concepcion  and  Chillar. 
Nor  were  these  the  only  losses  sustained  by  the  Spaniards.  The 
Dutch  plundered  Chiloe,  and  massacred  the  garrison.  The  feuds  be- 
tween the  Araucanians  and  Spaniards  were  settled  by  a  treaty  of  peace 
in  1641,  which  lasted  for  fourteen  years ;  then  came  a  war  of  ten  years, 
and  another  peace.  In  1722  a  conspiracy  for  the  extirpation  of  the 
whites  was  happily  frustrated.  The  colonists  were  gathered  into  towns, 
the  country  divided  into  provinces,  and  several  new  cities  founded  by 
the  governor,  Don  Josef  Manto,  1V42.  A  similar  attempt  by  Don 
Antonia  Gonzaga,  in  respect  of  the  Araucanians,  relighted  the  torch  of 
war,  which  blazed  three  years,  when  harmony  was  restored.  Nor 
does  any  thing  of  particular  moment  occur  in  the  history  of  Chili  till 
1809:  then  a  successful  revolutionary  movement  took  place,  and  for 
four  or  five  years  fortune  favored  the  cause  of  independence ;  but  in 
1814,  a  royalist  party  from  Peru  nearly  extinguished  the  flame  of 
liberty.  Success  (in  ISlY)  returned  with  General  San  Martin,  who 
brought  them  freedom.  D.  Bernado  O'Higgins  was  made  director  of 
the  junta;  and  a  fatal  blow  was  struck  at  the  power  of  the  royalists  on 
the  6th  of  April,  1818,  when  a  large  tract  of  coast  was  declared  in  a 
state  of  blockade  by  the  Chilian  navy,  under  Lord  Cochrane.  In  1820, 
as  stated  in  the  history  of  Peru,  the  Chilian  army,  under  San  Martin, 
liberated  Peru  from  the  Spanish  thraldom,  and  San  Martin  retired  into 
the  ranks  of  private  life  in  Chili.  His  example  was  followed  by 
O'Higgins,  who  resigned  the  dictatorship,  January  28,  1823,  and  was 
succeeded  by  General  Freire,  the  commander-in-chief.  The  royalist 
flag,  which  was  hoisted  in  September,  near  the  city  of  Concepcion, 
was  pulled  down  after  a  short  period,  and  a  free  constitution  ap- 
pointed, with  a  popular  government.       _  -  '       •. , 


i 


798 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


Since  the  esthblishracnt  of  the  constitution,  which  wjw  proclainioil 
ill  1830,  there  have  been  frequent  conflicts  between  political  purties, 
but  the  coantry  has,  on  the  whole,  been  more  peaceable  than  most  of 
the  other  South  American  statcsi,  and  not  less  successful. 

By  the  constitution  the  government  received  a  republican  form,  with 
a  central  legislature  and  execHtive.  The  executive  power  is  in  the 
hands  of  a  president,  elected  every  five  years ;  and  a  council  of  state, 
consisting  of  the  ministry,  two  members  of  the  court  of  justice,  an 
ecclesiastical  dignitary,  a  general,  two  ex-ministers,  &e.  The  legisla- 
ture consists  of  a  Congress  composed  of  a  Senate  of  20  members  re- 
taining their  functions  for  nine  years,  and  a  House  of  Representatives 
elected  triennially,  to  which  a  deputy  is  sent  for  every  20,000  of  the 
population. 

The  President  of  Chili,  in  1859,  was  Manuel  Moutt,  against  whoso 
authority  an  unsuccessful  attempt  was  made  by  the  reactionary  party  iu 
the  early  part  of  that  year. 

ECUADOR. 

HIS  republic  lies  between  1°  40'  N.  lat.  and  6°  60' 

S.  lat ,  and  70°  20'  and  80°  W.  long.     It  is  bounded 

on  the  north  by  the  republic  of  New  Granada,  east 

by  Brazil,  south  by  Peru,  and  west  by  the  Pacific 

dtw^'      yyy    oceau.     Its  area  is  estimated  at  287,038  squarc  milcs. 

J|Ip  V^**^        i^  jg  divided  into  the  departments  of  Ecuador,  Guaya- 

'^"-  quil,  and  Assuay,  and  these  again  into  a  number  of  provinces. 

'  The  population  of  Ecuador  is  about  700,000. 

Ecuador  was  discovered  by  Pizarro  in  1526 ;  and  came  into  the 
hands  of  the  Spaniards  at  the  downfall  of  the  empire  of  the  Incas. 
It  remained  a  Spanish  possession  until  1812,  when  the  inhabitants  rose 
in  insurrection  and  made  a  determined  effort  to  throw  off"  the  Spanish 
yoke.  Quito  was  then  a  part  of  the  viceroyalty  of  New  Granada,  and 
it  participated  fully  in  the  frequent  vicissitudes  of  the  war,  which 
ended  in  1823  with  the  complete  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards.  By  the 
convention  of  Cucuta,  in  1821,  New  Granada  and  Venezuela  united  and 
formed  one  republic  under  the  name  of  Colombia,  but  this  union 
lasted  only  till  1831,  when  these  countries  again  separated.  Ecuador, 
or  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Quito,  was  then  also  separated  from  New 
Granada,  and  since  that  time  has  existed  as  an  independent  state- 
Ecuador  declared  itself  an  independent  republic,  and  established  a  con- 
stitution, according  to  which  it  is  governed  by  a  president  elected  for 
eight  years,  a  vice-president,  council  of  state,  and  a  house  of  repre- 


GUIANA. 


799 


•onliitivcs  consisting  of  ono  member  for  every  40,000  inlmbitantH. 
I'ho  Uoman  Cathulic  is  the  ustublished  ruligiun :  the  church  is  prosidod 
over  by  the  Archbishop  of  Quito  and  the  Bishop  of  Quayac^uil.  Tb« 
presidency  in  1869  was  occupied  by  Francois  Uoblcs. 


}rvm  1 


ll< 


GUIANA. 

r*'llIS  is  the  name  applied  to  the  north-eastern  por- 
tion of  South  America  extending  from  the  banks  of 
the  Orinoco  to  those  of  the  Amazon  river.     Guiana 
has  an  area  of  more  than  050,000  square  miles,  of 
which  a  largo  portion  is  included  within  the  boun- 
daries of  the  empire  of  Brazil  and  the  republic  of 
V^eiiezuela  :  a  territory  of  about  90,000  square  miles  constitutes 
J>ritish  (jiuiana,  about  00,000  square  miles  Surinam,  or  Dutch 
Guiauii,  and  about  22,000  square  miles  Cayenne,  or  French 
fJuiana;  but  the  boundaries  of  the  respective  districts  are,  in 
some  instances,  not  very  clearly  defined. 

(iuiana  was  discovered  before  the  end  of  the  15th  century  by  Vin- 
cent I'inzon.  The  Dutch  formed  the  first  settlement,  about  1690,  on 
the  Demerara  river,  and  afterward  established  themselves  at  other 
places.  Tiie  English  settled  in  1634  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
rivers  Berbice  and  Surinam ;  but  in  1667  the  English  settlements  were 
given  up  to  the  Dutch.  The  French  occupied  Cayenne  in  1663. 
During  the  last  war  with  France  the  English  occupied  the  Dutch  set- 
tlements; and  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  1814,  they  restored  only  those 
between  the  Courantyne  and  the  Marony  to  the  Dutch,  retaining  pos- 
session of  the  remainder. 

British  Guiana  consists  of  the  districts  of  Deraerara,  Essequibo,  and 
Berbice.  The  seat  of  government  is  at  Georgetown,  Demerara.  The 
governor  is  appointed  by  the  crown,  and  legislative  affairs  are  con- 
ducted by  a  Court  of  Policy  and  a  College  of  Financial  Representa- 
tives.    The  population  is  about  1.50,000. 

Dutch  Guiana  is  governed  by  an  officer  appointed  by  the  crown  and 
a  council  elected  by  the  freeholders.  The  scat  of  government  is  at 
Paramaribo,  on  the  Surinam  river.  The  population  of  the  colony  is 
about  75,000. 

French  Guiana  has  a  population  of  about  30,000.  The  government 
is  conducted  by  a  governor,  privy  council,  and  colonial  council  of  16 
members  chosen  by  the  inhabitants.  Cayenne  is  the  capital  of  the 
colony. 


1 


I ''■'■"! 


800 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


NEW  GEANADA. 


■  HIS  republic  extends  from  south  to  north  from  tho 
equator  to  12°  80'  N.  lat.,  and  from  east  to  west 
from  10°  to  83'  W.  long.  It  is  bounded  on  the 
north  by  the  Caribbean  sea,  south  by  Ecuador,  east 
by  Venezuela,  and  west  by  Costa  Rica  and  the 
Pacific  ocean.  It  contains  an  area  of  521,948  square 
miles,  divided  into  36  provinces,  with  a  population  of  about 
two  and  a  half  millions. 

New  Granada  was  discovered  by  Alonso  de  Ojeda  in  1499. 
The  first  settlement  was  made  at  Santa  Maria  la  Antigua,  on 
the  Gulf  of  Darien,  in  1610.  The  interior  of  the  country  was  only  con- 
quered toward  the  middle  of  the  16th  century,  by  Benalcazar  and 
Ximenes  do  Qnesneda,  who  founded  the  town  of  Santa  F6  de  Bogota 
in  1545.  The  Spaniards  continued  in  possession  of  this  country  till 
1811,  when  New  Granada  proclaimed  its  independence.  The  war 
which  was  the  consequence  of  this  declaration,  continued  to  devastate 
the  diflferent  provinces  of  which  New  Granada  consists  to  the  year 
1821.  In  1819  New  Granada  and  Venezuela,  being  united  into  one 
republic,  formed  a  constitution  at  the  Congress  of  Rosario  de  Cucuta 
in  1821,  and  received  into  the  union  Ecuador  and  Panama  in  1823. 
This  union  was  dissolved  in  1831,  and  the  republic  of  Colombia 
divided  into  the  three  republics  of  Venezuela,  New  Granada,  and 
Ecuador.  Like  the  other  republics  of  South  America,  New  Granada 
has  been  ever  since  the  declaration  of  independence  in  a  very  unsettled 
condition.  In  1864  New  Granada  was  in  a  state  of  revolution.  The 
government  troops  were  defeated ;  and  Bogota,  the  capital,  was  in 
possession  of  the  Constitutionalists. 

The  country  has  since  been  comparatively  quiet  and  prosperous. 
The  legislature  consists  of  a  Senate,  with  39  members  chosen  by  the 
provinces,  and  a  Chamber  of  Deputies,  with  66  members  elected  by 
the  people.  The  presidential  chair  in  1859  was  filled  by  Manuel  0. 
Rodriguea. 


PARAGUAY.  801 


PARAGUAY. 

'HE  republic  of  Paraguay  is  situf.>,ed  nearly  in  the 
centre  of  South  America,  between  the  rivers  Paran& 
and  Paraguay,  and  embraces  an  area  of  72,000 
square  miles.  Brazil  bounds  it  on  the  north  and 
east,  Corrientes  on  the  south,  and  the  Argentine 
Confederation  on  the  west.     Its  population  is  about 

'tW\  ^*'^  *  million. 

sfmS  A^ftsr  the  Spaniards  had  discovered  the  wide  embouchure  of 
fi'^  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  they  sailed  upward,  and  tried  to  establish 
a  colony  on  the  banks  of  the  river.  But  two  attempts  of  this 
kind  failed.  The  settlements  contained  only  a  small  number  of  set- 
tlers, who  were  soon  destroyed  by  the  warlike  natives  of  the  plains. 
In  1535,  the  Adelantado,  Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza,  was  sent  with  a 
considerable  number  of  vessels  to  found  a  great  colony.  He  sailed  up 
the  Paran4  and  Paraguay  for  nearly  a  thousand  miles,  until  he  came 
to  Paraguay,  where  he  founded  the  town  of  Assuucion.  From  this 
place  the  Spaniards,  by  degrees,  spread  over  all  the  countries  of  South 
America  south  of  20°  S.  hit.,  and  east  of  the  Andes.  In  the  16th  oen. 
tury  the  Jesuits  were  sent  to  those  parts,  for  the  purpose  of  converting 
the  natives  to  Christianity.  Their  success  was  not  great  until  they 
obtained  from  the  Spanish  court  a  mandate  (about  1690)  forbidding 
all  other  Spaniards  to  enter  their  Missiones  without  their  permission. 
The  Jesuits  settled  among  the  numerous  tribe  called  the  Guaranis,  on 
both  sides  of  the  river  Parand,  above  the  island  of  Apip6,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  bringing  them  to  a  certain  degree  of  civilization.  When 
the  Jesuits  were  expelled,  in  1767,  the  Missiones  were  inhabited  by 
more  than  100,000  civilized  Indians,  of  whom,  perhaps,  less  than  half 
the  number  were  in  Paraguay.  They  afterward  dispersed  through 
different  parts  of  La  Plata,  but  it  seems  that  the  majority  settled  in 
Paraguay,  which  after  that  time  was  entirely  subjected  to  the  viceroy  of 
Buenos  Ayres.  In  1810,  when  an  independent  government  was  con- 
stituted in  Buenos  Ayres,  Piiraguay  refused  to  acknowledge  its  au- 
thority, and  defeated  General  Belgrano,  who  had  been  sent  to  bring 
Paraguay  to  obedience.  The  country  soon  after  declared  its  inde- 
pendence. After  some  changes  in  the  government.  Doctor  Caspar 
Rodriguez  de  Francia,  a  lawyer,  was  in  1814  elected  dictator.  In 
1817  lie  became  dictator  for  life;  and  he  ruled  the  country  with  an 


r  ^:i ;: 


.1 


802 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


iron  sway  till  Ins  death  in  1840.  During  his  long  and  cruel  despotism 
he  adopted  the  policy  of  the  Jesuits,  absolutely  prohibiting  all  inter- 
course with  foreign  countries,  and  placing  the  intercourse  with  the 
neighboring  provinces  under  the  most  irksome  restrictions.  No  per- 
son who  entcreo  the  country  was  permitted  again  to  leave  it  without 
special  pcrmissioa  from  Francia  himself.  He  was  succeeded  by  Lopez, 
who  has  been  dictator  since  1844,  and  has  governed  the  country  in  a 
soraowhat  more  liberal  manner,  establishing  commercial  intercourse 
with  the  neighboring  provinces  and  with  foreign  nations.  In  conse- 
quence of  wrongs  inflicted  upon  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and 
insults  offered  to  the  flag  of  that  nation,  Paraguay  was  visited  by  a 
powerful  fleet  of  the  North  American  confederacy,  in  the  early  part  of 
1869,  and  by  timely  concessions  avoided  a  rupture  with  that  power. 


PATAGONIA  AND  THE  FALKLAND  ISLANDS. 

-*'IIIS  is  a  country  in  South  America,  comprehending 
the  most  southern  portion  of  the  continent  from  the 
Rio  Negro  to  the  Straits  of  Magalhaens  or  Magellan, 
by  which  it  is  divided  from  Terra  del  Fuego.  The 
area  is  about  300,000  square  miles,  and  the  popula- 
tion, composed  wholly  of  natives,  numbers  less  than 
150,000.  It  was  discovered  by  the  Spanish  navigator  Magal- 
haens in  1519.  H  '  named  its  inhabitants  Patagonians,  on  ac- 
count of  the  large  size  of  their  feet,  such  being  the  Spanish 
meaning  of  the  term.  He  described  them  as  being  of  a  gigan- 
tic stature,  seven  or  eight  feet  in  height ;  but  the  statement  was  dis- 
believed even  in  his  own  day,  and  has  since  been  disproved — though 
it  is  ascertained  that  they  are  really  a  people  of  more  than  the  average 
physical  development. 

Terra  del  Fuego,  or  the  land  of  fire,  is  the  name  of  a  group  of 
islands,  lying  south  of  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and  forming  the  south- 
em  extremity  of  the  continent.  It  was  thus  named  by  Magalhaens, 
in  consequence  of  the  numerous  fires  seen  along  its  shores. 

The  Falkland  Islands  arc  a  group  lying  about  300  miles  cast  of  the 
entrance  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan.  The  chief  islands  are  East  and 
West  Falkland,  the  former  with  an  area  of  3,000  square  miles,  and  the 
latter  of  2,000.  Quite  an  interesting  history  is  connected  with  these 
islands.  They  were  discovered  in  1592  by  Dr.  John  Davis,  who  ac- 
companied Cavendish  in  his  second  voyage ;  and  Hawkins,  who  sailed 
along  them  in  1594,  called  them  Hawkins's  Maiden  Land,     In  1G90 


PATAGONIA,  ETC. 


803 


Strong  Railed  through  the  channel  which  separates  East  and  West 
Falkland,  and  called  it  Falkland  Sound,  whence  the  islands  were  after- 
ward named  the  Falkland  Islands.  Several  vessels  from  St.  Malo 
passed  near  the  islands  between  1706  and  1714,  and  from  these  they 
were  named  by  the  French  Les  lies  Malouines.  In  1764  the  French 
established  a  colony  on  one  of  the  harbors  of  Berkeley  Sound  on  East 
Falkland,  and  called  it  St.  Louis;  and  two  years  later  the  British 
formee'  a  settlement  on  West  Falkland,  on  the  inlet  called  Port  Eg- 
raont.  Soon  afterward  the  French,  in  1767,  ceded  their  settlement 
to  the  Spaniards,  who,  in  1770,  attacked  the  English  colony  and  took 
it.  After  some  negotiations  Port  Egmont  was  restored  to  the  Eng- 
lish. The  British  afterward  abandoned  the  colony,  but  did  not  give 
up  the  rights  of  possession.  The  Spaniards  also  withdrew  their  gar- 
rison from  Port  Louis. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  present  century  the  whale-fishery  in  the 
Southern  Atlantic  began  to  be  prosecuted  on  an  extensive  scale  by 
some  European  nations  and  the  North  Americans.  Many  of  the 
whaling  vessels  visited  the  Falkland  Islands,  especially  to  kill  wild 
cattle  and  refresh  their  crews.  It  was  also  discovered  that  the  islands 
were  visited  by  a  great  number  of  seals,  and  these  animals  attracted 
numerous  other  adventurers.  This  induced  the  government  of  the 
newly  established  republic  of  Buenos  Ayres  to  take  possession  of  East 
Falkland  in  1820,  and  in  1823  they  formed  a  settlement  at  Port  Louis. 
England  protested  against  these  proceedings  in  1829,  and  in  1833  the 
colony  was  given  up  to  the  English.  For  some  years  only  a  lieutenant 
of  the  navy  with  a  boat's  crew  resided  at  Port  Louis,  but  the  British 
government  resolved,  in  1840,  to  colonize  the  islands,  and  to  send 
there  a  governor  and  a  small  establishment.  Tliey  settled  at  Port 
Louis;  but  on  examining  the  country  in  its  vicinity  it  was  found  that 
Port  William,  south  of  Berkeley  Sound,  offered  greater  advantages  as 
a  naval  station  and  port  of  refuge,  and  in  1844  Governor  Moody  laid 
out  a  town  on  the  southern  shores  of  Stanley  Harbor,  a  land-locked 
Inlet,  sheltered  from  e\ery  wind. 


1     'h 


liii 


804 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


PERU. 


•IITS  republic  is  situated  between  3°  30'  and  21°  28' 
S.  lat.,  and  68°  20'  and  81°  20' .W.  long.,  and  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Ecuador,  east  by  Brazil, 
south  by  Bolivia,  and  west  by  the  Pacific  ocean.  It 
is  divided  into  eleven  departments  and  two  shore 
provinces,  and  contains  an  area  of  nearly  500,000 
square  miles. 

When  the  Spaniards  first  visited  Peru  they  found  the  country 
under  a  well-regulated  government,  and  inhabited  by  a  nation 
which  had  made  great  progress  in  the  arts  of  civilization.  The 
people  were  decently  dressed,  and  lodged  in  comfortable  houses.  Their 
fields  were  well  cultivated,  and  artificial  cuts  had  been  made  to  conduct 
the  water  of  the  small  rivers  to  a  considerable  distance  for  the  pur- 
poses of  irrigation.  They  had  extensive  manufactures  of  earthenware 
and  woolen  and  cotton  cloth,  and  also  tools  made  of  copper.  Even 
now  the  elegant  forms  of  their  utensils,  made  out  of  the  hardest  rock 
without  the  use  of  iron  tools,  excite  admiration.  The  extensive  ruins 
of  palaces  and  buildings  scattered  over  the  country,  and  the  remains 
of  the  great  road  which  led  from  Quito  to  Cuzco,  and  thence  south- 
ward over  the  table-land  of  the  valley  of  the  Desaguadero,  show  that 
the  nation  was  far  advanced  in  civilization.  This  civilization  appears 
to  have  grown  up  in  the  nation  itself,  and  not  to  Lave  been  derived 
from  communication  with  other  civilized  people.  The  navigation  of 
the  Peruvians  was  limited  to  coasting  from  one  small  harbor  to  another 
in  balsas.  The  difi'erence  in  political  institutions  and  in  the  usages  of 
society  between  the  Peruvians  and  Mexicans  precludes  the  supposition 
of  either  of  these  two  nations  having  received  their  civilization  from 
the  other.  Besides  this,  they  were  divided  by  savage  tribes,  which 
■were  sunk  in  the  deepest  barbarism.  The  Spaniards  were  surprised 
to  find  this  state  of  things  in  Peru.  When  they  had  got  possession  of 
the  country  they  inquired  into  its  history,  and  learned  the  following 
traditions : 

About  three  centuries  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  Manco 
Capac  and  Mama  Ocollo  appeared  on  the  table-land  of  the  Desagua- 
dero. These  two  personages,  male  and  female,  of  majestic  stature,  ap- 
peared clothed  in  garments,  and  declared  that  they  were  children  of 
the  sun,  and  seut  by  their  paren^  to  reclaim  the  human  race  from 


PERU. 


806 


its  misery.  The  savage  tribes  submitted  to  the  instruction  of  these 
beings  of  a  divine  origin,  who  taught  them  the  firbt  arts  of  civilization, 
agriculture,  and  the  manufacture  of  clothing.  Manco  Capac  organized 
a  regular  government,  and  formed  his  subjects  into  four  different  ranks 
or  classes,  which  had  some  slight  resemblance  to  the  castes  of  the 
Hindoos.  He  also  established  many  useful  customs  and  laws,  and 
founded  the  town  of  Cuzco,  which  soon  became  the  capital  of  an  ex* 
tensive  empire,  called  the  empire  of  the  Incas  (or  lords)  of  Peru.  He 
and  his  successors  being  considered  as  the  offspring  of  the  divinity, 
exercised  absolute  and  uncontrolled  authority.  His  successors  gradu- 
ally extended  their  authority  over  the  whole  of  the  mountain  region 
between  the  equator  and  25°  S.  lat  When  the  Spaniards  first  en- 
tered Peru  the  12th  monarch  from  the  founder  of  the  state,  named 
Huayna  Capac,  was  said  to  be  seated  on  the  throne.  He  had  violated 
the  ancient  usage  of  the  Incas,  which  forbade  a  monarch  to  marry  a 
woman  not  a  descendant  of  Manco  Capac  and  Mama  Ocollo.  His 
wife  was  a  daughter  of  the  vanquished  king  of  Quito,  and  the  son 
whom  she  had  borne  him,  named  Atahualpa,  was  appointed  his  suo- 
cessor  in  that  kingdom.  The  rest  of  his  dominions  he  left  to  Huascar, 
his  eldest  son  by  a  princess  of  the  Inca  race.  This  led  to  a  civil  war 
between  the  two  princes,  and  when  the  contest  was  at  its  height,  a 
Spanish  force  entered  the  country  under  Francisco  Pizarro  in  1531. 

Pizarro  had  sailed,  in  1526,  from  Panamd  to  a  country  lying  farther 
south,  which,  according  to  the  information  collected  from  the  natives, 
abounded  in  precious  metals.  He  sailed  along  the  coast  as  far  south 
as  Cape  Parina  or  Cape  Aguja.  Landing  at  Tumbez,  in  the  Bay  of 
Guayaquil,  the  most  northern  point  of  the  present  republic  of  Peru,  he 
was  struck  with  the  advanced  state  of  civilization  of  the  inhabitants, 
and  still  more  with  the  abundance  of  gold  and  silver  vessels  and  uten- 
sils. From  this  time  he  resolved  on  the  conquest  of  the  country.  In 
1531  he  returned  with  a  small  force  which  he  had  procured  from 
Spain,  marched  along  the  coast,  and  in  1582  built  the  town  of  St, 
Michael  de  Piura,  the  oldest  Spanish  settlement  in  Peru.  The  dis- 
tracted state  of  the  country,  caused  by  the  civil  war,  enabled  the 
Spaniards  to  take  pessession  of  it  without  a  battle ;  and  though  the 
Peruvians  afterward  tried  to  renew  the  contest,  they  were  easily  de- 
feated and  compelled  to  submit  to  a  foreign  yoke.  Pizarro  built  the 
towns  of  Piura,  Truxillo,  Lima,  Arequipa,  and  Huamanga :  Cuzco  was 
founded  by  Manco  Capac. 

The  disorders  which  immediately  followed  the  conquest  nearly 
caused  the  loss  of  the  country,  a  circumstance  which  determined  the 


ao6 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


oourt  of  Spain  to  make  Peru  the  chief  seat  of  the  Spanish  dominions 
in  South  America.  Lima  was  chosen  for  the  capital,  and  it  soon  rose 
to  such  opulence  that  it  was  called  the  City  of  the  Kings.  The  au- 
thority of  Spain  took  deeper  root  in  Peru  than  in  any  other  of  hei 
South  American  Colonies.  In  1780  the  Peruvians  took  up  arms 
against  the  Spaniards,  under  Tupac  Amaro,  an  Inca,  but  failing  to  cap- 
ture the  town  of  La  Paz  after  a  long  siege,  they  again  submitted. 
When  all  the  Spanish  colonies  began  to  rise  against  the  mother  coun- 
try, after  the  year  1810,  Peru  remained  quiet,  and  though  some  of  the 
•  neighboring  provinces  had  already  expelled  the  Spanish  armies,  and 
others  were  attempting  to  do  the  same,  the  Spaniards  remained  in  un- 
disturbed possession  of  Peru  until  1820  ,when  General  San  Martin,  after 
having  expelled  the  Spaniards  from  Chili,  entered  Peru  at  the  head 
of  a  victorious  army,  and  soon  obtained  possession  of  Lima.  The  in- 
dependence of  Peru  was  declared  on  the  28th  of  July,  1821,  and  San 
Martin  was  proclaimed  protector  of  Peru.  The  Spanish  viceroy  Can- 
terac,  who  had  remained  in  possession  of  the  Montana,  gradually  re- 
covered the  Valles.  San  Martin,  having  lost  his  popularity,  resigned 
his  authority  into  the  hands  of  the  legislature  on  the  1 9th  of  August, 
1822.  On  the  Ist  of  September,  Bolivar,  the  Columbian  general,  en- 
tered Lima,  and  continued  the  war  with  Canterac,  but  at  first  with 
doubtful  success.  In  February,  1824,  Bolivar  was  made  dictator;  and 
in  December  of  the  same  year  the  Spanish  army,  under  Canterac,  was 
entirely  defeated  by  Sucre,  on  the  plains  of  Ayacucho,  by  which  battle 
the  authority  of  Spain  in  Peru  and  South  America  was  annihilated. 
In  February,  1825,  Bolivar  had  resigned  the  dictatorship,  but  he  had 
previously  contrived  to  separate  the  southern  provinces  from  the 
northern,  and  to  convert  the  former  into  a  new  republic,  which  adopted 
the  name  of  Bolivia.  Several  different  forms  of  government  were  tried 
within  the  six  years  following  the  declaration  of  independence.  The 
constitution  adopted  by  Bolivar  in  1826  excited  great  discontent,  and 
as  Bolivar  was  soon  afterward  obliged  to  go  to  Columbia,  where  an 
insurrection  had  broken  out  and  a  civil  war  was  on  the  point  of  com- 
Biencing,  a  complete  revolution  took  place  in  Peru,  in  January,  1827. 
The  Bolivian  constitution,  or  government,  was  abolished,  and  a  new 
iederal  constitution,  avowedly  founded  on  that  of  the  United  States  of 
North  America,  was  framed  and  adopted,  and  may  be  considered  as 
still  in  force.  The  national  congress,  or  supreme  legislature,  consists 
of  two  bodies,  a  senate  and  a  house  of  representatives.  The  president, 
in  whose  hands  the  executive  power  is  placed,  is  chosen  for  four  years, 
and  he  cann  t  be  re-elected.    The  departments  have  their  own  legis 


was 

preser 

sions. 

ence 

to  takJ 

Buenol 

ment 

Throuc 

was  col 

Seven 

districti 

piiblicji 

eountrv 

cord  ur 

»nd  tU 


URUGUAY. 


807 


latnres,  and  administer  their  own  affairs,  but  the  laws  passed  by  these 
legislatures  must  be  approved  by  the  National  Congress.  The  highest 
officers  of  the  central  government  in  the  departments  are  the  prefects 
and  subprefects.  These  persons,  as  well  as  the  judges,  are  elected  by 
the  congress  from  three  candidates,  who  are  proposed  by  the  provin^ 
cial  governments.  The  Roman  Catholic  religion  alone  can  be  publicly 
exercised.  But  though  this  is  still  the  nominal  constitution,  Peru  has 
been,  ever  since  its  adoption,  almost  continually  distracted  by  parties 
struggling  for  power,  and  by  civil  wars  and  revolutions  produced  by 
these  continual  struggles,  while  the  government  has  really  been  in  the 
hands  of  the  chief  of  the  successful  party. 

In  1855  General  Ecliinique  was  driven  from  power  by  a  revolution, 
and  Ramon  Castilla  assumed  the  presidency,  which  he  continued  to  hold 
as  late  as  1859. 

URUGUAY. 

r  HUGH  AY,  formerly  called  the  Banda  Oriental,  com- 
prehends  the  country  lying  between  the  southern 
limit  of  Brazil  and  the  Rio  de  la  Plata ;  it  is  bounded 
[north  by  Brazil,  east  by  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and 
south   and   west   by  the   Argentine   Confederation. 
There  are  nine  departments  in  the  State,  and  the 
^population  is  estimated  at  less  than  150,000.    The  territorial 
.area  is  73,538  square  miles. 

The  Banda  Oriental  was,  during  the  Spanish  supremacy,  the 
name  of  that  portion  of  the  viceroyalty  of  Buenos  Ayres  which 
was  situated  to  the  east  of  the  river  Uruguay,  and  comprehended  the 
present  republic  of  Uruguay  and  the  country  called  the  Seven  Mis 
sions.  The  continual  civil  wars  by  which  the  declaration  of  independ 
ence  was  followed  in  Buenos  Ayres,  induced  the  government  of  Brazil 
to  take  iios'^cssion  of  the  Banda  Oriental  in  1815.  The  republic  of 
Buenos  Ayres  protested  against  this  f^tep,  and,  as  no  amicable  settle- 
ment could  be  made,  a  wdr  ensued  between  the  two  countries  in  1826. 
Through  the  intervention  of  the  English  government  a  treaty  of  peace 
was  concluded  in  1828,  by  which  the  northern  district,  known  as  the 
Seven  Missions,  was  ceded  to  Brazil,  and  the  more  exclusive  southern 
district  was  declared  an  independent  republic,  under  the  title  of  Re- 
publica  del  Uruguay  Oriental.  But  instead  of  securing  peace  to  the 
country  its  independence  appears  hitherto  to  have  only  entailed  dis- 
cord upon  it.  Internal  liostilities  broke  out  at  a  very  early  period, 
and  these  were  soon  followed  by  the  incursion  of  troops  from  Buenoi 


lillijili^o 


808 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


Ayres;  the  assistance  of  Rosas,  the  president  of  Buenos  Ayres,  having 
been  invoked  by  Aribe,  one  of  the  unsuccessful  aspirants  to  the  ruler- 
ship  of  Uruguay.  After  a  long  continuance  of  strife,  without  any 
prospect  of  either  party  securing  a  manifest  superiority,  Brazil  was  in- 
duced, by  the  appeals  of  Paraguay  ahd  other  neighboring  powers,  to 
interfere.  In  order  to  show  her  good  faith,  Brazil  sent  ministers  to 
the  courts  of  England  and  France,  with  a  view  to  obtain  their  assist- 
ance either  as  umpires  or  active  agents  in  compelling  the  respective 
parties  to  come  to  terms.  Those  powers  accordingly  sent  some  ships 
of  war  to  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  in  1845.  The  English  ships  blockaded 
Montevideo  till  1848,  and  the  French  till  1849,  when  both  England 
and  France  made  treaties  with  Rosas.  On  these  powers  withdrawing, 
Brazil  commenced  more  active  hostilities — the  Argentine  provinces  of 
Corrientes  and  Entre  Rios  uniting  with  her.  The  war  was,  however, 
prolonged  till  1851,  when  Aribe  was  forced  to  capitulate  in  Uruguay, 
and  Rosas  was  soon  after  deposed  in  Buenos  Ayres.  Treaties  between 
the  several  parties  gave  peace  to  Uruguay  as  far  as  regarded  hostilities 
with  foreign  powers,  and  secured  the  recognition  of  the  republic  by  the 
neighboring  states.  But  internal  discord  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other 
of  the  petty  rep»blics  of  South  America,  appears  to  have  become 
chronic,  and  affairs  have  continued  in  a  more  or  less  unsettled  state. 
The  president  of  the  republic,  in  1859,  was  Q.  Antonio  Pereira. 

VENEZUELA. 


'HIS  state  extends  over  the  north-eastern  portion  of 
South  America,  being  situated  between  1°  10'  and 
12°  20'  N.  lat.,  and  60°  and  73°  W.  long.  It  is 
bounded  north  by  the  Caribbean  sea,  east  by  Brazil, 
Guiana,  and  the  Atlantic  ocean,  south  by  Brazil,  and 
west  by  New  Granada.  It  contains  an  area  of 
426,000  square  miles,  and  is  divided  into  fifteen  provinces,  em- 
bracing a  population  of  about  a  millioh  and  a  quarter. 

The  most  eastern  part  of  this  coast,  and  the  Island  of  Marga- 
rita, were  discovered  by  Christopher  Columbus  in  his  third 
voyage,  1498,  and  the  following  year  the  whole  northern  coast  of 
South  America,  from  the  Gulf  of  Paria  to  Cape  de  la  Vela,  in  New 
Granada,  was  discovered  by  Ojeda  and  Vespucci.  In  the  same  year 
Christobal  Guerra  made  a  \oyage  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  the 
commercial  wealth  of  the  country.  The  first  settlements  on  the  conti- 
nent were  at  Cumand,  which  was  built  in  1620,  and  at  Coro,  which 


VENEZUELA. 


809 


was  built  in  1527.  About  this  time  the  emperor  Charles  V.  gave  up 
the  whole  northern  coast  as  far  west  as  Cape  de  la  Vela  to  the  Wel- 
sers,  a  family  of  merchants  in  Augsburg,  to  be  held  as  a  fief  of  the 
crown  of  Castile;  but  he  resumed  possession  of  it  in  1542.  Several 
places  in  the  coast  range  had  already  been  discovered  where  there 
were  indications  of  gold ;  and  the  Spaniards  now  began  to  form  their 
settlements.  Tucuyo  was  established  in  1546,  Barquicimento  in  1552, 
Valencia  in  1555,  and  Car&cas  in  1667.  In  1634  the  Dutch  took  pos- 
session of  the  island  of  Curasao,  and  from  that  time  Venezuela  began 
to  rise.  The  continually  increasing  demand  for  cacao  on  the  part  of 
the  Dutch  induced  the  Spanish  settleA  to  attend  to  its  cultivation,  and 
'n  a  short  time  a  considerable  quantity  of  cacao  was  exported.  This 
excited  the  jealousy  of  the  Spanish  court  and  of  the  Spanish  ncr- 
chants.  Various  means  were  employed  to  direct  this  branch  of  com- 
merce to  Spain,  but  with  little  success.  In  1700  the  company  of 
Guipuzcoa  was  established,  in  which  was  vested  the  exclusive  right  of 
carrying  on  the  commerce  with  Venezuela ;  but  the  cultivation  of  cacao, 
as  well  as  of  indigo,  was  more  promoted  by  the  smuggling  trade  with 
the  Dutch  than  by  that  of  the  company,  and  in  1778  the  company  dis- 
solved, and  the  trade  was  open  to  all  the  ports  of  Spain.  Venezuela 
remained  under  the  sway  of  Spain  till  1808,  when  Napoleon  I.,  having 
deposed  the  royal  family,  made  his  brother  Joseph  king  of  Spain. 
Venezuela,  like  all  the  American  colonies  of  Spain,  declared  for  the 
ancient  dynasty ;  but  being  dissatisfied  with  the  measures  of  the  re- 
gency of  Spain,  it  proclaimed  its  independence  in  1810,  but  in  1812 
was  brought  back  to  its  ancient  political  condition.  In  1813  BoUvar, 
a  native  of  Venezuela,  made  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  liberate  his 
native  country  from  the  yoke  of  Spain;  iu  1816  he  was  more  success- 
ful. In  that  year  a  war  began  between  the  Spaniards  and  the  inhabit- 
ants, which  lasted  till  1823,  when  the  Spaniards  who  had  remained  in 
the  country  gave  up  Puerto  Cabello,  their  last  place  of  refuge.  In 
1821  Venezuela  united  with  New  Granada  and  Quito,  and  formed  one 
republic  under  the  name  of  Colombia;  in  1830  they  separated  amica- 
bly, and  since  that  time  they  have  constituted  the  three  republics  of 
Venezuela,  New  Granada,  and  Ecuador.  In  the  year  in  which  the 
union  was  dissolved  Venezuela  formed  a  new  constitution,  which  un- 
derwent some  modifications  in  1843.  By  it  Venezuela  has  a  central 
government,  the  legislature  of  which  is  invested  with  the  power  of 
making  laws  on  all  subjects.  The  legislative  power  is  vested  in  a  Con- 
gress, which  consists  of  a  house  of  representatives  and  of  a  senate. 
Each  province  sends  two  members  to  the  senate,  and  one  member  to 


610 


SOUTH  AMERICA. 


the  house  of  representatives  for  every  25,000  inhabitants.  The  execn- 
live  power  is  vested  in  the  president,  who,  like  the  vice-president,  is 
chosen  for  four  years.  Like  the  other  South  American  repubhcs 
Venezuela  has,  since  its  independence,  been  in  a  continually  disturbed 

state. 

In  1857  and  '68  a  revolution  took  place,  which  drove  President 
Monagas  from  power,  who  had  governed  the  country  in  a  o/jrrupt  and 
despotic  manner,  and  elevated  General  Castro  in  his  place.  In  the  lat- 
ter year  also,  by  vote  of  the  Congress  of  the  nation,  General  Paez,  a 
distinguished  Venezuelan  patriot,  who  had  been  living  in  exile  many 
years  in  the  United  States,  wa*  recalled ;  he  was  conveyed  to  his  na- 
tive land  in  one  of  the  vessels  of  the  United  States  naval  expeditio* 
bound  to  Paraguay. 


•■*..-  •. 


■,t!        »■  •    i  ■      J       .  I 


*••  ' 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 


ANTIGUA. 


HE  island  of  Antigua,  one  of  the  leeward  gronp, 
belongs  to  Great  Britain.  It  contains  an  area  of 
168  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  about  40,000. 
It  was  discovered  by  Columbus  in  1492,  who  gave 
it  the  name  of  Santa  Maria  de  la  Antigua ;  but  it 
was  found  totally  uninhabited  by  those  few  French- 
men who  fled  thither  in  1629,  upon  being  driven  from  St 
'  Christopher  by  the  Spaniards.  The  want  of  fresh  water  in- 
duced the  fugitives  to  return  as  soon  as  they  could.  It  appears 
that  in  1640  there  were  about  thirty  English  families  settled  in 
this  island;  and  the  number  was  not  much  increased  when  Charles  II. 
granted  the  property  to  Lord  Willoughby.  In  1666  it  was  invaded  by 
a  French  force,  which  laid  waste  all  the  settlements.  A  few  years  af- 
terward Antigua  was  again  settled  by  Colonel  Codrington,  who  was 
appointed  its  governor.  It  was  visited  by  an  earthquake  in  1843,  by 
which  most  of  the  principal  buildings  were  destroyed. 

The  executive  government  of  Antigua  is  vested  in  a  governor,  who 
is  also  govemor-in-chief  over  all  the  Leeward  Islands.  Its  legislature 
consists  of  a  council  nominated  by  the  crown,  and  a  house  of  assembly 
chosen  by  the  freeholders  of  the  island. 

To  the  north  and  west  of  Antigua  lie  the  smaller  islands  of  An- 
gnilla,  Barbuda,  and  St.  Bartholomew.  The  two  former  are  under 
British  rule,  and  the  last  is  a  colonial  possession,  and  the  only  one,  of 
Sweden,  in  the  West  Indies.  It  was  first  settled  by  a  French  colony 
from  St.  Christopher,  in  1648,  and  after  passing  into  the  hands  of  the 
English  and  French  alternately,  several  times,  was  finally  ceded  to 
Sweden  in  1785.  It  has  an  area  of  25  square  miles,  and  a  population 
of  0,000. 

.     811 


812 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 


BARBADOES. 

■^[^N.V)  ARBADOES  is  tho  most  eastern  of  the  Cftribbee 
t^B^y  Islands,  and  the  most  ancient  of  the  British  posses* 
MMR^sions  in  these  seas.  It  is  fifteen  miles  long  and  ten 
broad,  and  contains  an  area  of  100  square  miles.  Ita 
population  is  about  150,000. 
The  Portuguese  landed  in  Barbadoes  about  the  year  1600, 
'and  left  there  a  few  plants  and  some  swine.  The  island  was 
jjtaken  possession  of  by  the  English  in  1005  ;  the  first  settlement 
'was  made  by  Sir  William  Courtoen  in  1624,  and  named  by  him 
James  Town.  After  a  dispute  between  two  claimants  for  court 
&vor,  the  Earls  of  Carlisle  and  Marlborough,  the  former  was  put  in 
possession  of  tho  island  by  patent.  A  kind  of  island  parliament  was 
constituted,  and  Barbadoes  so  far  flourished  as  to  have  a  population  of 
60,000  by  the  year  1647.  The  Barbadians  being  for  the  most  part 
Loyalists,  the  island  was  taken  by  the  Parliamentary  party  in  1052. 
After  the  restoration  much  complexity  arose  out  of  the  allegiance 
which  the  Barbadians  owed  to  the  king  and  to  the  Earl  of  Carlisle  and 
his  heirs;  and  in  1663  an  arrangement  was  made  whereby  all  claims 
of  the  earl  and  his  heirs  were  commuted  for  an  annual  percentage  on 
the  revenues  of  the  island. 

In  1664  Barbadoes  was  attacked  unsuccessfully  by  the  Dutch  Ad- 
miral De  Ruyter.  In  1668  a  destructive  fire  laid  nearly  all  Bridge* 
town  in  ashea.  In  1669  Barbadoes  was  made  the  head-quarters  of  the 
Windward  Islands.  In  1675  the  island  was  visited  by  an  awful  hur- 
ricane :  nsither  tree  nor  house  was  left  standing,  except  a  few  shel- 
tered by  some  hill  or  cliff,  and  the  whole  face  of  the  country  exhibited 
one  scene  of  desolation,  while  the  coast  was  strewed  with  wrecks,  and 
many  lives  were  lost  at  sea  and  on  shore.  During  the  remainder  of 
Charles  II.'s  reign  an  illiberal  course  of  policy  was  pursued  towar<l 
Barbadoes,  greatly  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  the  colonists.  On  the  ac- 
cession of  King  William  the  Barbadians,  in  conjunction  with  Colonel 
Codrington,  governor  of  the  Leeward  Islands,  voluntarily  undertook 
an  expedition  against  the  French  in  these  seas,  in  which  they  greatly 
distinguished  themselves  in  several  remarkable  exploits.  The  calami- 
ties of  war  were,  in  1692,  aggravated  by  the  ravages  of  pestilence  and 
an  insurrection  of  the  negroes;  nevertheless  the  Barbadians  sent  a 
thousand  men  to  assist  in  the  attack  upon  Martinique  in  that  vear 


millio 
Dieg( 
point 
Hatn( 

slaver 

escap( 
Th( 

oner, , 

AUthI 


CUBA, 


813 


A  long  period  of  comparativo  quiet  and  prosperity  ensued ;  but  in 
175(1  the  war  which  was  Ivindlud  in  Europe  afforded  tlie  Barbadians 
an  opportunity  of  showing  their  zeal  and  fidelity  by  furnishing  (100 
white  volunteers,  with  negroes  for  laborious  service,  besides  supplies 
to  tlie  fleet,  under  Conunodoro  Moore,  destined  to  attack  Martinique, 
and  to  the  forces  besieging  Giiadaloupc.  Mr.  Hay,  who  assumed  the 
government  in  1773,  was  very  anxious  to  improve  the  commerco  of 
the  ishmd,  and  recommended  tliat  application  should  bo  made  to  ob- 
tain for  it  tl.e  privileges  of  a  free  port,  but  the  opportunity  was  lost. 

Barbadoes  has  been  singuliuly  afflicted  by  fires  and  hurricanes. 
Bridgetown,  in  the  last  century,  was  burnt  down  four  times  in  ten 
years.  A  tremendous  hurricane  commenced  on  the  10th  of  October, 
178U,  and  continued  to  rage  with  unparalleled  violence  for  forty-eight 
hours,  threatening  universal  ruin. 

The  governor  of  Barbadoes  is  also  superior  governor  of  all  the 
Windward  Islands.  lion.  Francis  Ilincks  held  the  oflBco  in  18C9. 
The  legislature  consists  of  the  governor,  a  council,  and  house  of  assem- 
bly. Barbadoes  is  the  most  thickly  populated  and  among  the  most 
prosperous  of  the  British  West  Indies. 


CUBA. 

jUBA,  the  largest  and  most  westerly  island  in  the 
West  Indies,  was  discovered  by  Columbus,  1492; 
and  was  first  called  Juana,  in  honor  of  Prince  John, 
son  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella;  afterward  Fernan- 
dina ;  then  Santiago  and  Ave  Maria,  in  deference  to 
the  patron  saint  of  Spain  and  the  Virgin.  The  name  of  Cuba 
is  that  which  it  was  called  by  the  natives  at  the  time  of  its 
discovery.  It  is  about  eight  hundred  miles  in  length,  and 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  in  breadth,  containing  an 
area  of  47,000  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  more  than  a 
million.  The  Spaniards  made  no  settlement  upon  it  till  1511,  when 
Diego  de  Velasquez  arrived  with  four  ships,  and  landed  on  the  eastern 
point.  This  district  was  under  the  government  of  a  cacique,  named 
Hatney,  a  native  of  St.  Domingo,  who  had  retired  hither  to  avoid  the 
slavery  to  which  his  countrymen  were  condemned.  Those  who  could 
escape  the  tyranny  of  the  Spaniards  had  followed  him  in  his  retreat. 

The  Spaniards  soon  overcame  the  Indians.  Hatney  was  taken  pris 
oner,  and  condemned  to  be  burned.  Velasquez  found  no  more  enemies 
All  the  caciques  hastened  to  do  him  homage.     After  the  mines  had 


814 


THE  "WEST  INDIES. 


been  oj  ened,  and  it  was  found  that  they  did  not  answer,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Cuba,  having  become  useless,  were  exterminated. 

In  1762  the  English  took  Havana,  but  it  was  restored  to  Spain  by 
thfi  peace  of  1763,  and  the  island  has  remained  a  Spanish  colony  ever 
since.  For  a  long  period  Cuba  has  been  notorious  for  the  extent  to 
which  the  traffic  in  slaves  has  been  carried  on  in  its  several  ports.  The 
English  government,  after  long  continued  efforts,  at  last  succeeded,  in 
1863,  in  inducing  the  Spanish  government  to  pledge  itself  to  adopt 
measures  for  the  suppression  of  the  slave-trade  in  Cuba ;  but  the  traffic 
continues  more  or  less  active  down  to  the  present  time.  The  import- 
ance of  Cuba,  as  commanding  the  approaches  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
has  led  to  several  attempts  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  nego- 
tiate with  Spain  for  its  purchase ;  but  the  latter  has  seemed  little  will- 
ing to  part  with  her  rich  and  important  colony.  Attempts  have  been 
made  at  domestic  revolution,  with  a  view  of  establishing  the  independ- 
ence of  Cuba,  but  these  have  thus  far  proved  unsuccessful. 


CURAgOA. 

jURA^OA  was  settled  by  the  Spaniards  early  in  the 
sixteenth  century;  it  was  taken  in  1632  by  the 
Dutch,  and  was  captured  by  tlie  English  in  1798, 
but  restored  to  Holland  at  the  peace  of  Amiens.  It 
was  again  taken  by  the  English  in  1806,  and  finally 
given  up  to  Holland  at  the  general  peace  in  1814. 

It  lies  oflf  the  coast  of  Venezuela ;  is  about  thirty  miles  long 
and  six  broad,  and  contains  a  population  of  nearly  20,000.   • 

In  this  connection  we  may  embrace  the  mention  of  some 
other  small  islands  in  the  West  India  group,  owned  by  the 
Dutch :  St.  Eustatius,  lying  eleven  miles  north  of  St.  Christopher, 
with  an  area  of  ninety-seven  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  about 
2,000.  Bonaire,  twenty-seven  miles  north-east  of  Curagoa;  area 
eighty-three  square  miles,  population  about  2,500.  Aruba,  fifty  miles 
north-west  of  CuraQoa;  area  twenty-three  square  miles,  population 
about  3,000.  Saba,  lying  fifteen  miles  north  of  St.  Eustatius;  aica 
fiixtee^i  square  miles,  population  less  than  2,000.  The  south  part  of 
St.  Martin,  twelve  square  miles,  and  nearly  3,000  inhabitants. 


GUADELOUPE. 


815 


DOMmiCA. 

• 

[OMINICA  was  discovered  by  Columbus  in  1493, 
'and  received  its  name  in  consequence  of  its  being 
I  first  seen  on  a  Sunday.  The  right  of  occupancy  was 
long  claimed  equally  by  England,  Spain  and  France, 
but  the  island  was  virtually  a  kind  of  neutral  ground 
until  the  year  1759,  when  its  possession  was  assumed 
^by  the  English,  and  their  right  to  hold  it  was  formally  recognized 
in  1763  by  the  treaty  of  Paris.  In  1778  Dominica  was  taken 
'  by  a  French  squadron  under  the  Marquis  de  Bouille,  but  was 
restored  to  England  at  the  peace  in  1783.  In  1805  the  island 
was  again  attacked  by  the  French  fleet  under  Admiral  Villeneuve,  but 
was  successfully  defended  by  the  garrison  under  Sir  George  Prevost, 
This  island  lies  between  Martinique  and  Guadeloupe;  is  twenty- 
eight  miles  long,  with  an  average  breadth  of  ten  miles,  and  contains  a 
population  of  about  25,000.  It  has  a  lieutenant-governor,  council,  and 
assembly  consisting  of  twenty  members. 


GUADELOUPE. 

■  HIS  island,  a  possession  of  France,  was  one  of  the 
discoveries  of  Columbus.  It  is  of  an  irregular  form, 
about  twenty-seven  miles  long  by  fifteen  wide, 
containing  an  area  of  534  square  miles,  and  a  popu- 
lation of  about  140,000. 

The  part  of  the  island  which  gives  its  name 
to  the  whole  colony  is,  toward  the  centre,  full  of  craggy 
'  rocks.  Among  these  rocks  is  a  mountain  called  La  Soufri' 
kre,  or,  the  Brimstone  Mountain,  which  rises  to  an  im- 
mense height,  and  exhales,  through  various  openings,  a  thick 
and  black  smoke,  intermixed  with  sparks  that  are  visible  by  night. 
From  these  hills  flow  numberless  streams,  which  fertilize  the  plains 
below.  Such  is  that  part  of  the  island  properly  called  Guadeloupe, 
or  Basse-terre.  That  part  which  is  commonly  called  Grand-terre 
has  been  less  favored  by  nature. 

In  1636  the  first  settlement  was  made  on  this  island,  by  two 
gentlemen  from  Dieppe,  named  Loline  and  Duplesis,  with  about  five 
hundred  folowers.  Through  imprudence  all  their  provisions  were 
exhausted  in  two  months ;  famine  stared  them  in  the  face,  when  they 


'!lh.4 


,!)■•'»  !i»i 


816 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 


resolved  to  plunder  the  natives.  This,  however,  did  not  avert  the 
dreadful  alternative.  How  far  the  accounts  of  their  horrible  sufferings 
are  to  be  credited  we  know  not,  but  it  is  asserted  that  the  colonists 
were  reduced  to  graze  in  the  field  and  to  dig  up  dead  bodies  for  their 
subsistence.  Many  who  had  been  slaves  in  Algiers  deplored  the  fate 
that  had  broken  their  fetters ;  and  all  of  them  cursed  their  existence. 
It  was  in  this  manner  that  they  atoned  for  their  crime  of  invasion,  till 
the  government  of  Aubert  brought  about  a  peace  with  the  natives, 
A.  D.  1640.  The  few  inhabitants  that  escaped  the  calamities  they  had 
brought  upon  themselves  were  soon  joined  by  some  discontented 
colonists  from  St.  Christopher's,  and  by  Europeans  fond  of  novelty^ 
But  still  the  prosperity  of  Guadeloupe  was  impeded  by  obstacles  aris- 
ing from  its  situation.  Martinique  engrossed  every  species  of  traffic, 
from  its  convenient  harbors  and  roads.  It  was  in  consequence  of  this 
preference  that  the  population  of  Guadeloupe,  in  11 00,  amounted  only 
to  about  four  thousand  whites  and  seven  thousand  slaves,  many  of 
whom  were  Caribs ;  while  the  produce  of  the  island  was  proportiona- 
bly  small.  Its  future  progress  was,  however,  as  rapid  as  the  first  at- 
tempts had  been  slow. 

At  the  end  of  1755  the  colony  contained  near  ten  thousand  whites, 
and  between  forty  and  fifty  thousand  slaves ;  and  such  was  the  state  of 
Guadeloupe  when  conquered  by  the  English,  in  1*759,  after  a  siege  of 
three  months,  in  which  time  the  island  suffered  so  much  as  to  be 
nearly  ruined.  The  conquerors,  however,  delivered  the  inhabitants 
from  their  fears ;  they  overstocked  the  market,  and  thereby  reduced 
the  price  of  all  European  commodities.  The  colonists  bought  them 
at  a  low  price,  and,  in  consequence  of  this  plenty,  obtained  long  delays 
for  payment.  The  colony  was  restored  to  France  by  the  peace  of 
Paris,  in  1763.  During  the  French  republican  war  Guadeloupe  was 
taken  by  the  English,  and  retaken  by  the  French,  in  whose  hands  it 
now  remains. 

Afiairs  are  conducted  by  a  governor,  privy  council,  and  colonial 
council,  the  latter  consisting  of  thirty  members  chosen  by  the  colonists. 
In  this  and  the  other  French  West  India  Islands  slavery  was  abolished 
in  1848. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Guadeloupe,  and  under  its  control,  are  the  smaller 
islands  of  Marie-Galante,  twelve  miles  long  by  eight  broad ;  Deseada, 
eight  miles  by  three ;  Les  Saintks,  a  group  of  rocky  islets ;  and  St. 
Martin,  with  an  area  of  thirty-three  square  miles.  The  northern  part 
of  this  last  mentioned  island  is  owned  by  the  French,  while  the  Dutch 
control  the  southern  part 


They 


JAMAICA.     j.\ 


817 


GRENADA. 


NE  of  the  West  India  Islands,  belonging  to  Great 
Britain,  is  about  twenty-four  miles  long  and  ten 
I  broad.  The  French  formed  a  project  for  settling 
I  there  as  early  as  the  year  1638,  yet  they  never  car- 
ried it  into  execution  till  1651.  At  their  arrival 
they  gave  a  few  hatchets,  some  knives  and  a  barrel 
jof  bramiy,  to  the  chief  of  the  natives  they  found  there;  and, 
iinaginiiig  they  had  purchased  the  island  with  these  trifles,  as- 
sumed the  sovereignty,  and  soon  acted  as  tyrants.  The  Caribs, 
unable  to  contend  with  them  by  open  force,  took  the  usual 
method  which  weakness  inspires  to  repel  oppression ;  they  murdered 
all  whom  tliey  found  alone  and  defencvless.  The  troops  that  were 
sent  to  support  the  infant  colony  destroyed  all  the  natives  they  found. 
Tlie  remainder  of  these  miserable  people  took  refuge  upon  a  steep 
rock,  preferring  rather  to  throw  themselves  down  alive  from  the  top  of 
it  than  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  an  implacable  enemy.  The  French 
called  this  rock  Le  Morne  des  Sauteurs  (the  Hill  of  the  Leapers),  which 
name  it  still  retaiui.  The  French  held  this  island  till  1762,  when  it 
was  captured  by  the  British,  to  whom  it  was  confirmed  by  the  treaty 
of  176a.  The  French,  however,  retook  it  in  1799,  but  restored  it  in 
1783,  agreeably  to  the  treaty  of  peace. 

Grenada  has  a  population  of  about  30,000.  Its  government  is  like 
that  of  the  other  British  islands,  consisting  of  a  lieutenant-governor, 
souncil,  and  house  of  assembly. 


JAMAICA. 

.  AMAICA,  the  largest  and  most  valuable  of  the  Brit- 
%  ish  West  India  Islands,  was  discovered  by  Columbus  in 
his  second  voyage,  in  1494.     It  is  about  one  hundred 
'and  sixty-five  miles  in  length,  from  east  to  west,  and 
its  average  breadth  about  forty  miles,  bearing  a  re- 
semblance to  a  long  oval.     It  contains  an  area  of 
•8,260  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  about  400,000.     In 
h602  Columbus  was  driven  upon  the  island  by  a  storm,  and, 
having  lost  his  ships,  he  implored  the  humanity  of  tLe  natives, 
who  gave  him  all  the  assistance  that  natural  pity  suggests. 
They  soon,  however,  grew  tired  of  supporting  strangers,  and  insensibly 


818 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 


withdrew  from  their  neighborhood.  The  Spaniards,  who  bad  already 
treated  the  Indians  ungenerously,  now  took  up  arms  against  one  of 
their  chiefs,  whom  they  accused  of  severity  towrad  them.  Colurabuh, 
forced  to  yield  to  the  threats  of  his  people,  in  order  to  extricate  him- 
self from  so  perilous  a  situation,  availed  himself  of  one  of  those  natural 
phenomena  in  which  a  man  of  genius  may  sometimes  find  a  resource. 
From  the  knowledge  he  hiid  acquired  of  astronomy  he  knew  that  an 
eclipse  of  the  moon  was  fast  approaching.  He  took  advantage  of  this 
circumstance,  and  summoned  all  the  caciques  in  the  neighborhood  to 
come  and  hear  something  that  concerned  them,  and  was  essential  to 
their  preservation.  He  then  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  hav- 
ing upbraided  them  with  their  cruelty,  in  suffering  him  and  his  dis- 
tressed companions  almost  to  perish,  he  thus  emphatically  addressed 
them :  "  To  punish  you  for  this,  the  God  whom  I  worship  is  going  to 
Bti  ike  you  with  his  most  terrible  judgments.  This  very  evening  you 
will  see  the  moon  turn  red,  then  grow  dark,  and  withhold  its  light 
from  you.  This  will  be  only  a  prelude  to  your  calamities,  if  you  ob- 
stinately persist  in  refusing  to  give  us  food."  He  had  scarcely  done 
speaking  when  his  prophecies  were  fulfilled.  The  Indians  were  terri- 
fied beyond  measure ;  they  begged  for  mercy,  and  promised  to  do  any 
thing  that  he  should  desire.  He  then  told  them  that  Heaven,  moved 
with  their  repentance,  was  appeased,  and  that  nature  was  going  to  re- 
sume her  natural  course.  From  that  moment  provisions  were  sent 
from  all  quarters ;  and  the  Spaniards  were  never  in  want  of  any  thing 
during  the  time  they  remained  there. 

It  was  Don  Diego  Columbus,  son  of  the  discoverer,  that  first  fixed 
the  Spaniards  in  Jamaica.  In  1609  he  sent  thither  seventy  robbers 
from  St.  Domingo,  under  the  command  of  John  do  Esquimel,  and 
others  soon  followed.  These  wretches  went  over  apparently  for  no 
other  purpose  but  to  shed  human  blood ;  in  fact,  they  never  appear  to 
have  sheathed  their  swords  while  there  was  an  inhabitant  left.  The 
murderers  raised  several  settlements  upon  the  ashes  of  the  natives ;  but 
that  of  St.  Jago  de  la  Vega  was  the  only  one  that  could  support  itself. 
ITie  inhabitants  of  that  town  contented  themselves  with  living  upon 
the  produce  of  some  few  plantations,  and  the  overplus  they  sold  to  the 
ships  that  passed  by  their  coasts.  The  whole  population  of  the  colony, 
centered  in  the  little  spot  that  fed  this  race  of  destroyers,  consisted  of 
about  fifteen  hundred  whites,  and  as  many  slaves,  when  the  English 
came  and  attacked  the  town,  took  it,  and  settled  there,  in  1655.  The 
English  brought  the  fatal  sources  of  discord  along  with  them.  At  first 
the  now  colony  was  only  inhabited  by  three  thousand  }f  that  fanatical 


JAMAICA. 


8iy 


army  who  liatl  fought  and  conquered  under  the  standards  of  the  re- 
publican party.  These  were  soon  followed  by  a  multitude  of  royalists. 
The  divisions  which  had  prevailed  for  so  long  a  time,  and  with  so 
much  violence,  between  the  two  parties  in  Europe,  followed  them 
beyond  the  seas.  One  party  triumphed  in  the  protection  of  Crom- 
well ;  the  other  trusted  to  the  governor  of  the  island,  who  was,  in 
secret,  a  royalist.  The  name  of  this  governor  was  Dudley ;  and  by  his 
disinterested  behavior  he  enforced  his  authority.  When  Charles  II. 
was  restored  to  the  crown  a  form  of  civil  government  was  efStablished 
at  Jamaica,  modelled,  like  those  of  the  other  islands,  upon  that  of  the 
mother  country.  ,^ 

Jamaica  soon  after  became  the  grand  dep&t  of  the  buccaneers,  a  set 
of  pirates  who  plundered  the  seas,  and  ravaged  the  coasts  of  America. 
Here  the  spoils  of  Mexico  and  Peru  met  with  a  hearty  reception ;  and 
here  "  extravagance  and  debauchery  held  their  court"  till  this  destruc- 
tive race  became  extinct,  or  annihilated,  in  consequence  of  the  fre- 
quency of  the  murders  they  committed.  The  illicit  trade  carried  on 
between  Jamaica  and  the  Spanish  colonies  had,  in  1739,  according  to  the 
best  calculations,  brought  into  the  former  upward  of  £65,000,000  ster- 
ling. The  court  of  Madrid  thought  to  put  a  stop  to  it,  by  prohibiting  the 
admission  of  foreign  ships  into  the  Spanish  harbors  on  any  pretence 
whatever.  But  the  people  of  Jamaica  supported  themselves  in  this 
trade  under  the  protection  of  the  English  men-of-war,  by  allowing  the 
captain  five  per  cent,  upon  every  article  of  which  he  authorized  the 
smuggling.  After  the  establishing  of  register  ships  by  Spain  this  trade 
gradually  diminished;  and  sometime  previous  to  the  year  1766  it  was 
reduced  to  about  £56,000  per  annum.  The  British  ministry  at  that 
time  wishing  to  restore  or  recover  the  profit  of  it,  thought  that  the 
best  expedient  to  repair  the  losses  of  Jamaica  was  to  make  it  a  free 
port.  This  was  no  sooner  done  than  the  Spanish  American  ships 
flocked  {hither  from  all  parts  to  exchange  their  gold  and  silver,  and 
other  commodities,  for  the  manufactures  of  England. 

St.  Jago,  or  Spanish  Town,  is  the  capital,  but  Kingston  by  far 
exceeds  it  in  size  and  opulence.  The  town  of  Port  Royal  stood  on  a 
point  of  land  running  far  out  into  the  sea,  and  ships  of  several  hundred 
tons  could  come  close  up  to  the  wharfs.  When  the  earthquake  hap- 
pened on  the  7th  of  June,  1692,  this  town  contained  two  thousand 
houses,  all  of  which  were  destroyed,  and  vast  numbers  of  persons  per- 
ished. The  earthquake  was  followed  by  an  epidemic  disease,  which 
carried  off"  three  thousand  more.  Port  Royal  was  soon  rebuilt ;  but  in 
January,  1703,  it  experienced  another  great  calamity,  a  fire  nearly  re- 


820 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 


ducing  It  to  ashes.  Many  people  now  removed  to  Kingston.  It  was, 
however,  built  a  third  time,  and  was  rising  toward  its  former  grandeur, 
when  it  was  overwhelmed  by  the  sea,  on  the  28th  of  August,  1*722. 

Jamaica  remained  a  prosperous  colony  of  Great  Britain  until  1833, 
when  the  abolition  of  slavery  throughout  the  British  West  Indies 
operated  to  lessen  the  supply  of  labor,  and  produced  a  great  deteriora- 
tion in  the  value  of  the  property  and  productions  of  the  island.  With 
the  introduction  of  emigrant  laborers,  the  condition  of  things  has  been 
improving  of  late  years. 

The  executive  is  in  the  hands  of  a  governor,  who  is  styled  Captain- 
General  and  Governor-iii-Chief.  The  governor,  as  well  as  the  council, 
is  appointed  by  the  sovereign  of  Great  Britain.  The  council  consti- 
tutes the  Upper  House.  The  Lower  House,  or  the  Assembly,  is  com- 
posed of  members  chosen  by  the  freeholders.  The  governor  in  1859 
was  the  Hon.  C.  H.  Darling. 

The  Caymans,  consisting  of  three  principal  islands.  Grand. Cayman, 
Little  Cayman,  and  Caymanbrac,  and  embracing  an  area  of  260  square 
miles,  are  situated  south-west  of  Jamaica,  and  are  dependencies  of 
that  government. 

MARTINIQUE. 

ARTINIQUE,  the  native  name  of  which  is  said  to 

have  been  Madiana,  was  discovered  by  the  Spaniards 

iin  1493;  colonized  by  the  French  in  1635;  taken 

\by  the  English  in  1762,  and  again  in  1*794  and 

1810;  and  restored  finally  to  France  in  1814.     Its 

original  inhabitants  were  Caribs,  of  which  race  there  ara 

none  left  on  the  island.     It  is  the  most  northern  of  the 

Windward  Islands. 

It  contains  an  area  of  322  square  miles,  and  a  population  of 
about  125,000.  The  government  is  conducted  by  a  governor, 
privy  council,  and  colonial  council.  It  is  at  present  a  flourishing 
colony  of  France.  Martinique  is  distinguished  as  the  birth-place  of 
the  Empress  Josephine,  and  her  first  husband,  the  Viscount  Beauharnois. 


MONTSERRAT. 

This  island  was  discovered  by  the  Spaniards  in  1493,  who  gave  it 
the  name  of  a  mountain  in  Catalonia,  which  it  resembled  in  shape.  It 
IS  about  twelve  miles  in  length,  and  five  in  its  broadest  part.  The 
English  Irnded  here  in  1632,  and  soon  after  drove  oflF  all  the  natives^ 


PORTO  RICO. 


m 


Tlie  progress  of  the  colony  was  slow ;  and  it  acquired  no  kind  of  im- 
portance till  the  close  of  the  seventeenth  century,  when  the  culture  of 
sugar  took  place. 

It  has  a  population  of  about  8,000,  and  a  government  admini8ter'',d 
by  a  president,  council,  and  house  of  assembly.  It  is  under  the  con- 
trol of  Great  Britain,  and  forms  one  of  the  Leeward  group. 


NEVIS. 

This  small  island,  now  belonging  to  the  British,  was  originally  dis- 
covered by  Columbus;  and  the  English,  under  Sir  Thomas  Warner, 
settled  on  it  in  1628.  It  is  separated  from  St.  Christopher  by  a  nar- 
row channel,  and  is  properly  only  one  very  high  mountain,  about  seven 
miles  over  each  way.  It  was  ravaged  by  the  French  in  1706,  and  the 
next  year  almost  destroyed  by  the  most  violent  hurricane  ever  recorded. 

This  island  is  governed  by  an  administrative  council  and  assembly, 
and  contains  an  area  of  twenty-one  square  miles  and  a  population  of 
Rbout  10,000. 

PORTO  EICO. 

'HIS  island  was  discovered  by  Columbus  in  1493; 
it  is  about  one  hundred  miles  in  length,  from  east 
to  west,  and  forty  from  north  to  south,  with  an  area 
of  3,865  square  miles.  The  Spaniards  neglected  it 
till  1509,  when  thirst  of  gold  brought  them  thither 
from  St.  Domingo,  under  Ponce  de  Leon,  to  make 
a  conquest,  which  afterward  cost  them  dear.  Ambition,  re- 
■  enge,  and  love  of  gold  prompted  the  Spaniards  to  the  most 
atrocious  outrages.  They  found  the  inhabitants  brave  and  fond 
o&  liberty  ;  and  as  they  looked  up  to  the  European  visitants  as 
a  superior  order  of  beings,  to  their  authority  they  voluntarily  submit- 
ted. It  was  not  long,  however,  before  they  wished  to  shake  off  the 
intolerable  yoke  under  which  they  groaned,  and  postponed  the  enter- 
prise until  they  could  assure  themselves  t^  they  were  not  immortal. 
A  cacique,  named  Broyo,  was  entrusted  with  this  commission ;  and 
chance  soon  favored  the  design,  by  bringing  to  him  Salzedo,  a  young 
Spaniard,  who  was  travelling.  Broyo  received  him  with  the  greatest 
respect,  and,  at  his  departure,  sent  some  Indians  to  attend  him  on  his 
way,  in  quality  of  guides.  When  they  came  to  the  bank  of  the  river, 
which  they  were  to  pass,  one  of  them  took  him  on  his  shoulders  to 
carry  him  across ;  but  no  sooner  had  he  got  into  the  middle  of  the 


';|l'i|-; 


a 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 


itream  than  he  threw  the  Spaniard  into  it,  and  with  the  assistance  of 
his  companions,  he  kept  him  there  till  no  signs  of  life  remained.  They 
then  dragged  him  to  the  bank,  but,  as  they  were  still  in  doubt  whether 
he  was  dead  or  living,  they  begged  pardon  many  times  for  the  acci- 
dent that  had  happened.  This  farce  lasted  three  days;  till  at  length 
being  convinced,  by  the  putridity  of  the  body,  that  it  was  possible  for 
Spaniards  to  die,  the  Indians  rose  on  all  sides  upon  their  oppressors, 
and  massacred  upward  of  one  hundred  of  them. 

Ponce  de  Leon  immediately  assembled  all  the  Castilians  who  had 
escaped,  and  fell  upon  the  Indians,  who,  as  historians  relate,  had  the 
extreme  folly  to  suppose  that  these  Spaniards  were  the  same  that  had 
been  killed  and  were  come  to  life  again  to  fight  them.  Under  this 
ridiculous  and  almost  incredible  persuasion,  dreading  to  continue  a 
war  with  men  who  revived  after  death,  they  submitted  again  to  the 
yoke  of  a  cruel  foe ;  and  being  condemned  to  the  mines,  six  hundred 
thousand  are  said  to  have  fallen  martyrs  to  the  sword  or  the  toils  of 
slavery. 

Under  the  old  colonial  system  of  Spain,  in  ITSS,  the  population  was 
little  more  than  eighty  thousand.  In  1856  it  was  estimated  at  half  a 
million.  Previously  to  1815,  Porto  Rico  being  excluded  from  all 
direct  intercourse  with  other  countries  excepting  Spain,  was  but  slowly 
progressive.  At  that  period,  however,  a  royal  decree  appeared,  which 
exempted  the  trade  between  Spain  and  the  Spanish  colonies  and  Porto 
Rico  from  all  duties  for  fifteen  years ;  and  she  was  then  also  permitted 
to  carry  on  a  free  trade,  under  reasonable  duties,  with  other  countries. 
These  wise  and  liberal  measures  contributed  to  the  prosperity  of  the 
island.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  Porto  Rico  was 
taken  possession  of  by  the  English ;  but  they  did  not  long  retain  it, 
owing  to  the  prevalence  of  disease  among  the  troops.  An  attempt  at 
revolution,  with  a  view  to  separation  from  the  mother  country,  was 
made  in  1822,  and  suppressed  the  following  year.  The  government, 
laws,  and  institutions  are  nearly  similar  to  those  established  in  the 
'>ther  transatlantic  colonies  of  Soaia 


THE  BAHAMAS. 


823 


THE  BAHAMAS. 


■  HE  Bahamas,  or  Lucayos,  are  a  chain  of  low  islands 
stretching  in  a  north-westerly  direction  from  the 
north  side  of  St.  Domingo  to  the  coast  of  Florida, 
between  20°  56'  and  27°  40'  N.  lat.,  and  68°  40' 
and  19°  20'  W.  long.  It  is  composed  of  innumera- 
ble rocks,  islets  (called  keys),  and  islands,  of  which 
twenty  are  inhabited. 

The  chief  of  these  are  New  Providence,  Eleuthera,  St.  Salva- 
dor, Abaco,  Crooked  Island,  and  Grand  Bahama.  The  area  of 
the  entire  group  is  estimated  at  5,422  square  miles,  and  the 
population  at  about  28,000.  The  Bahamas  are  under  British  control, 
and  are  directed  by  a  governor,  council,  and  house  of  assembly. 

St.  Salvador  was  the  first  land  fallen  in  with  by  Columbus  on  his 
first  voyage  in  1492,  The  Spaniards  carried  away  to  Mexico  the  few 
natives  whom  they  found  on  the  island,  and  the  Bahamas  remained 
uninhabited  till  the  year  1629,  when  New  Providence  was  settled  by 
the  English;  the  settlers  held  it  till  1641,  and  were  then  expelled  by 
the  Spaniards,  who  destroyed  the  colony,  but  made  no  attempt  to  set- 
tle there  themselves.  It  was  again  colonized  by  the  English  in  1666, 
and  continued  in  their  hands  till  1703,  when  a  combined  force  of 
French  and  Spaniards  destroyed  Nassau,  and  obliged  the  inhabitants 
to  seek  refuge  by  flight.  Some,  however,  who  remained  were  ren- 
dered desperate  by  their  recent  sufferings,  and  the  place  became  a  ren- 
dezvous for  pirates,  who  became  so  notorious  and  committed  such 
depredations  in  the  adjacent  seas,  that  government  determined  to  sup- 
press them,  and  -resettle  the  colony.  This  took  place  in  1718,  id 
shortly  afterward  settlements  were  formed  on  some  of  the  oti;<jr 
islands :  Nassau  itself  (the  town  of  New  Providence)  was  fortified  in 
1740.  In  1776  New  Providence  was  taken  possession  of  by  the 
Americans,  but  they  abandoned  it  very  shortly  afterward.  In  1781 
all  the  Bahamas  were  reduced  by  the  Spaniards,  but  by  the  treaty  of 
peace  in  1783  they  were  again  restored  to  the  British  crown.  At  the 
close  of  the  American  war  many  of  the  Royalists  transferred  the  re- 
mains of  their  property,  including  in  many  cases  their  houses,  to  these 
islands,  and  since  that  period  the  number  of  the  people  and  the  culti- 
vation of  the  land  have  progressively  increased. 
Caycob  Islands  and  Turk  Islands  were  formerly  included  in  the 


824 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 


Bahatna  group  for  purpoBcs  of  government,  but  at  the  urgent  request 
of  the  inhabitants  they  were,  in  1848,  formed  into  a  presidency,  under 
t)ie  control  of  the  governor  of  Jamaica.  They  contain  an  area  of  430 
square  piilcs,  and  a  population  of  5,000.  Salt  raking  is  the  leading 
business  of  these  islands. 

TOBAGO. 

'OBAGO  was  discovered  by  Columbus  in  1496,  aad 
derives  its  name  from  the  pipe  (tobacco)  used  by 
the  natives  in  smoking  the  herb  "  kohiba"  (tobacco). 
At  an  early  period  the  British  flag  was  planted  on 
the  island,  and  James  I.  granted  it  to  the  Earl  of 
Pembroke,  but  no  attempt  was  made  by  the  Eng- 
lish to  colonize  it.  In  1632  the  Dutch  formed  a  settlement 
'  and  called  the  island  New  Walcheren,  but  the  Spaniards  from 
Trinidad  attacked  and  destroyed  the  colony.  Twenty  years 
afterward  the  Dutch  returned,  and  soon  after  a  party  of  about  one 
hundred  Conrlanders  arrived,  the  Duke  of  Courland,  godson  of  James 
I.,  having  obtained  a  grant  of  the  island.  In  1763  it  was  ceded  by 
France  to  England.  In  1781  the  French  captured  it.  In  1793  Gen- 
eral Cuyler,  with  2,000  men,  took  the  island ;  and  it  has  ever  since 
been  a  British  possession. 

Tobago  is  included  in  the  government  of  the  Windward  Islands,  and 
its  affairs  are  administered  by  a  lieutenant-governor,  a  legislative  coun- 
cil of  nine  members,  and  a  house  of  assembly  of  sixteen  members.  It 
is  situated  twenty-four  miles  north-east  of  Trinidad,  and  contains  an 
area  of  187  square  miles,  and  a  population  of  more  than  13,000. 


TRINIDAD. 

.',.■.■;  .,'.,,,  '4 

Trinidad  was  discovered  by  Columbus  in  1498,  when  it  contained 
a  numerous  aboriginal  population.  It  was  first  colonized,  in  1688,  by 
the  Spaniards;  in  1676  it  was  taken  by  the  French,  but  almost  im- 
mediately restored,  and  in  1797  it  was  taken  by  the  British,  in  whose 
possession  it  has  since  remained. 

It  is  the  most  southerly  of  the  Windward  Islands,  and  lies  imme- 
diately oflF  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  from  which  it  is  separated  only  by 
a  narrow  strait.  This  island  is  remarkable  for  its  pitch  lake,  which  is 
described  as  being  a  body  of  water,  or  rather  of  fluid  pitch,  of  un- 
known depth,  in  a  slow  state  of  ebullition,  and  exhaling  a  strong 
bituminous  and  sulphurous  odor.    Trinidad  is  about  ninety  miles  long 


BT.  DOMINGO. 


8^5 


and  fifiby  wide,  with  an  area  of  2,000  square  miles,  and  a  population 
of  about  70,000.  Its  affairs  are  managed  by  a  governor,  assisted  by 
executive  and  legislative  committees. 


ST.  CHRISTOPHER. 

'  HIS  island  lies  west  of  Antigua,  is  seventeen  miles 
long  and  six  broad,  containing  an  area  of  sixty-eight 
square  miles  and  a  population  of  about  26,000.  It 
was  discovered  in  1493  by  Columbus,  who  gave  it 
the  name  it  bears.  It  was  the  mother  country  of 
all  the  English  and  French  settlements  in  the  West 
Indies.  Both  nations  arrived  there  on  the  same  day  in  1625; 
they  shared  the  island  between  them ;  signed  a  perpetual  neu- 
trality ;  and  entered  into  a  mutual  engagement  to  assist  each 
other  against  their  common  enemy,  the  Spaniards.  War  com- 
menced between  England  and  France  in  1666,  and  St.  Christopher  be- 
came a  scene  of  carnage  for  nearly  half  a  century,  terminating  only 
with  the  total  expulsion  of  the  French  in  1702.  The  island  is  gov- 
erned by  a  lieutenant-governor,  and  is  represented  by  a  deputation 
to  the  Antigua  assembly. 


ST.  DOMINGO. 

This  island,  which  forms  one  of  the  Great  Antilles,  has  been  variously 
known  as  Hispaniola,  or  Little  Spain,  Hayti,  and  St.  Domingo.  It  ex 
tends  from  the  Mona  Passage,  which  separates  it  from  Puerto  Rico,  to 
the  Windward  Passage,  which  lies  between  it  and  Jamaica  and  Cuba, 
between^  68°  30'  and  74°  30'  W,  long.,  17°  40'  and  20°  N.  lat.  Its 
length  is  about  360  miles.  Its  area  is  about  29,500  square  miles. 
The  island  is  now  divided  between  two  states ;  the  western  portion 
forming  the  empire  of  Hayti,  the  eastern  the  republic  of  Dominica. 

Hispaniola  was  discovered  by  Columbus  ou  his  first  voyage 
(January  1493),  at  which  time  it  received  this  name.  The  Spaniards 
formed  settlements  first  at  Isabella  and  then  at  San  Domingo.  For 
nearly  half  a  century  these  settlements  received  much  attention,  and 
rose  to  great  prosperity,  until  different  parts  of  the  American  conti- 
nent were  discovered  and  conquered.  From  that  time  Hispaniola  was 
neglected,  and,  as  the  natives  had  been  nearly  extirpated,  the  island 
Boon  became  depopulated,  and  the  northern  and  western  districts  were 
nearly  a  desert.    The  buccaneers  now  settled  on  the  island  of  Tortuga^ 


826 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 


opposite  Cape  Franfais,  and  also  on  tho  coaHt.  Perceiving  that  tiioy 
would  bo  driven  away  by  the  Spaniards,  they  voluntarily  submitted  to 
France,  and  Louis  XIV.  sent  them  a  governor.  In  1607  tho  Spaniards 
were  obliged  to  give  up  the  western  districts,  or  about  one-third  of  tho 
island,  to  France.  The  French,  who  considered  their  portion  of  llis- 
paniola  as  tlic  most  valuable  of  all  their  foreign  settlements,  began  to 
cultivate  it  with  great  care.  In  1701  the  agricultural  produce  of  the 
French  portion  only  was  valued  at  more  than  £8,000,000  sterling.  In 
1704  the  negro  slaves  were  declared  free  by  the  National  Convention, 
a  declaration  which  was  followed  by  a  general  insurrection  of  the  ne- 
groes and  mulattocs,  who  massacred  a  large  number  of  the  white  in- 
habitants, and  compelled  the  remainder  to  emigrate.  One  of  their 
chiefs,  Touissant  I'Ouverture,  established  in  1801  a  kind  of  republic, 
but  was  obliged  to  submit  to  a  French  army  sent  out  by  Bonaparte  in 
1802.  After  he  had  been  treacherously  taken  prisoner  and  sent  to 
France,  the  negroes  rallied  under  Dessalines,  and  expelled  the  French 
in  1803,  Dessalines  restored  to  the  island  the  name  of  llayti,  a  name 
by  which  it  was  called  by  the  natives  when  discovered  by  Columbus. 
In  1804  Dessalines  followed  the  example  of  Bonaparte,  and  called 
himself  emperor;-  in  1806  he  was  murdered.  After  his  death  the 
French  portion  of  Hispaniola  was  divided  into  two  states :  the  north- 
ern coast  was  formed  into  a  negro  republic  under  Christophe,  who,  in 
1811,  also  took  the  title  of  emperor;  the  plains  about  the  Bay  of 
Gonaves  became  a  mulatto  republic  under  Petion.  Continual  war  was 
carried  on  between  these  two  republics.  After  the  death  of  Petion 
(1813)  he  was  succeeded  as  president  of  the  republic  by  Boyer.  Chris- 
tophe having  killed  himself  on  the  breaking  out  of  an  insurrection  in 
1820,  Boyer  united  the  whole  under  his  authority.  In  the  mean  time 
the  Spanish  part  of  Hispaniola  had  been  ceded  to  France  in  1795,  but 
was  reoccupied  by  the  Spaniards  in  1808.  The  following  year,  how- 
ever, it  declared  its  independence  of  the  Spanish  government,  and  re- 
mained in  an  unsettled  state  until  1822,  when  it  was  subjected  to  the 
authority  of  Boyer,  who  thus  united  the  whole  island  under  his  gov- 
ernment. France  recognized  the  independence  of  Hayti  in  1825,  the 
Haytian  government  undertaking  to  pay  the  sum  of  160,000,000 
francs  (subsequently  reduced  to  90,000,000  francs)  as  an  indemnity 
for  the  losses  of  the  French  colonists  during  the  revolution.  Boyer 
retained  the  presidency  till  1844,  when  he  was  deposed.  The  follow- 
ing years  were  spent  in  a  struggle  for  the  supreme  power,  which  was 
terminated  by  the  election,  in  March,  1847,  of  General  Faustin  Sou- 
louque  as  president.    Although  nominally  republican,  the  government  af 


T^lj 


ar.  LuoiA. 


827 


Hayti  was  really  despotic,  absolute  power  having  been  usurped  by  the 
president ;  and  even  the  name  of  a  republic  was  at  length  put  an  end  to 
by  Soulouque  declaring  himself,  August,  1849,  Emperor  of  Ilayti.  lie 
was  crowned  as  Faustin  I.  in  April,  1850.  His  corrupt  rule  led  to  his 
overthrow  in  the  early  part  of  1859,  by  a  revolutionary  party  under 
the  lead  of  Qen.  Fabre  Gcffrard,  who  restored  the  republic  and  was 
elected  president     The  population  of  Hayti  is  about  660,000. 

Meanwhile,  however,  the  eastern  or  Spanish  part  of  the  island  had 
been  formed  into  a  separate  state.  Taking  advantage  of  the  weakness 
of  the  Haytian  government,  the  inhabitants  of  Spanish  Hispaniola, 
in  February,  1844,  declared  themselves  independent,  under  the  title 
of  the  Dominican  republic.  Their  leader,  Gen.  Santana,  waa  elected 
the  first  president;  and  he  was  succeeded  in  1849  by  Gen.  Baez. 
Santana  having  regained  power,  was  once  more  deposed  and  driven 
from  the  country  by  a  revolutionary  party  under  Baez,  who,  in  1859, 
was  president  of  the  republic.     Its  population  is  about  150,000. 


ST.  LUCIA. 

"ri'HIS  island  is  about  twenty-seven  miles  in  length 
and  fourteen  miles,  in  breadth.  Its  area  is  225 
square  miles,  and  its  population  about  25,000.  It 
is  situated  eaiio  of  St.  Vincent  and  south  of  Marti- 
nique. St.  Lucia  was  discovered  by  Columbus.  The 
English  took  possession  of  it  in  the  beginning  of  the 
year  1039,  without  opposition.  They  lived  there  peaceably 
about  a  year  and  a  half,  when  they  were  massacred  by  the  na- 
tives.  In  1650,  about  forty  French  arrived  there  under  Rous- 
selan,  who  married  one  of  the  natives,  and  was  beloved  by  them. 
He  died  four  years  after.  Three  of  his  successors  w».ie  murdered  by 
the  discontented  Caribs ;  and  the  colony  was  declining,  when  it  was 
taken  by  the  English  in  1664,  who  evacuated  it  in  1666.  They  had 
scarce  left  it  when  the  French  appeaiied  again  on  the  island.  Twenty 
years  after  the  English  drove  out  the  French.  The  English  again 
quitted  it;  and  it  at  length  remained  wholly  without  culture.  In 
1718  Marshal  d'Estrees  obtained  a  grant  of  St.  Lucia,  and  sent  over  a 
commandant,  troops,  and  inhabitants.  This  gave  umbrage  to  the 
court  of  London,  which  had  a  prior  claim ;  therefore  the  French  minis- 
try ordered  that  things  should  be  put  into  the  same  state  as  they  were 
before  the  grant.  In  1'722  the  Duke  of  Montague  had  a  grant  of  St. 
Lucia  from  the  British  ministry.     This  gave  uneasiness  to  France,  and 


828 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 


it  was  at  length  agreed,  in  1736,  that  neither  nation  should  occupy  it, 
but  that  both  should  "wood  and  water"  there.  However,  the  peace 
of  1163  gave  to  France  this  long-contested  territory.  During  the 
American  war,  1778,  it  was  taken  by  the  English.  It  was  afterward 
given  up  to  France ;  then  again  captured  by  the  English  in  1803,  witb 
whom  it  now  remains,  having  been  so  definitely  assigned  by  the  treaty 
of  Paris.  A  lieutenant-governor  and  legislative  council  administer  tho 
government  of  the  island. 


ST.  VINCENT. 

f  T.  VINCENT  forms  one  of  the  Windward  group  of 
islands,  and  is  under  British  rule,  having  a  local  lieu- 
'  tenant-governor,  council,  and  assembly.  It  is  about 
eighteen  miles  long  and  eleven  wide,  with  an  area  of 
131  square  miles  and  a  population  of  nearly  30,000. 
The  island  was  one  of  the  discoveries  of  Columbus, 
and  nearly  at  the  same  time  as  the  other  islands  in  its  neigh- 
borhood. For  some  time  after  its  discovery  it  was  the  gen- 
eral rendezvous  of  the  red  Caribs,  the  original  possessors  of  the 
western  archipelago.  In  1660,  when  the  English  and  French 
agreed  that  Dominica  and  St.  Vincent  should  be  left  to  the  Caribs  as 
their  property,  some  of  these  natives,  who  till  then  had  been  dispersed, 
retired  into  the  former ;  but  the  greater  part  into  the  latter.  Thio 
population  was  soon  after  increased  by  a  race  of  Africa!.  hose  origin 
was  never  positively  ascertained.  The  natives  treated  thora  with  kind- 
ness and  mingled  with  them  in  marriage,  whence  sprung  the  race 
called  black  Caribs.  In  17 19  many  inhabitants  of  Martinique  re- 
moved to  St.  Vincent.  In  less  than  twenty  years  the  population 
amounted  to  eight  hundred  whites  and  three  thousand  blacl  3.  In 
this  situation  was  the  island  when  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  English^ 
to  whom  it  was  secured  by  the  peace  of  17  ").  In  1799  it  was  re- 
captured by  the  French;  but  it  reverted  to  Great  Britain  in  1783. 

The  English  had  no  sooner  got  possession  than  they  issued  an  order 
to  deprive  the  cultivators  of  the  lands  of  their  property,  unless  re- 
deemed. The  settlers  remonstrated  against  a  proceeding  so  unjust, 
but  were  disregarded;  and  the  lands  were  ordered,  by  the  English  min- 
istry, to  be  sold  indiscriminately.  This  severity  made  them  disperse. 
Some  went  to  St  Martin,  Marie  Galante,  Guadeloupe  and  Martinique; 
but  the  greater  part  to  St.  Lucia.  The  Caribs  still  occupied  the  wind- 
ward side  or  the  island,  which  contained  fine  plains ;  but  having  refused 


VIRGIN  ISLANDS. 


829 


to  evacuate  them  when  ordered  so  to  do  by  the  English,  the  latter  took 
to  arms  to  compel  them.  These  unfortunate  people  defended  themselves 
with  extraordinary  courage  during  several  years,  but  were  at  length 
obliged  to  submit.  The  greater  part  were  exterminated  during  the 
war,  and  the  remainder  either  fled  or  were  sent  off  the  island. 


VIRGIN  ISLANDS. 

HESE  are  an  extensive  group  of  small  islands,  lying 
between  18°  5'  and  18°  50'  N.  lat.,  and  64°  10' and 
65°  40'  W.  long.,  exclusive  of  the  island  of  Santa 
Cruz,  or  Saint  Croix,  which  properly  does  not  belong 
to  the  group,  but  is  commonly  considered  as  form- 
ing part  of  it,  because  it  belongs  to  Denmark,  which 
also  is  in  possession  of  some  islands  of  the  group  itself.  This 
'island  is  about  fifty  miles  S.  from  the  centre  of  the  Virgin 
Islands.  The  Virgin  Islands  extend  in  nearly  a  straight  line 
from  west-south-west  to  east-north-east,  and  occupy  a  space  of 
about  100  miles  in  length,  with  an  average  width  of  twenty  miles. 
The  most  western  belong  to  Spain ;  the  most  eastern  belong  to  the 
British ;  those  in  the  centre  to  Denmark. 

The  British  islands  amount  to  about  fifty  in  number ;  but  most  of 
them  are  very  small.  They  are  stated  to  cover  a  surface  of  between 
ninety-three  and  ninety -four  square  miles.  The  largest  of  these  islands 
are  :  Anegada,  Virgin  Gorda,  Comance,  Beef  Island,  Guana,  Tortola, 
Jost  Van  Dyke's,  and  Peter's  Island.  The  population  of  the  whole  of 
these  islands  in  1850  was  estimated  at  7,000  persons. 

Tortola,  the  most  important  of  the  British  Virgin  Islands,  extends 
nearly  twelve  miles  from  east-north-east  to  west-south-west,  but  its 
width  does  not  exceed  two  miles.  Its  area  is  said  to  be  13,300  acres. 
The  Danish  islands  consist  of  St.  John,  St.  Thomas,  and  Santa  Cruz. 
St.  John  has  an  area  of  twenty-four  square  miles ;  St  Thomas  thirty 
square  miles;  and  Santa  Cruz  110  square  mil'js.  United  population 
about  40,000. 

The  Spanish  islands  are  a  short  distance  from  the  eastern  coast  of 
Porto  Rico,  and  consist  of  two,  o'  moderate  extent,  and  several  islets. 
The  northern  island,  called  Calebra,  or  Passage  Island,  has  an  area  of 
ten  square  miles. 

Santa  Cruz  and  the  Virgin  Islands  were  discovered  by  Columbus  on 
his  second  voyage,  1494.  They  were  then  inhabited,  and  Santa  Crua 
was  the  ir  'st  northern  island  in  which  the  Caribbees  had  established 


•ft- 


THE  WEST  INDIES. 

themselves ;  but  toward  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  no  inhabi- 
tants were  found  on  them.     In  the  seventeenth  century  these  islands 
became  the  resort  of  buccaneera;  some  Dutch  buccaneers  began  to  settle 
Tortok  in  1648,  but  were  expelled  from  the  island  by  the  English  in 
1666,  and  since  that  time  the  island  has  always  been  in  their  posses- 
Pion.     The  island  of  St.  Thomas  was  settled  by  the  Danes  in  1672; 
and  a  few  years  later  the  Danes  also  possessed  themselves  of  St.  John. 
These  islands  were  taken  by  the  Britis:  \n  1801,  but  were  restored  in 
the  following  year.     They  surrendered  to  the  English  in  1807,  and 
continued  in  their  hands  till  1815,  when  they  were  again  restored  to 
the  Danes.     The  British  islands  are  under  the  authority  of  the  gov- 
ernor of  3t.  Kitts,  but  they  have  a  separate  legislative  assembly.    The 
Danish  islands  are  under  the  care  of  the  Danish  governor  residing  at 
Christianstadt,  the  capital  of  Santa  Cruz ;  and  the  Spanish  islands  are 
dependencies  of  Porto  Rico. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OP  AMERICA. 

framed  during  the  year  1181,  by  a' convention  of  delegates,  who  met  at  Philadtl 
phia,from.  the  states  of  New  Hampshire,  Masxachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  York 
New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virgviia,  North  Carolir^a^ 
South  Carolina,  Georgia. 


We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form  a  more  perfect  union, 
eittablish  justice,  insure  domestic  tranquillity,  provide  for  the  common  defence, 
promote  the  general  welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves 
and  our  posterity,  do  ordain  and  estublii^h  this  Constitution  for  the  United  Status 
of  America. 

ARTICLE  L 

Sect.  I. — All  legislative  powers  herein  granted  shall  be  vested  in  a  congrest 
of  the  United  States,  which  shall  consist  of  a  senate  and  houaa  of  representa- 
tives. 

Sect.  II. — 1.  The  house  of  representatives  shall  be  composed  of  members, 
chosen  every  second  year  by  the  people  of  the  several  states,  and  the  electors 
in  each  state  shall  have  the  qualifications  requisite  for  electors  of  the  most 
numerous  branch  of  the  state  legislature. 

2.  No  person  shall  be  a  representative,  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the 
age  of  twenty-five  years,  and  been  seven  years  a  citizen  of  the  Uaited  States, 
and  who  shall  not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  state  in  which  lie  shall 
be  chosen. 

8.  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  shall  be  apportioned  among  the  S'^veral 
states  wnich  may  ba  included  within  this  Union,  according  to  their  respccdve 
numbers,  which  shall  be  determined  by  adding  to  the  whole  number  of  .'ree 
persons,  including  those  bound  to  servitude  for  a  term  of  years,  and  ezclu  ling 
Indians  not  taxed,  three-fifths  of  all  otlier  persons.  The  actual  enumeration  ».hall 
be  ma(fe  within  three  years  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  congress  of  the  United 
States,  and  within  every  subsequent  term  of  ten  years,  in  such  manner  as  thoy 
■hall  by  law  direct.  The  number  of  representatives  shall  not  exceed  one  for 
every  thirty  thousand,  but  each  state  shall  have  at  least  one  representative: 
and,  until  such  enumeration  shall  be  made,  the  state  of  New  Hampshire  shall 
be  entitled  to  choose  three,  Massachusetts  eight,  Rhode  Island  and  Providence 
Plantations  one,  Connecticut  five.  New  York  six.  New  Jersey  four,  Pennsylvania 
eight,  Delaware  one,  Maryland  six,  Virginia  ten,  North  Carolina  five,  South  Car 
olina  five,  and  Georgia  three. 

4.  When  vacancies  happen  in  the  representation  from  any  state,  the  eKecutiT« 
Authority  thereof  shall  issue  writs  of  election  to  fill  such  vacancies, 

831 


832 


APPENDK. 


6.  The  houac  of  repreoentatives  shall  chooAe  their  speaker,  and  other  of&cors 
aiid  shall  have  the  sole  power  of  impeachment. 

Sect.  III. — 1.  The  senate  of  the  United  States  shall  be  composed  of  two 
senators  from  each  state,  chosen  by  the  legislature  thereof,  for  six  years :  and 
each  seuutor  nhiill  have  one  vote. 

2.  Immediately  after  they  shall  be  assembled,  in  consequence  of  the  first 
election,  they  shall  be  divided  as  equally  as  may  be  into  throe  classes.  The 
Beats  c{  the  senators  of  the  first  class  shall  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the 
second  year  •  "f  the  second  class,  at  the  expinttiun  of  thi-  fourth  year ;  and  of 
the  third  class,  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year,  so  that  one-third  may  be 
chosen  every  sucund  year ;  and  if  vacancies  ha|>[>en  by  resignation,  or  otherwise, 
during  the  recess  of  the  legislature  of  any  Htate,  the  executive  thereof  may 
make  temporary  appointments,  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  legislature,  which 
shall  then  fill  such  vacancies. 

8.  No  peison  shall  be  a  senator  who  shall  not  have  attained  to  the  nge  of 
thirty  years,  and  been  nine  years  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  and  who  shall 
not,  when  elected,  be  an  inhabitant  of  that  state  for  which  he  shall  be  chosen. 

4.  The  vice-president  of  the  United  States  shall  be  president  of  the  senate, 
but  shall  have  no  vote,  unless  they  be  equally  divided. 

6.  The  senate  shall  choose  their  other  ofiicers,  and  also  a  president  pro  tarn 
pore,  in  the  absence  of  the  vice-president,  or  when  he  shall  exercise  the  office  of 
president  of  the  United  States. 

6.  The  senate  shall  have  the  solo  power  to  try  all  impeachments.  When 
sitting  for  that  purj)ose,  they  sliall  be  on  oat'n,  or  afiarmation.  When  the 
president  of  the  United  States  is  tried,  the  chief-justice  shall  preside :  and  no 
person  shall  be  convicted  without  the  coucurrenoe  of  two-thirds  of  the  members 
present 

1.  judgment  in  ca-ses  of  impeachment  shall  not  extend  further  than  to  remova' 
from  ofiice,  and  disqualification  to  hold  and  enjoy  any  ofiSce  of  honour,  trust,  or 
profit  under  the  United  States ;  but  the  party  convicted  shall,  neverthelei-B, 
be  liable  and  subject  to  indictment,  trial,  judgment,  and  punishment,  according 
to  law. 

Shot.  IV. — 1.  The  times,  places,  and  manner  of  holding  elections  for  senators 
and  representatives,  shall  be  prescribed  in  each  state  by  the  legislature  thereof  -, 
but  the  congress  may,  at  any  time  by  law,  make  or  alter  such  regulations,  except 
as  to  the  placeu  of  choosing  senators. 

2.  The  congress  shall  assemble  at  least  once  in  every  year,  and  such  meeting 
shall  be  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  unless  they  ..  ill,  by  law,  appomt  a 
different  day.  * 

Sect.  V. — 1.  Each  house  shall  be  the  judge  of  the  elections,  retiirns,  and 
qualifications  of  its  own  members,  and  a  majority  of  each  shall  constitute  a 
quorum  to  do  business ;  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjou.  from  day  to  day, 
and  may  be  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of  absent  members,  in  such 
manner  and  under  such  penalties  as  each  house  may  provide. 

2.  Each  house  may  determine  the  rules  of  its  proceedings,  punish  its  members 
for  disorderly  behaviour,  and,  with  the  concurrence  of  two-thirds,  expel  a  mem- 
ber. 

8.  Elach  house  shall  keep  a  journal  of  its  proceedings,  and  from  time  to  time 
publish  the  same,  excepting  such  parts  as  may,  in  their  judgment,  require 
secrecy ;  and  the  yeas  and  nays  of  the  members  of  either  house,  on  any  question, 
shall,  at  the  desire  of  one-fifth  of  those  present,  be  entered  on  the  journals. 

4.  Neither  hoase,  during  the  session  of  congress,  shall,  without  the  consent  of 
the  other,  adjourn  for  more  than  three  days,  aor  to  any  other  place  than  that  in 
which  the  two  houses  shall  be  sitting. 

Sect.  VI. — 1.  Tlie  senators  and  representatives  shall  receive  a  compensation 
for  their  services,  to  be  ascertained  by  law,  and  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the 
United  States.  They  shall,  in  all  cases  except  treason,  felony,  and  breach  of 
peace,  be  {)rivileg<^d  from  arrest  during  their  attendance  at  the  session  of  their 
respective  houses,  and  in  going  to  and  returning  from  the  same  ;  and  for  any 


w\ 


I  .1 


CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


833 


speech  or  debate  in  either  house,  they  shflll  not  be  questioned  in  any  other 
place. 

2.  No  senator  or  representative  shall,  during  the  time  for  which  he  was  elect- 
ed, be  appointed  to  any  civil  office  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States, 
which  bIiuII  have  been  created,  or  the  emoluments  whereof  shall  have  been 
increased  during  such  time  ;  and  no  person,  holding  any  office  under  the  United 
States,  shall  be  a  member  of  either  house  during  his  continuation  in  office. 

Sect.  V'II. — 1.  All  bills  for  raisin;;  revenue  shall  originate  in  the  house  of 
'epreaentatives ;  but  the  senate  may  propose  or  concur  with  aiuendmeuts,  as  on 
other  bills. 

2.  Every  bill  which  shall  have  passed  the  house  of  representatives  and  the 
senate  shall,  before  it  becomes  a  iiiW,  be  presented  to  the  president  of  the  Uni- 
ted States ;  if  he  approve,  he  shall  sign  it,  but  if  not,  he  shall  return  it,  with  his 
objections,  to  that  house  in  which  it  shall  have  originated,  who  shall  enter  the 
objections  at  large  on  their  journal,  and  proceed  to  reconsider  it.  If  after  such 
reconsideration,  two  thirds  of  that  house  shall  agree  to  pass  the  bill,  it  shall  be 
sent,  together  with  the  objections,  to  the  other  house,  by  which  it  shall  likewise 
be  reconsidered,  and  if  approved  by  two-thirds  of  that  house,  it  shall  become  a 
law.  But  in  all  such  cases  the  votes  of  both  houses  shall  be  determined  by 
yeas  and  nays,  and  the  names  of  the  persons  voting  for  and  iigainst  the  bill  shaU 
De  entered  on  the  journal  of  each  house  respectively.  If  any  bill  shall  not  be 
returned  by  the  president  within  ten  days  (Sundays  excepted)  after  it  shall  have 
been  presented  to  him,  the  same  shall  be  a  law,  in  like  manner  as  if  he  had 
signed  it,  unless  the  congress,  by  their  adjournment,  prevent  its  return,  in  which 
case  it  shall  not  be  a  law. 

8.  Every  order,  resolution,  or  vote,  to  which  the  concurrence  of  the  senate 
and  house  of  representatives  may  be  necessary,  (except  on  a  question  of  adjourn- 
ment,) shall  be  presented  to  the  president  of  the  United  States ;  and  before  the 
same  shall  take  efifect,  shall  be  approved  by  him  ;  or,  being  disapproved  by  him, 
shall  be  repassed  by  two-thirds  of  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives,  ac- 
cording to  the  rules  and  limitations  prescribed  in  the  case  of  a  bill 

Sbot.  VIII. — The  congress  shall  have  power — 

1.  To  lay  and  collect  taxes,  duties,  imposts,  and  excises ;  to  pay  the  debts,  and 
provide  for  the  common  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  United  States;  but 
all  duties,  imposts,  and  excises  shall  be  uniform  throughout  the  United  States. 

2.  To  borrow  money  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States. 

■3.  To  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations,  and  among  the  several  states, 
and  with  the  Indian  tribea, 

4.  To  establish  a  uniform  rule  of  naturalization,  and  uniform  laws  on  the  subject 
of  bankruptcies  throughout  the  United  States. 

6.  To  coin  money,  regulate  the  value  thereof,  and  of  foreign  coin,  and  fix  the 
standard  of  weights  and  measures. 

6.  To  provide  for  the  punishment  of  counterfeiting  the  securities  and  current 
coin  of  the  United  States. 

7.  To«establish  post-offices  and  post-roads, 

8.  To  promote  the  progress  of  science  and  useful  arts,  by  securing,  for  limited 
times,  to  authors  and  uiventors,  the  exclusive  right  to  f  heir  respective  writings 
and  discoveries. 

9.  To  constitute  tribunals  inferior  to  the  supreme  court. 

1 0.  To  define  and  punish  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high  seaa, 
and  offences  against  the  law  of  nations. 

11.  To  declare  war,  grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  and  make  rules  coq- 
ceming  captures  on  land  or  water. 

12.  To  raise  and  support  armies  ;  but  no  appropriation  of  money  to  that  use 
shall  be  for  a  longer  term  than  two  years. 

18.  To  provide  and  maintain  a  navy. 

14.  To  make  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  land  and  naval 
forces. 


884 


APPENDIX. 


16.  To  provide  for  calling  forth  the  militia  to  execute  the  laws  of  the  TTnion, 
■uppresB  insurrections,  and  repel  invasiona. 

10.  To  provide  for  organizing,  armin;;,  and  disciplining  the  militia,  and  fol 
governiiig  such  part  of  them  as  may  be  employed  in  the  service  of  the  United 
Ktiites,  renerving  to  the  states  ruspeutively,  the  appointment  of  the  officers,  and 
the  authority  of  training  the  militia,  accordLog  to  the  discipline  prescribed  by 
congress. 

1 7.  To  exercise  exclusive  legislation,  in  all  cases  whatsoever,  over  such  dis* 
ti'ict,  (not  exceeding  ten  miles  square,)  as  may,  by  cession  of  particular  states, 
and  the  acceptance  of  congress,  become  the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  exercise  like  authority  over  all  places  purchased  by  the  consent 
of  the  legislature  of  the  state  in  which  the  same  shall  be,  for  the  erection  of  forts, 
magazines,  arsenals,  dock-yards,  and  other  needful  buildings : — and 

18.  To  make  all  laws  which  shall  be  necessary  and  proper  for  carrying  into 
executiou  the  foregoing  powers,  and  all  other  powers  vested  by  this  constitution 
in  the  government  of  the  United  States,  or  in  any  department  or  office  thereof. 

Sect.  IX. — 1.  The  migration  or  importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the 
states  now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,  shall  not  be  prohibited  by  the 
congress,  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  eight,  but  a  tax  or 
duty  may  be  imposed  on  such  importation,  not  exceeding  ten  dollars  for  each 
person. 

2.  The  privilege  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus  shall  not  be  suspended,  unless, 
when,  in  cases  of  rebellion  or  invasion,  the  public  safety  may  require  it.  ' 

8.  No  bill  of  attainder,  or  ex-post  facto  law,  shall  be  passed. 

4.  No  capitation,  or  other  direct  tax  shall  be  laid,  unless  in  proportion  to  the 
census,  or  enumeration,  herein  before  directed  to  be  taken. 

6.  No  tax  or  duty  shall  be  laid  on  articles  exported  from  any  state.  No 
preference  shall  be  given,  by  any  regulation  of  commerce  or  revenue,  to  the 
ports  of  one  state  over  those  of  another ;  nor  shall  vessels,  bound  to  or  from  one 
state,  be  obliged  to  enter,  clear,  or  pay  duties  in  another. 

6.  No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury,  but  in  consequence  of  ap- 
propriations made  by  law ;  and  a  regular  statement  and  account  of  the  receipts 
and  expenditures  of  all  public  money  shall  be  published  from  time  to  time. 

7.  No  title  of  nobility  shall  be  granted  by  the  United  States;  and  no  person 
holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  them,  shall,  without  the  consent  of 
congress,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title  of  any  kind  whatever, 
from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state. 

Sect.  X. — I.  No  state  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  alliance,  or  confederation; 
grant  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal ;  coin  money ;  emit  bills  of  credit ;  make 
any  thing  but  gold  and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  payment  of  debts ;  pass  any  bill 
of  attainder,  ex-post  facto  law,  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  contracts,  or 
grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

2.  No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  congress,  lay  any  imposts  or  duties 
on  imports  or  exports,  except  what  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  executing  its 
inspection  laws :  and  the  net  .iroduce  of  all  duties  and  imposts,  laid  by  any  state 
on  imports  and  exports,  shall  be  for  the  use  of  the  treasury  of  the  United 
States,  and  all  such  laws  shall  be  subject  to  the  revision  and  control  of  congress. 
No  state  shall,  without  the  consent  of  congress,  lay  any  duty  on  tonnage,  keep 
troops,  or  ships  of  war,  in  time  of  peace,  enter  into  any  agreement  or  compact 
with  another  state,  or  with  a  foreign  power,  or  engage  in  war,  unless  actually 
invaded,  or  in  such  imminent  danger  as  will  not  admit  of  delay. 


ARTICLE  n. 

Sect.  I. — 1.  The  executive  power  shall  be  v«sted  in  a  president  of  the  United 
States  of  America.  He  shall  hold  his  office  during  the  term  of  fonr  years,  and, 
together  with  the  vice-president,  chosen  for  the  same  term,  be  elected  as 
foUows : 

2  Each  state  shall  appomt,  in  such  manner  as  the  legislature  thereof  may 


OCNSTITUTION   OF  THE  UNITKD  STATES. 


805 


atrect,  a  number  of  electors,  equal  to  the  whole  number  of  senators  and  repre- 
sentatives to  ■which  the  state  may  be  entitled  in  the  congress ;  but  no  senator 
Of  representiitive,  or  person  lidhling  mi  uiiice  of  trust  or  profit  under  the  United 
States,  «hiill  be  appointed  an  elector. 

8.  The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote  by  ballot  for 
two  persons,  of  whom  one  lit  least  shall  n<it  be  an  inhabitant  of  the  same  state 
with  tliemselves.  And  they  8nall  make  a  list  of  all  the  persona  voted  for,  and 
of  the  number  of  votes  Ibr  each;  which  list  they  shall  sign  and  certify,  and 
transmit,  sealed,  to  the  seat  of  goverinneiit  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the 
president  of  the  senate.  The  president  of  the  senate  sha'l,  in  the  presence  of 
the  senate  and  house  of  representatives,  open  all  tho  cc'titicates,  and  the  votes 
shall  then  be  counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  shall, 
be  the  president,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointeil ;  and  if  there  be  more  than  one  who  have  such  majority,  and  have  an 
equal  number  of  votes,  then  the  house  of  representatives  shall  immediately 
choose,  by  ballot,  one  of  them  for  president :  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority, 
then  from  the  five  highest  on  the  list,  the  said  house  shall,  in  like  manner, 
choose  the  president.  But  in  choosing  the  president,  the  votes  shall  be  taken 
by  states,  the  representation  from  each  state  having  one  vote  ;  a  quorum  for 
this  purpose  shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states, 
and  a  majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  In  every  case, 
after  the  choice  of  the  jireaident,  the  person  having  the  greatest  number  of 
Totes  of  the  electors,  shall  be  the  vice-president.  Bat  if  there  should  remain 
two  or  more  who  have  equal  votes,  the  senate  shall  choose  from  them,  by  ballot, 
the  vice-president. 

4.  The  congress  may  determine  the  time  of  choosing  the  electors,  and  the  day 
on  which  they  shall  give  their  votes :  which  day  shall  be  the  same  throughout 
the  United  States. 

6.  No  person,  except  a  natural-born  citizen,  or  a  citizen  of  the  United  States 
at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  this  constitution,  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  ot 
president,  neither  shall  any  person  be  eligible  to  that  office,  who  shall  not  have 
attained  the  age  of  thirty-five  years,  and  been  fourteen  years  a  resident  within 
the  United  States. 

6.  In  case  of  the  removal  of  the  president  from  office,  or  of  his  death,  resigna- 
tion, or  inability  to  discharge  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  said  office,  the  same 
shall  devolve  on  the  vice-president ;  and  the  congress  may,  by  law,  provide  for 
the  case  of  removal,  death,  resignation,  or  inability,  both  of  the  president  and 
vice-president,  declaring  what  officer  shall  then  act  as  president,  and  such 
officer  shall  act  accordingly,  until  the  disability  be  removed,  or  a  president  shall 
be  elected. 

7.  The  president  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive  for  his  services,  a  compensation, 
■which  shall  neither  be  increased  nor  diminished  during  the  period  for  which  he 
•hall  have  been  elected,  and  he  shall  not  receive,  within  that  period,  any  other 
emolument  from  the  United  States,  or  any  of  them. 

8.  Before  he  enters  on  the  execution  of  his  office,  he  shall  take  the  following 
oath,  or  affirmation : 

"  I  do  solemnly  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  will  faithfully  ■  iecute  the  office  of 
president  of  the  United  States,  and  will,  to  the  best  of  my  ability,  preserve, 
protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 

Srct.  II. — 1.  The  president  shall  be  commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy 
of  the  United  States,  and  of  the  militia  of  the  several  states,  when  called  into 
the  actual  service  of  the  United  States ;  he  may  require  the  opinion,  in  writing, 
of  the  principal  officer  in  each  of  the  executive  departments,  upon  any  subject 
relating  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices,  and  he  shall  have  power  to 
'  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for  offences  against  the  United  States,  except  in 
cases  of  impeachment. 

2.  He  shall  have  power,  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  to 
make  treaties,  provided  two-thirds  of  the  senators  present  concur  ;  and  he  shall 
nominate,  and  by  and  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  shall  appoint 


836 


APPENDIX. 


ambassadors,  other  public  ministerR,  and  consuls,  judges  of  the  supreme  court, 
and  all  other  officerH  of  the  United  States,  whose  appointments  are  not  herein 
otherwise  provided  for,  and  ■«  hich  shall  be  established  by  law.  But  the  con- 
gress may,  by  law,  vest  the  appointment  of  such  inferior  officers  as  they  think 
proper  in  the  president  alone,  in  the  courts  of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments. 

o.  The  president  shall  have  power  to  fill  up  ail  vacancies  that  may  happen 
during'  t)ie  recesi  of  the  senate,  by  granting  commissions,  which  shall  expire  at 
the  end  of  their  next  sestion. 

Skct.  111. — He  sliall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  congress  information  of 
the  ntate  of  the  Union,  and  recommend  to  their  consideration  such  measures  as  he 
shad  judge  necessary  and  expedient ;  he  uiay,  on  extraordinary  occasions,  con- 
vene both  houses,  or  cither  of  tiiem,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  between  them, 
with  respect  to  the  time  of  adjournment,  he  may  adjourn  them  to  such  time  as 
he  shall  think  proper  ;  he  shall  receive  ambassadors  and  otiier  public  ministers 
he  shall  take  care  that  the  laws  be  fuithfully  executed,  and  shall  commissioti  all 
the  officers  of  the  United  States. 

Skct.  IV. — The  president,  vice-president,  and  all  civil  officers  of  the  United 
States,  shall  be  removed  from  office  on  impeachment  fur,  and  conviction  ol 
treason,  bril>ery,  or  other  high  crimes  and  misdemeanors. 

ARTICLE  III. 

Skct.  I. — ^The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  be  vested  in  one 
supreme  court,  and  in  such  inferior  courts  as  the  congress  may,  from  time  to 
time,  ordain  and  establish.  The  judges,  both  of  the  supreme  and  inferior  courts, 
■hall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behaviour,  and  shall,  at  stated  times,  receive 
for  their  services  a  compensation,  which  shall  not  be  diminished  during  their 
continuance  in  office. 

Sect.  II. — 1.  The  judicial  power  shall  extend  to  all  cases,  in  law  and  equity, 
arising  under  this  constitution,  the  laws  of  the  United  States,  au<l  treaties  made, 
or  which  shall  be  made,  under  their  authority ;  to  all  cases  affecting  ambas- 
sadors, other  public  ministers  and  consuls ;  to  all  cases  of  admiralty  and  maritime 
jurisdiction  ;  to  controversies  to  which  the  United  States  shall  be  a  party  ;  to 
controversies  between  two  or  more  states,  between  a  state  and  citizens  ol 
another  state,  between  citizens  of  different  states,  between  citizens  of  the  same 
state  claiming  lands  under  grants  of  different  states,  and  between  a  state,  oi 
the  citizens  thereof,  and  foreign  states,  citizens,  or  subjects. 

2.  In  all  cases  affecting  ambassadors,  other  public  ministers,  and  consuls,  and 
those  in  which  a  state  shall  be  a  party,  the  supreme  court  shall  have  original 
jurisdiction.  In  all  other  cases  before  mentioned,  the  supreme  court  shall  have 
appellate  jurisdiction,  br>th  as  to  law  and  fact,  with  such  exceptions,  and  under 
such  regulations,  as  the  congress  shall  make. 

8.  The  trial  of  all  crimes,  except  in  cases  of  impeachment,  shall  be  by  jury ; 
and  such  trials  shall  be  held  in  the  state  where  the  said  crime  shall  have  been 
committed ;  but  when  not  committed  within  any  state,  the  trial  shall  be  at 
such  place  or  places  as  the  congress  may,  by  law,  have  directed. 

Sect.  III. — 1.  Treason  against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levying 
war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort. 
No  person  shall  be  convicted  of  treason,  unless  on  the  testimony  of  two  witness- 
es to  the  same  overt  act,  or  on  confession  in  open  court 

2.  The  congress  shall  have  power  to  declare  the  punishment  of  treason,  but 
no  attainder  of  treason  shall  work  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture,  except 
during  the  life  of  the  person  attainted. 

ARTICLE  IV. 

SviT.  I. — Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  state  to  the  public  actt, 
ri*cor.l«,  and  judicial  proceedings  of  every  other  state.  And  the  congress  mar, 
by  iroiieral  laws,  prescribe  the  manner  in  which  such  acts,  records,  and  proceed- 
Ui;;«  bImU  be  proved,  and  the  effect  thereof. 


OONSTTTUTION   OF  THE  UNITED  BTATE8. 


887 


Sbct.  II. — 1.  The  citizens  of  each  state  shall  be  entitled  to  all  the  privileges 
tnd  itntiiunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  states. 

2.  A  person,  charged  in  any  state  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  crime,  who 
shall  flee  from  juHtice,  and  be  found  in  another  state,  shall,  on  demand  of  the 
executive  authority  of  the  state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up,  to  be 
removed  to  the  state  having  the  jurisdiction  of  the  crime. 

8.  No  person,  held  to  service  or  labor  in  one  state,  under  the  laws  thereof, 
escaping  into  another,  shall,  in  consequence  of  any  law,  or  regulation  thorein,  be 
discharged  from  such  service  or  labor,  but  siiall  be  delivered  up  on  claim  of  the 
party  to  whom  such  service  or  labor  may  be  due. 

SKf  r.  III. — 1.  New  states  may  be  admitted  by  the  congress  into  this  Unioi\ 
but  no  new  elate  shall  be  formed  or  erected  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  othei 
state ;  nor  any  state  be  formed  by  the  junction  of  two  or  more  states,  or  parts 
of  states,  without  the  consent  of  the  legislatures  of  the  states  concerned,  aa  well 
as  of  the  congress. 

2.  The  congress  shall  have  power  to  dispose  of  and  make  all  needful  rules 
and  regulations  respecting  the  territory,  or  other  property,  belonging  to  the 
United  States  ;  and  nothing  in  this  constitution  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  pre- 
judice any  claims  of  the  United  States,  or  of  any  particular  state. 

Sect.  IV, — The  United  States  shall  guarantee  to  every  state  ir  this  Union,  a 
republican  form  of  government,  and  shall  protect  each  of  them  against  invasion  ; 
and  on  application  of  the  legislature,  or  of  the  executive,  (when  the  legislature 
<»uaot  be  convened,)  against  domestic  violence. 

ARTICLE    V, 

The  congress,  whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses  shall  deem  it  necessary 
ihall  propose  amendments  to  this  constitution,  or,  on  the  application  of  ilie 
legislatures  of  two-thirds  of  the  several  states,  shall  call  a  convention  for  pro- 
posing amendments,  which,  in  either  case,  shall  be  valid,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  as  part  of  this  constitution,  when  ratified  by  the  legislatures  of  three- 
fourths  ')f  the  several  states,  or  by  conventions  in  three-fourths  thereof,  as  the 
one  or  the  other  mode  of  ratification  may  be  proposed  by  the  congress :  Provi- 
ded, that  no  amendment,  which  may  be  made  prior  to  the  year  one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  eight,  shall,  in  any  manner,  affect  the  first  and  fourth  clauses 
iu  the  ninth  section  of  the  first  article ;  and  that  no  state,  without  its  contient, 
shall  be  deprived  of  its  equal  suffrages  in  the  senate. 


ARTICLE  VI. 

1.  All  debts  contracted,  and  engagements  entered  into,  before  the  adoption 
of  this  constitution,  shall  be  as  valid  p^gainst  the  United  States  under  this  consti- 
tution, as  under  the  confederation. 

2.  This  constitution,  and  the  laws  of  the  United  States  which  shall  be  made 
in  pursiwnce  thereof,  and  all  treaties  made,  or  which  shall  be  made,  imder  the 
authority  of  the  United  States,  shall  be  the  supreme  law  of  the  land ;  and  the 
judges  in  every  state  shall  be  bound  thei'eby,  any  thing  in  the  constitution  or 
laws  of  any  state  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

3.  The  senators  and  representatives  before  mentioned,  and  the  members  of 
the  several  state  legislatures,  and  all  executive  and  judicial  officers,  both  of  the 
United  States  and  of  the  several  states,  shall  be  bound  by  oath,  or  affirmation, 
to  support  this  constitution ;  and  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  required,  ae  ■ 
qualification  to  any  office  or  public  trust  under  tiie  United  States. 


833 


APPENDIX. 


ARTICLE  VII 

The  ratification  of  the  conventioDs  of  nine  etates,  shall  be  aufllcient  for  tha 
entublisliinent  uf  this  Constitution,  between  the  stntes  so  ratifying  the  8ame. 
Jjiiiie  in  cunrention  by  the  unanimowt  content  of  the  stale*  prf»ent,  the  seven- 
teenth day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  one  thimsand  neven  hundred 
and  eiijhty  teren,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  Stalen  of  America,  the 
twelfth.     In  wituem  u'/iereof  toe  have  hereunto  mhscribed  our  names. 

The  Constitution,  although  formed  in  1787,  was  not  ailopted  until  1788,  and 
did  not  ooninionce  its  operations  until  1789.  The  number  of  delegates  chosen 
to  tills  convoiitiiiii  waa  sixtj  L/c,  of  whom  ten  did  not  attend,  and  sixteen  re- 
fused  to  sign  the  Conittitutioa  The  following  thirty-nine  signed  the  Consti- 
tution : — 

Veir  Hampshire  — John  Langdon,  Nicholas  Oelman. 

AlaMachuxetts. — Nathaniel  Oorham,  Hufus  King. 

Connecticut. — William  Samuel  Johnson,  Koger  Sherman. 

New  York. — Alexander  Hamilton. 

Neu)  Jersey. — William  Livingston,  David  Brearley,  William  Paterson,  Jonathan 
Dayton. 

Pennsylvania.  —  Benjamin  Franklin,  Tliomas  Mifflin,  Robert  Morris,  George 
Clymer,  Thomas  Fitzsimmons,  Jared  LigersoU,  James  Wilaon,  Qouverneur 
Morris. 

Delaware. — George  Read,  Gunning  Bedford,  jr.,  John  Dickinson,  Richard  Bait- 
•ett,  Jacob  Broom. 

iJ/ari/^nnd.— James  M'Henry,  Daniel  of  St.  Thomas  Jenifer,  Daniel  Carroll. 

Virginia. — John  Blair,  James  Madison,  jr. 

North  Carolina. — William  Blount,  Richard  Dobba  Spaight,  Hugh  Williamson. 

South  Carolina.  —  John  Rutledge,  Charles  C.  Pinkney,  Charles  Pinkney, 
Pierce  Butler. 

Oeorgia. — WUliara  Few,  Abraham  Baldwin. 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  President 
WILLIAM  JACKSON,  Secretary. 


AMENDMENTS 

To  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  ratified  according  to  the  Provisions  of 
the  Fifth  Article  of  the  foregoing  Constitution. 

Art.  I. — Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion, 
or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  or  abridging  the  freedom  of  speecli,  or 
of  the  press ;  or  the  rights  of  the  people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition 
the  government  for  a  redress  of  grievances. 

Art.  II. — A  well  regulated  militia  being  necessary  to  the  security  of  a  free 
state,  the  right  of  the  people  to  keep  and  bear  arms,  shall  not  be  infringed. 

Art.  III. — No  soldier  shall,  in  time  of  peace,  be  quartered  in  any  house  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  owner,  nor  in  time  of  war,  but  in  a  manner  to  be  pre- 
scribed by  law. 

Art.  IV. — The  right  of  the  people  to  be  secure  in  their  persons,  houses,  papert^ 
and  effects,  against  unreasonable  searches  and  seizures,  shall  not  be  violated ; 
and  no  warrant*  shall  issue,  but  upon  probable  cause,  supported  by  oath  pr  affir- 
mation, and  particularly  describing  the  place  to  be  searched,  and  the  persons  or 
things  to  be  seized. 

A^T.  V. — No  person  shall  be  held  to  answer  for  a  capital,  or  otherwise  in- 
famous crune,  unless  on  a  presentment  or  indictment  of  a  grand  jury,  except 
in  cases  arising  in  the  land  or  naval  forces,  or  in  the  militia,  when  in  actual 
service,  in  time  of  war,  or  public  danger  \  nor  shall  any  person  be  subject  fbf 


CONS'llTDTION   OF  THE   UNITED   8TATE8. 


839 


the  same  olTunce  to  be  twice  put  in  jeopardy  of  life  or  limb ;  nor  shall  b« 
compelled,  in  iiny  criminal  case,  to  be  a  witness  against  himsulf,  nor  bo  depriTed 
of  lite,  liberty,  or  property,  without  due  process  of  law  ;  nor  Bhall  private  pro- 
perty b(!  taken  fur  puldic  use  without  just  compensation. 

Art  VI.— In  all  ciiminiil  prosecutions,  the  accused  shall  enjoy  th(>  riu;ht  to  a 
Bpoedv  and  public  trial,  by  an  impartial  jury  of  the  state  an(I  district  wherein 
the  crime  shall  have  been  committed,  which  district  sliall  have  been  previously 
ascertained  by  law,  and  to  be  informed  of  the  nature  and  cause  of  the  accusa- 
tion ;  to  bo  confrmitcd  with  the  witnes-ses  ayain'tt  him  ;  to  have  compulsory 
process  for  obtaining  witnesses  in  hi^  favor,  and  to  have  the  assistance  of  counsel 
for  liis  defence. 

Aar.  VII. — In  suits  at  common  law,  where  the  value  in  controversy  shall 
exceed  twenty  dollars,  the  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall  be  preserved,  and  no  fact, 
tried  by  jury,  shall  bu  otherwise  re  examined  in  any  court  of  the  United  States, 
than  acronling  to  the  rules  of  the  common  law. 

Akt.  VIII — Excessive  bail  shall  not  bo  required,  nor  excessive  fines  imposed, 
nor  cruel  and  unusual  punishrnents  inflicted. 

AaT.  IX. — The  enumeration  in  the  Constitution,  of  certain  rights,  shall  not  be 
construed  to  deny  or  disparage  others  retained  by  the  pctople. 

Art.  X. — Tiie  powers  not  dalegutod  to  the  United  States  by  the  Constitution, 
nor  prohibited  by  it  to  the  states,  are  reserved  to  the  states  rospectividy,  or 
to  the  people. 

Art.  XI. — The  judicial  power  of  the  United  States  shall  not  be  construed  tc 
extend  to  any  suit  in  law  or  equity,  commenced  or  prosecuted  against  one  of 
the  United  States,  by  citizens  of  another  state,  or  by  citizens  or  subjects  of  any 
foreign  state. 

Art.  X 1 1. — The  electors  shall  meet  in  their  respective  states,  and  vote  by 
ballot,  for  president  and  vice-president,  one  of  whom,  at  least,  sliall  not  be  an 
inhabitant  <if  the  same  state  with  themselves ;  they  sliall  name,  in  their  ballots, 
the  person  voted  for  as  president,  and,  in  distinct  ballots,  the  person  voted  for 
as  vice-president ;  and  they  shall  make  distinct  lists  of  all  persons  voted  for  as 
president,  and  of  all  persons  voted  for  as  vice  president,  and  of  the  number  of 
votes  for  each,  which  lists  thoy  shall  sign  and  certify,  and  transmit,  sealed,  to 
the  seat  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  directed  to  the  president  of 
the  senate.  The  president  of  the  senate  shall,  in  the  presence  of  the  senate  and 
house  of  representatives,  open  all  the  certificates,  and  the  votes  shall  then  be 
counted.  The  person  having  the  greatest  number  of  votes  for  president,  shall 
be  the  pre.sident,  if  such  number  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed  ;  and  if  no  person  have  such  a  majority,  then  from  the  persons  having 
the  highest  numbers,  not  exceeding  three  on  the  list  of  those  voted  for  as  pre- 
sident, the  house  of  representatives  shall  choose  immediately,  by  ballot,  the 
president.  But,  in  choosing  the  president,  the  votes  shall  be  taken  by  states, 
the  representation  from  each  state  having  one  vote  ;  a  quorum  for  this  purpose 
shall  consist  of  a  member  or  members  from  two-thirds  of  the  states,  and  a 
majority  of  all  the  states  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice.  And  if  the  house  of 
representative.s  shall  not  choose  a  president,  whenever  the  right  of  choice  shall 
devolve  upon  them,  before  the  fourth  day  of  March  next  following,  then  the 
vice-president  shall  act  as  president,  as  in  the  case  of  the  death,  or  other  consti- 
tutional disability  of  the  president. 

The  person  Imving  the  greatest  number  of  votes  as  vice-president,  shall  be 
the  vice-pre.sident,  if  such  imniber  be  a  majority  of  the  whole  number  of  electors 
appointed ;  and  if  no  person  have  a  majority,  then,  from  the  two  highest  num- 
bers on  the  lists,  the  senate  t^hall  choose  the  vice-president — a  quorum  for  tlie 
purpose  shall  consist  of  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  senators,  and  a  ma- 
jority of  the  whole  number  shall  be  necessary  to  a  choice. 

But  no  person,  con?titutionally  ineligible  to  the  office  of  president,  shall  b«» 
eligible  to  that  of  vice-president  of  the  United  States. 

ARTICLE  XIII.— Skc.  1. — Neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  except 
a.s  a  puuishnient  lor  e;inie  whereof  the  party  shall  liavu  been  duly  convicted, 
shall  exist  within  tlio  United  Stales,  or  any  place  subject  to  their  jurisdiction. 

Seo.  2.— Congress  shall  Lave  power  to  entbrce  this  article  by  appropriate  legis- 
lation. 


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810 


APPENDIX. 


DECLARATION   OF   INDEPENDENCE. 

JULY  *th,    177«. 


THE   UNANIMOUS   DECLARATION   OF  THE   THIRTEEN   UNITED   STATES 
OF    AMERICA   IN   CONGRESS   ASSEMBLED. 

When,  in  the  course  of  human  events,  it  becomes  necessary  for  one  people  to 
dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to 
assume  among  the  powers  of  the  earth  the  separate  and  equal  station  to  which 
the  laws  of  nature  and  of  nature's  Ood  entitle  them,  a  decent  respect  to  the 
opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  should  declare  the  causes  wiiich  impel 
them  to  tlie  separation. 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident :  that  all  men  are  created  equal :  that 
they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with  certain  unalienable  rights ;  that  among 
these  are  life,  liberty,  and  tho  pursuit  of  happiness ;  that,  to  secure  these  rights, 
governments  are  instituted  among  men,  derivmg  their  just  powers  from  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed  ;  that,  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes  destruc- 
tive of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to  alter  or  to  aboli«h  it,  and  to 
institute  new  government,  laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and  organiz- 
ing its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely  to  effect  their 
safety  and  happiness.  Pnidence,  indeed,  will  dictate  that  governments  long 
established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient  causes ;  and,  accord- 
ingly, all  experience  hath  shown  that  mankind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer,  while 
evils  are  sufferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms  to  which 
they  are  accustomed.  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pursu- 
ing invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a  design  to  redu'Se  theni  uuuci  absolute 
despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it  is  their  dnty,  to  tlnuw  off  such  government,  and  to 
provide  new  guards  for  their  futiure  security.  Such  has  been  the  patient  suffer^ 
uice  of  these  colonies,  and  such  is  now  the  necessity  which  constrains  them  to 
alter  their  former  systems  uf  government  The  history  of  the  present  king  of 
Great  Britain  is  a  history  of  repeated  injuries  and  usurpatioos,  all  having  in 
direct  object  the  establishment  of  an  absolute  tyranny  over  these  states.  To 
prove  this,  let  facts  be  submitted  to  a  candid  world : 

He  has  refused  his  assent  to  laws  the  most  wholesome  and  necessary  for  the 
public  good. 

He  has  forbidden  his  governors  to  pass  laws  of  immediate  and  pressing  im- 
portance, unless  suspended  in  *'  't  operation  till  his  assent  should  be  obtained ; 
and,  when  so  suspended,  he  h(    ^aerly  neglected  to  attend  to  them. 

He  has  refused  to  pass  other  laws  for  tlie  accommodation  of  large  districts  of 
people,  unless  those  people  would  relinquish  the  right  of  reprenentatinn  in  the 
legislature — a  right  inestimable  to  tliem,  and  formidable  to  tyrants  only. 

He  has  called  together  legislative  bodies  at  places  unusual,  uncomfortable, 
and  distant  from  the  repository  of  their  public  records,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 
fatiguing  them  into  compliance  with  his  measures. 

He  has  dissolved  representative  houses  repeatedly  for  opposing  with  manly 
firmness  his  invasions  on  the  rights  of  the  people. 

He  has  refused,  for  a  long  time  after  such  dissolutions,  to  cause  others  to  be 
eleotfld ;  whereby  the  legislative  powers,  incapable  of  annihilation,  have  returned 
to  the  people  at  large  for  their  exercise — the  state  remaining,  in  the  mean  time, 
exposed  to  all  the  dangers  of  invasion  from  without  and  convulsions  within. 


I 


DEOLABATION   OF  INDEPENDENCB. 


841 


He  has  endeavored  to  prerent  the  population  of  those  states — for  that  pur- 
pose obstructing  the  laws  of  naturalization  of  foreigners,  refusing  to  pass  otneri 
to  encourage  their  migration  hither,  and  raising  the  conditions  of  new  appropria- 
tions of  lands. 

He  has  obstructed  the  administration  of  justice,  by  refusing  his  assent  to  lawi 
for  establishing  judici.uy  powers. 

He  has  made  judges  def>endent  on  his  will  alone  for  the  tenure  of  their  ofScea 
and  the  amount  and  payment  of  their  salaries. 

He  has  erected  a  multitude  of  new  offices,  and  sent  hither  swarms  of  officer! 
to  harass  our  people  and  cat  out  their  substance. 

He  has  kept  among  us,  in  times  of  ]>eace,  standing  armies,  without  the  cod- 
sent  of  our  legislatures. 

He  has  affected  to  render  the  military  independent  of,  and  superior  to,  the 
civil  power. 

He  has  combined  with  others  to  subject  us  to  a  jurisdiction  foreign  to  our 
constitution,  and  unacknowledged  by  our  laws — giving  his  assent  to  their  acta 
of  pretended  legislation. 

For  quartering  large  bodies  of  armed  troops  among  us  ; 

Fur  protecting  thorn,  by  h  mock  trial,  from  punishment  for  any  murders  which 
they  should  commit  on  the  inhabitants  of  these  states ; 

For  cutting  off  our  trade  with  all  parts  of  the  world ; 

For  imposing  tuxes  on  us  without  our  consent ; 

For  depriving  us,  in  many  cases,  of  the  benefits  of  trial  by  jury ; 

For  tran8|)orting  us  beyond  seas  to  be  tried  for  pretended  offences; 

For  iibolinhing  the  free  system  of  English  laws  in  a  neighboring  provmce, 
establishing  therein  nn  arbitrary  government,  and  enlarging  its  boundaries,  so  as 
to  render  it  at  once  an  example  and  fit  instrument  for  introducing  the  same  ab- 
solute rule  into  these  colonies ; 

For  taking  away  our  charters,  abolishing  our  most  valuable  laws,  and  altering, 
fundamentally,  the  formt  of  our  governments; 

For  suspending  our  own  legislatures,  and  declaring  themselves  invested  with 
power  to  legislate  for  us  in  all  cases  whatsoever. 

He  has  abdicated  government  here  by  declaring  us  out  of  his  protection,  and 
waging  war  against  us. 

He  has  plundered  our  seas,  ravaged  our  coasts,  burnt  our  towns,  and  destroyed 
the  lives  of  our  people. 

He  is  at  this  time  transporting  large  armies  of  foreign  mercenaries  to  com- 
plete the  works  of  death,  desolation,  and  tyranny,  already  begun,  with  circum- 
stances of  cruelty  and  perfidy  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  most  barbarous  ages, 
and  totally  unworthy  the  head  of  a  civilized  nation. 

He  has  constrained  our  fellow-citizens,  taken  captive  on  the  high  seas,  to  bear 
arms  against  their  country,  to  become  the  executioners  of  their  friends  and 
brethren,  or  to  fall  themselves  by  their  hands. 

He  has  excited  domestic  insurrections  among  us,  and  has  endeavored  to  bring 
on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers  the  merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known 
rule  of  warfare  is  an  undistinguished  destruction  of  all  ages,  ftexes,  and  condi- 
tions. 

In  every  stage  of  these  oppressions,  we  have  petitioned  for  redress  in  the 
mostfjiumble  terms.  Our  repeated  petitions  have  been  answered  only  by  re- 
peated injury.  A  prince,  whose  character  is  thus  marked  by  every  act  which 
may  define  a  tyrant,  is  unfit  to  be  the  ruler  of  a  free  people. 

Nor  have  we  been  wanting  in  attentions  no  our  British  brethren.  We  have 
warned  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  attempts,  by  their  legislature,  to  extend  an 
unwarrantable  jurisdiction  over  us.  We  have  reminded  them  of  the  circum- 
stances of  our  emigration  and  settlement  here.  We  have  appealed  to  their 
native  justice  and  magnanimity,  and  we  have  conjured  them,  by  the  ties  of  our 
common  kindred,  to  disavow  these  usurpations,  which  would  inevitably  inter- 
rupt our  connections  and  correspondence.  They,  too,  have  been  deaf  to  the 
roice  of  justice  and  of  consanguinity.    We  must,  therefore,  acquiesce  in  the 


8i2 


APPBaroix. 


oeMMity  which  denounce*  oar  separation,  and  hold  them,  as  we  hold  the   eRt  nl 
mankind,  enttmiea  in  war,  in  peocv.-,  frieaiis. 

We,  therefore,  the  repre^entiitivea  of  the  United  States  of  America,  in  general 
Congrasfi  assembled,  appealing  to  the  Supreme  Judge  of  the  World  for  the  rec- 
titude of  our  iiitentioiiB,  do,  in  the  name,  and  by  the  authority  of  thu  good 
people  of  thuse  colouiew,  solemnly  publish  and  declare  that  these  united  coluuici 
are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  states ;  tliat  they  are  ab- 
solved from  all  allegiance  to  the  British  crown,  and  that  all  political  c<iimection 
between  them  and  the  state  of  Great  Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dis- 
solved ;  and  that,  as  free  and  independent  states,  thoy  have  full  i>owei  to  levy 
war,  concludu  peace,  contract  alliances,  establish  commerce,  and  to  do  all  otbel 
acts  and  things  which  independent  states  may  of  right  do.  And  for  the  sup- 
port of  this  declaration,  with  a  firm  reliance  on  the  protection  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, we  mutually  pledge  to  each  othur  our  lives,  our  fortunes,  and  our  aacred 
honor. 

The  foregoing  declaration  was,  by  order  of  Congress,  engrossed  and  signed  b^ 
the  following  members ; 


Adams,  John 

AuAHS,  Samuel 

Bartlett,  JofllAH 

Braxton,  CARTsa 

Oarroll,  Charlcs,  of  Carrollton 

Chase,  Samuel 

Clark,  Abraham 

Cltmer,  Oeorob 

Ellbrt,  William 

Floto,  William 

Franklin,  Benjamin 

Oerrt,  Elbridob  • 

OwiNMETT,  Button 

Hall,  Ltman 

Hancock,  John 

Harrison,  Benjamin 

Hart,  John 

Heywaro,  Thomas,  Jua 

Hewes,  Joseph 

Hooper,  Willum 

Hopkins,  Stephen 

HoPKiNSON,  Francis 

HuNTiNOTON,  Samuel 

Jefferson,  Thomas 

Lkx,  Francis  LioHTroor 

Lek,  Richard  Henry 

Lewis,  Francis 

LivoiosTON,  Phiup 


LvNOH,  Thomas,  Jun. 
M'Kean,  Thomas 
Middleton,  AiiTHua 
Morris,  Lewis 
Morris,  Robert 
Morton,  John 
Nelson,  Thomas,  Juo. 
Paoa,  William 
Paine,  Robert  T&kat 
Penn,  John 
Read,  Oeoroe 
Rodney,  Cssar 
Ross,  Oeoroe 
Rush,  Benjamin,  M.  D 
Rutledue,  Edward 
Sherman,  Roqbr 
Smith,  Jambs 
Stockton,  Riohako 
Stone,  Thomas 
Taylor,  Oeoroe 
Thornton,  Matthew 
Walton,  Oeorob 
Whipple,  William 
Williams,  William 
Wilson,  James 
WiTUBRSPooN,  John 

WOLOOTT,  GlIYKR 

Wythk.  Oxokob 


ASTIOLES  OF  00I7FKDBSATI0V. 


843 


THE   ORIGINAL 


ARTICLES   OF    CONFEDERATION. 


TO  ALL  TO  Wnoit  TUE8K   PBE8ENT8  SHALL  COME, 

lV»,  tk*  undertigned  Delegates  of  the  Stale*  affixed  to  our  namea,  tend  greeting. 

WHEREAS,  the  delegates  of  the  United  States  of  America  in  congrej!>  a-* 
•embled,  did,  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  November,  in  the  year  of  our  liord  un« 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  seventy-seven,  and  iu  the  second  year  of  the  indc 
pendence  of  America,  agree  to  certain  articles  of  confederation  and  perpetual 
union  between  the  states  of  New  Hampshire,  MasHadiusetts  Bay,  Rhode  Island 
and  Providence  Plantations,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Qeurgia,  in 
the  words  following,  vi&: 

Artielet  of  Conf'deration  and  perpetital  union  between  the  States  of  Ne\B  Hamp- 

shire,  Massachusetts  Bay,  Rnode  Island  and  Providence  Plantations,  Conneeti- 

cut.  New    York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  Maryland,    Virginia, 

North  Cdrolina,  South  Carolina,  and  Oeorgia. 

Artiolk  L — The  style  of  this  confederacy  shall  be  "  The  United  States  of 
America." 

Art.  IL — Each  state  retains  its  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  independence,  and 
every  power,  jurisdiction,  and  right,  which  is  not  by  this  confederation  expressly 
delegated  to  tne  United  States  in  congress  assembled. 

Art.  IIL — The  said  states  hereby  severally  enter  into  a  fim  league  of  friend- 
ship with  each  other,  for  their  common  defence,  the  security  of  their  liberties, 
and  their  mutual  and  general  welfare  ;  binding  themselves  to  assist  eacli  other 
against  all  force  offered  to,  or  attacks  made  upon  them,  or  any  of  them,  on  ac- 
count of  religion,  sovereignty,  trade,  or  any  other  pretence  whatever. 

Art.  IV. — The  better  to  secure  and  perpetuate  mutual  friendship  and  inter- 
course among  the  people  of  the  different  states  in  this  union,  the  free  inhabitants 
of  each  of  these  states,  paupers,  vagabonds,  and  fugitives  from  justice  excepted, 
shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges  and  immunities  of  free  citizens  in  the  several 
states ;  and  the  people  of  each  state  shall  have  free  ingress  and  regress  to  and 
from  any  other  state,  and  shall  enjoy  therein  all  the  privileges  of  trade  and 
commerce,  subject  to  the  same  duties,  impositions,  and  restrictions  as  the  inhabit- 
ants thereof  respectively,  provided  that  such  restrictions  shall  not  extend  so  far 
as  to  (^event  the  removal  of  property  imported  into  any  state,  to  any  other  state 
of  which  the  owner  ia  an  inhabitant ;  provided  also,  that  no  imposition,  duties, 
or  restriction  shall  be  laid  by  any  state  on  the  property  of  the  United  States,  or 
either  of  them. 

If  any  person  guilty  of,  or  charged  with  treason,  felony,  or  other  high  mis- 
demeanor, in  any  state,  shall  flee  fron  justice,  and  be  found  in  any  of  the  United 
States,  he  shall,  upon  demand  of  the  government  or  executive  power  of  tho 
state  from  which  he  fled,  be  delivered  up  and  removed  to  the  state  having  juris- 
diction of  bis  offence. 

Full  faith  and  credit  shall  be  given  in  each  of  these  states  to  the  records,  acts^ 
•nd  judicial  proceedings  of  the  courts  aud  magistrates  of  every  other  state. 


844 


APPENDIX. 


AitT.  V. — For  the  more  convenient  management  of  the  general  .iiterosU  of  tli« 
17 lilted  StateR,  delegate*  shall  be  annually  appointed,  in  such  manner  as  tho  Ivg- 
lAidture  of  each  state  Hhall  direct,  tu  meet  in  congresB  ou  the  first  Monday  in 
November,  in  every  year  ;  with  u  power  reserved  to  each  state  to  recall  its  dele- 
gate!), or  any  of  them,  at  any  time  within  th*  year,  and  to  send  others  in  their 
•tead  for  the  remainder  of  the  year. 

No  state  hIihII  be  represented  in  congress  bv  less  tlian  two,  nnr  by  more  than 
seven  members  ;  nnd  no  person  akoll  be  ciipable  of  being  a  delegate  for  more 
than  three  yt'arH  in  any  term  of  six  years;  nor  »hail  any  pulton,  being  a  di'Icgate, 
be  capable  of  holding  any  office  under  the  United  States,  for  which  he,  or 
another  for  his  benefit,  receives  any  sulary,  fee»,  or  emolument  of  any  kind. 

Each  state  shall  maintain  its  own  defegatt-s  in  a  meeting  of  the  states,  and 
while  they  act  as  members  of  the  committee  of  the  states. 

In  determining  questions  in  the  United  States,  in  congress  assembled,  each 
state  shall  have  one  vote. 

Freedom  of  speech  and  debate  in  congress  shall  not  be  impeached  or  ques- 
tioned in  any  court  or  place  out  of  coiigresn,  and  the  members  of  congress  shall 
be  protected  in  their  (Hirsons  from  arrests  and  imprisonments,  during  the  time  of 
their  going  to,  and  from,  and  attendance  on  congress,  except  for  treason,  felony, 
or  breach  of  the  peace. 

Art.  VI. — No  state,  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States  in  congresa 
assembled,  shall  send  any  embassy  to,  or  receive  any  embasKy  from,  or  enter  into 
any  conference,  agreement,  alliance,  or  treaty  with  any  king,  prince,  or  state; 
nor  shall  any  person  holding  any  office  of  profit  or  trust  under  the  United  States, 
or  any  of  them,  accept  of  any  present,  emolument,  office,  or  title  of  any  kind 
whatever  from  any  king,  prince,  or  foreign  state  ;  nor  shall  the  United  States  in 
congress  assembled,  or  any  of  them,  grant  any  title  of  nobility. 

No  two  or  more  states  shall  enter  into  any  treaty,  confederation,  or  alliance 
whatever  between  them,  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States  in  congress 
assembled,  specifying  arcuratelv  the  purposes  for  which  the  tame  is  to  be  entered 
into,  and  how  long  it  shall  continue. 

No  state  shall  It'v  any  imposts  or  duties,  which  may  interfere  with  any  stipn 
lations  ir  treaties,  entered  into  by  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled,  with 
any  King,  prince,  or  state,  \n  pursuance  of  any  treaties  already  proposed  by  con- 
gress, to  the  courts  of  France  and  S[iain. 

No  vessels  of  war  shall  be  kept  up  in  time  of  peace  by  any  state,  except  such 
number  only  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  United  States  in  congress 
assembled,  for  the  defence  of  such  state  or  its  trade  ;  nor  shall  any  l>ody  of  forces 
bo  kept  up  by  any  state  in  time  of  peace,  except  such  number  only  as,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  United  States,  in  congress  assembled,  shall  be  deemed  requisite 
to  garrison  the  forts  necessary  for  the  defence  of  such  state ;  but  every  state 
shall  always  keep  up  a  well-regulated  and  disciplined  militia,  sufficiently  armed 
and  accoutred,  and  shall  provide  and  constantly  have  ready  for  use,  in  publie 
stores,  a  due  number  of  neldpieces  and  tents,  and  a  proper  quantity  of  arms, 
ammunition,  and  camp  equipage. 

No  state  shall  engage  in  any  war  without  the  consent  of  the  United  States  in 
congress  assembled,  unless  such  state  be  actually  invaded  by  enemies,  or  shall 
have  received  certain  advice  of  a  resolution  being  formed  by  some  nation  of  In< 
dians  to  invade  such  state,  and  the  dangp.r  is  so  imminent  as  not  to  admit  of  a 
delay,  till  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled  can  be  consulted :  nor  shall 
any  state  grant  commissions  to  any  ships  or  vessels  of  war,  nor  letters  of  marque 
or  reprisal,  except  it  be  after  a  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States  in  con- 
gress assembled,  and  then  only  against  the  kingdom  or  state  and  the  subjects 
thereof,  against  which  war  has  been  so  declared,  and  under  such  regulations  as 
shall  be  established  by  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled  ;  unless  such 
state  be  infested  by  pirates,  in  which  case  vessels  of  war  may  be  fitted  out  for 
that  occasion,  and  kept  so  long  as  the  danger  shall  continue,  or  until  the  United 
States  in  congress  assembled  shall  determine  otherwise. 

Akt.  YJX^-WbeD  land  forces  are  raised  by  any  state  for  the  common  defencei 


ARTICLES   OF   CONFEDERATION. 


846 


nil  (ifTlcers  of  or  under  the  rank  of  coUincl,  ehnll  be  nn]x)int(!(l  by  the  It'giiilntura 
of  each  state  respectively,  by  whuiii  such  forccH  »hnll  lie  rnisi-tl,  or  in  siicli  man- 
ner as  such  state  shiill  direct ;  and  nil  vacancies  sliull  be  iillud  up  by  the  stntu 
which  first  made  the  n|ipointment. 

Art.  VIII. — All  chiirgcs  uf  war,  and  all  other  expenses  that  shall  bo  incurred 
for  the  common  defence  or  general  welfare,  and  allowed  by  the  United  Stute.s  in 
congress  assembled,  kIiuII  be  derniycd  out  of  a  common  treavtiry,  which  shall  Ite 
■upplied  by  the  several  states,  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  all  land  williin  oacb 
state,  granted  to  or  surveyed  for  any  piirson,  as  such  land  and  the  buildings 
nnd  iniprorementa  thereon  shall  be  CNtimatcd.  according  to  such  modu  as  the 
United  States  in  congress  assembled  shall  from  time  to  time  direct  and 
appoint. 

The  taxes  for  paying  that  proportion  shall  be  laid  and  levied  by  the  autliority 
and  direction  of  the  legislatures  of  the  several  Htates,  within  the  time  agreed 
U]K>n  by  the  United  States  in  congresn  nssetiiblt'd. 

Art.  IX. — The  United  States  in  congress  assembled  shall  have  the  sole  and 
exclusive  rif.'ht  and  power  of  determining  on  peace  and  war,  except  in  tho  cases 
mentioned  in  thn  sixth  article — of  semting  and  ritreiving  ambassadors — entering 
into  treaties  and  alliances,  provided  that  no  treaty  of  connnerce  s;iall  lie  nnide, 
whereby  the  legislative  power  of  the  respitctive  statei  1  be  restrained  from 

imposing  such  imposts  and  duties  on  foreigners,  as  their  ..  people-  are  subjected 
to,  or  from  prohibiting  the  exportation  or  importation  of  any  species  of  goods  or 
commodities  whatsoever — of  establishing  rules  for  deciding,  in  all  cases,  what 
captures  on  land  or  water  shall  be  legal,  and  in  what  manner  prizes  taken  by 
land  or  naval  forces  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  shall  be  ilivic'ed  or  ap 
propriated — of  granting  letters  of  marque  nnd  rejirisal  in  times  of  peace — 
ap[X>inting  courts  for  the  trial  of  piracies  and  felonies  committed  on  the  high 
seas — and  establishing  courts  for  receiving  and  determining  Imnlly  appeals  in  all 
cases  of  captures,  provided  that  no  member  of  congress  shall  be  appointed  a 
judge  of  any  of  the  said  courts. 

Tlie  United  States  in  congress  assembled  shall  also  be  the  last  resort  on  appeal 
in  all  disputes  and  differences  now  subsisting,  or  that  hereafter  may  arise  be- 
tween two  or  more  states,  concerning  boundary,  jurisdiction,  or  any  other  cause 
whatever ;  which  authority  shall  always  be  exercised  in  the  manner  following. 
Whenever  the  legislative  or  executive  authority,  or  lawful  agent  of  any  state  in 
controversy  with  another,  shall  present  a  petition  to  congress,  stating  the  mat 
ter  in  question,  and  praying  for  a  hearing,  notice  thereof  shall  be  given  by  order 
of  congress  to  the  legislative  or  executive  authority  of  the  other  state  in  con- 
troversy, and  a  day  assigned  for  the  appoarnnco  of  tlie  parties  by  their  lawful 
agents,  who  shall  then  be  directed  to  appoint,  by  joint  consent,  commisiiioners  or 
judges  to  constitute  a  court  for  hearing  and  determining  the  matter  in  question  , 
Dut  if  they  cannot  agree,  congress  shall  name  three  persons  out  of  each  oi  the  Uni- 
ted States,  and  from  the  list  of  such  persons  eacn  party  shall  alternately  strike  out 
one,  the  petitioners  beginning,  until  the  nuuiber  shall  be  reduced  to  thirteen ; 
and  from  that  number  not  less  than  seven,  nor  more  than  nine  names,  as  congress 
shall  direct,  shall  in  the  presence  of  congress  be  drawn  out  by  lot,  and  the  persons 
whose  names  shall  be  so  drawn,  or  any  five  of  them,  shall  be  commissioners  or 
judges,  to  hear  and  filially  determine  the  ctmtroversy,  so  always  as  a  major  part  of 
tlie  jwlges  who  shall  hear  the  cause  shall  agree  in  the  determination ;  and  if 
either  party  shall  neglect  to  attend  at  the  day  appointed,  without  showing  rea- 
sons which  cAngress  shall  judge  sufficient,  or  being  present  shall  refuse  to  strike, 
tlie  congress  shall  proceed  to  nominate  three  persons  out  of  each  state,  and  the 
secretary  of  congress  shall  strike  in  behalf  of  such  party  absent  or  refusing ;  and 
the  judgment  and  sentence  of  the  court  to  be  appointed,  in  the  manner  before 
prescribed,  shall  be  final  and  conclusive ;  and  if  any  of  the  parties  shall  refuse  to 
submit  to  the  authority  of  such  court,  or  to  appear  or  defend  their  claim  or 
cause,  tlie  court  shall  nevertheless  proceed  to  pronounce  sentence,  or  judgment, 
which  shall  in  like  manner  be  final  and  decisive ;  the  judgment  or  sentence  and 
other  proceedings  being  in  either  cose  transmitted  to  congress,  and  lodged  among 


846 


APPENDIX. 


the  uct«  of  congrPM,  for  the  vecurity  nf*tlie  pnrtiep  concerned;  provided  lint 
every  coniniisaionvr,  before  he  aits  in  jud^nicnt,  ahnll  tako  an  oatli,  to  be  ad- 
niinintered  by  one  of  the  judgfB  of  the  mprcnie  or  aiiperit  r  court  of  the  Mnto 
where  the  cause  thiill  be  tried,  "wfll  and  truly  to  hear  and  determine  the  matter 
in  gutstioH,  acvorditiy  to  the  bent  of  hit  judymmt,  withmit  favour,  affection,  of 
hope  ofrexcard;"  provided  idno  tliiitno  state  bIiuII  be  dt'j)rivt'd  of  territory  for  the 
benefit  of  the  United  Stafe». 

All  controversien  vonceriiiiig  the  private  ri^ht  of  coil,  claipied  under  different 
grants  of  two  or  more  Htaten,  whoxe  jiirixdirlionx,  as  they  may  rerpect  xuch  Inndc, 
and  the  xtates  wiiich  |ia8sed  such  grants,  are  adjusted,  the  said  grants  or  either 
of  tliein  being  at  the  f-anie  time  claimed  to  have  originated  antecedent  to  sucli 
eettlemcnt  of  jurisdiction,  shall,  on  the  petition  of  either  party  to  tliu  congress 
of  the  United  states,  bo  tinnlly  determined  as  near  as  mav  be  in  tlie  snnic  man- 
ner as  is  before  prescribed  for  deciding  ditputes  rei-pucting  territorial  jurisdiction 
between  different  states. 

The  United  States  in  congress  Assembled  shall  also  have  the  sole  and  exclu- 
iive  right  and  power  of  regulating  the  aHoy  and  value  of  coin  struek  by  their 
own  authority,  or  by  that  of  the  resjiective  states — fixing  tlie  standarti  of  weights 
and  measureB  throughout  the  United  States — regidiiting  the  trade  and  man- 
aging all  affairs  with  the  Indians,  not  members  of  any  of  the  states,  provided 
that  the  legislative  right  of  any  state  within  its  own  limits  be  not  inf  inged  or 
violated — establishing  and  regulating  post-offices  from  one  state  to  nnothrr, 
throughout  all  the  United  States,  and  exacting  such  postage  on  the  papers  pass- 
ing through  the  same  as  may  be  requisite  to  defray  the  t  x]>enseB  of  the  suid 
office— appointing  all  officers  of  the  land  forces  in  the  service  of  tlie  United 
States,  excepting  regimental  offirern — appointing  all  the  officers  of  the  naviil 
forces,  and  commissioning  all  officers  whutever  in  the  service  of  the  United 
States — making  rules  for  the  government  and  regulation  of  the  said  land  and 
naval  forces,  and  directing  their  operations. 

The  United  States  in  congress  afsembled  shall  have  authority  to  appoint  a 
committee,  to  sit  in  the  recess  of  congress,  to  bo  denominated  "  a  Committee  of 
the  States,"  and  to  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  state  ;  and  to  appoint  such 
other  committee  and  civil  officers  as  may  be  necessary  for  managing  the  general 
affairs  of  the  United  States  under  their  direction — to  appoint  one  of  their  num- 
ber to  preside,  provided  that  no  person  be  allowed  to  serve  in  tJie  office  of  Pres- 
ident more  than  one  year  in  any  term  of  three  years  ;  to  ascertain  the  necessary 
sums  of  money  to  be  raised  for  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  to  appro 
priatc  and  a|iply  the  same  for  defraying  the  public  expenses-^to  borrow  money, 
or  emit  bills  on  the  credit  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  every  half  year  to 
the  respective  states  an  account  of  the  sums  of  money  so  borrowed  or  remitted 
— to  build  and  equip  a  navy — to  agree  upon  the  number  of  land  forces,  and  to 
make  requisitions  from  each  state  for  its  quota,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
white  inhabitants  in  such  state  ;  which  requisitions  shall  be  binding,  and  there- 
upon the  legislature  of  each  state  shall  appoint  the  regimental  officers,  raise  the 
men,  and  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  them  in  a  soldier-like  manner,  at  the  expense 
of  the  United  States ;  and  the  officers  and  men  so  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped, 
shall  march  to  the  place  ap|x>inted,  and  within  the  time  agreed  on  by^be  United 
States  in  congress  assembled  :  but  if  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled 
shall,  on  consideration  of  circumstances,  judge  proper  that  any  state  should  not 
raise  men,  or  should  raise  a  smaller  nunil)er  than  its  quota,  and  that  any  other 
state  should  raise  a  greater  number  of  men  than  the  quota  thereof,  such  extra 
number  shall  be  raised,  officered,  clothed,  armed,  and  equipped  in  the  same  man- 
ner as  the  quota  of  such  state,  unless  the  legislature  of  such  state  shall  judge 
that  such  extra  number  cannot  be  safely  spared  out  of  the  same,  in  which  casa 
they  shall  raise,  officer,  clothe,  arm,  and  equip  as  many  of  such  extra  number  as 
they  judge  can  be  safely  spared.  And  the  officers  and  men  so  clothed,  armed, 
and  equipped,  shall  march  to  the  place  appointed,  and  within  the  time  agreed 
on  by  the  United  States  in  congress  assembled. 

The  United  States  in  congreijs  asseDiV)led  slioll  neser  engage  in  a  war,  nor  grant 


'<■ 


ARTICLBS  OF  CONFEDERATION. 


m 


Utinn  of  marqufl  and  reprimi  In  time  of  peace,  nor  ent<T  into  (reattoa  or  alii- 
ancea,  nor  coin  money,  nor  rei^ulnte  tbu  valuo  thereof,  nor  nwi>rtain  tliu  sumnanU 
expenHOR  iiPi'CKHHry  for  llio  doft-noe  and  welfare  of  the  I'nittid  Stat)■^  or  any  ol 
thorn,  ni)r  etoit  hills,  nor  borrow  nioooy  on  the  cn'dit  of  tlio  United  StiifoR,  nor 
appropriate  money,  nor  agree  u|>on  the  number  of  veHitelH  of  war  to  Iki  buill  or 
purchuHed,  or  thi-  iiiiniber  of  land  or  »eii  force*  to  b»'  rui.ied,  nor  np|Miiiit  a  com- 
mander in  chief  of  thu  urmy  or  niivy,  nnleoM  nine  Ktiiteit  uvitent  to  the  name  :  nor 
tthall  a  quoHtion  on  ai:y  other  (>oint,  exce{>t  for  iidjonniint;  from  day  to  day,  be 
determined,  uideis  by  tlie  votes  of  a  niajoii'y  of  the  United  .Stutet  in  congroita 
aHHembled. 

Hie  confjre»»  (ftlie  United  State*  shall  have  power  to  adjourn  to  anytime 
within  the  year,  ainl  to  any  place  within  the  United  Stato^.  ko  that  no  period  of 
adjournment  be  for  a  longer  duration  than  the  upacv  of  .tix  monthit ;  and  Hhall 
piiblixh  the  journal  of  their  proceeding!*  monthly,  except  such  purUi  thereof  re- 
lating to  treatiuN,  allianceH,  or  military  operations,  a*  in  their  judgment  require 
secrecy  ;  and  the  yea«  and  navH  of  the  delei;ateii  of  each  state  on  any  question 
■hall  be  entered  on  the  journal,  when  it  is  desired  by  any  dele^^ate  ;  an<l  the  del- 
ef^ates  of  a  etate,  or  any  of  them,  at  hi!<  or  their  requi^.xt,  Hhall  Ix;  furnished  with 
a  tranitcript  of  the  saiil  journal,  except  such  parts  as  are  above  excepted,  to  laj 
before  the  It'Lci^iliitureH  of  the  several  slates. 

Abt.  X — The  ciimrnitti  0  of  the  states,  or  any  nine  of  them,  shall  be  author- 
ized to  execute,  in  the  recess  of  conjfresi,  nuch  of  the  ft>wers  of  congress  as  the 
United  Stales  in  cuiij^reHs  ussenibleil,  by  the  eou.-'ent  of  nine  states,  shall  from 
time  to  time  lliink  expedient  to  vest  them  with  ;  provi<l«il  that  no  L)ower  be 
delegated  to  the  said  committee,  for  the  exercise  of  which,  by  the  Arlicles  of 
Confederation,  tiie  voice  of  nine  states  in  the  congress  of  tho  United  States 
assendiled  is  re(|ui-ite. 

Art.  XI. — Canada  acceding  to  this  confederation,  and  joining  in  the  measures 
of  the  United  States,  shall  be  admitted  into,  aiul  entitled  to  all  the  advantages 
of  this  union  ;  but  no  other  colony  shall  be  admitted  into  the  same,  unless  such 
admission  be  airreed  to  by  nine  states. 

Art.  XII. — All  bills  of  credit  emitted,  moneys  borrowed,  and  debts  contracted 
by,  or  under  the  authority  of  coiifjreHs,  before  the  assembling  of  the  United  States, 
in  pursuance  of  the  present  confederation,  shall  be  deemed  and  considered  as  a 
charge  against  the  United  States,  for  payment  and  satisfaction  whereof,  the  said 
United  States  and  the  public  faith  are  hereby  solemnly  pledged. 

Art.  XIII. — Kvery  state  shall  abide  by  the  determmations  of  the  United 
States  in  congress  assembled  on  all  questions  which  by  this  confederation  are 
submitted  to  them.  And  the  articles  of  this  confederation  shall  be  inviolably 
observed  by  every  state,  and  the  union  shall  be  perpetual ;  nor  shall  any  alter- 
ation at  any  time  hereafter  be  made  in  any  of  them,  unless  such  alteration  be 
agreed  to  by  a  congress  of  the  United  States,  and  be  afterwards  confirmed  by 
the  legislatures  of  every  state. 

And  whereas  it  kith  pleased  the  great  Governor  of  tho  World  to  incline  the 
hearts  of  the  lejiishitures  we  respectively  represent  in  congress  to  approve  of  and 
to  authorize  us  to  ratify  the  said  articles  of  confederation  and  perpetual  union ; 
KNOW  VE,  that  we,  the  undersigned  delegates,  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  au- 
thority to  us  given  for  that  pur^iose,  do  by  these  presents,  in  tho  name  and 
in  behiflf  of  our  re8|)ective  constituents,  fully  and  entirely  ratify  and  confirm 
each  and  every  of  the  said  articles  of  confederation  and  p<;r|)etual  union,  and  all 
and  singular  the  matters  and  thin>;8  therein  contained:  and  we  do  further  sol- 
emnly plight  and  engage  the  faith  of  our  respective  constituents,  that  they  shall 
abide  by  the  determinations  of  the  United  States  in  congiess  assembled,  on  all 
questions  which,  by  the  said  confederaticm,  are  submitted  to  them  ;  and  that  the 
articles  thereof  shall  be  itviolably  ob.served  by  the  states  we  respectively  repre- 
sent, and  that  the  union  shall  be  perpetual. 

In  witness  whereof,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  in  congress.  Done  at 
Philadelphia  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  the  ninth  day  of  July,  in  the  year  of 


848 


APPENDIX. 


our  Lord  one  thouitanil  loven  hundred  and  Mvuuty-«ight,  and  in  the  third  jea« 
of  the  iiidepeiidenc'u  uf  America. 

On  th*  part  and  i«ha\f  of  tKi  Stat*  i^f  N*w  Bampthir*. 

J08IAU  BARTLETT,  JOHN  WKNTWORTIl,  Jan.,  AnguntS,  m& 

On  th4  part  and  htha\f  </  th*  StaU  a/  Ma»taehuMttt  Jiitf. 

JOHN  HANCOCK,  ELURIDGE  QERRY,  JAMES  LOVELL. 

SAMUEL  ADAMS,  FKANCIB  DANA,  SAMUEL  HOLT JSN. 

On  tht  part  and  btkalfqfth*  Stat$  rf  Rhod*  Itland  iM\d  Vtovidtnc*  Plantation*. 

WILLIAM  ELLERY,  HENRY  MAKCHANT,  JOHN  COLLINS. 

On  th*  part  and  btkal/  (\f  ih*  Utat*  qf  Oonntetiout. 

ROGER  SHERMAN,  OLIVER  WOLCOTT,  ANDREW  ADAMS, 

SAMUEL  HUNTINGTON,        TITUS  HOSMEH. 

On  tht  part  and  htha\f  i^  t/t*  Stat*  of  Ktm  york, 

JAB.  DDANE,  FRA.  LEWIS,  WM.  DUER,  GOUV.  MORRIS 

On  the  part  and  behalf  qf  th*  StaU  qf  N*w  JerH/y. 

JKO.  WITHER8POON7  November  86,  1778,  NATH.  8CUDDEB,  do. 

On  th*  part  and  behalf  of  th*  Stal4  of  Ptnf\»ylvania. 

EOBT.  MORRUl,        JONA.  BAYAUD  SMITH,       JOS.  REED,  22d  July,  m«, 
DANIEL  ROBEUDEAU,  WILLIAM  CLINGAN. 

On  the  part  and  behalf  qf  th*  State  if  Delattar*. 

THOS.  M'KEAN,  Feb.  18,  1779,  NICHOLAS  VAN  DYKX. 

JOHN  DICKINSON,  May  B-  •.779. 

On  til*  part  and  behalf  cf  th*  Slate  ^  Maryland. 

JOHN  HANSON,  March  1, 1781,  DANIEL  CARBULL,  do. 

On  the  part  and  behalf  of  the  StaU  of  Virginia. 

RICHARD  HENRY  LEE,       THOS.  ADAMS,        FRANCIS  LIGHTFOOT  LIB. 
JOHN  BANISTER,  JNO.  UAKVIE. 

On  the  part  and  bekt^f  of  th*  Stat*  of  North  OaroUna. 

JOHN  PENN,  July  21, 1778.  CORNS.  HARNETT,  JNO.  WILLIAMS. 

On  th*  part  and  behalf  of  the  StaU  of  South  Carolina. 


HENRY  LAURENS,  JNO.  MATTHEWS, 

WILLIAM  HENRY  DRAYTON, 


THOS.  HEY  WARD,  Jnn., 
RICHARD  HUTSON. 


On  the  part  and  h*half  of  the  StaU  qf  Georgia. 

JNO.  WALTON,  24th  July,  1778.  ED  WD.  TELFAIR, 

'  EDW.  LANG  WORTHY. 


rir>«fc— From  the  oIronm»Unc«  of  delemtM  from  tha  ume  tUte  havJiiB  iilgn«d  the  ArUcle*  U  Confed- 
•ritl  m  »t  different  Omei,  M  »ppeari  by  tCo  datoi,  It  !•  probable  they  affixed  their  namei  u  tkey  hqiBwed 
tB  b*  pr«Mnt  In  oongraH,  aftw  they  bad  bma  autbsrliKl  by  their  coiuUtaeata.] 


FAREWELL  ADDRESS 


or 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 


Fbiends  and  Fkllow-Citiz«n8  :— 

The  period  for  a  now  eleotion  of  a  citizen,  to  administer  the  exeeutiT« 
government  of  the  United  States,  bcinu;  not  far  distant,  and  the  time  actually 
arrived  when  your  thnu);ht8  mnst  he  en)|diiyed  in  dcBignatiug  the  person  who 
is  to  be  clothed  with  that  important  trunt,  it  appeHre  to  mo  proper,  especially 
•s  it  may  conduce  to  a  more  distinct  exiircssion  of  the  public  voice,  tliat  1 
should  now  apprise  you  of  the  resolution  I  have  formed,  to  decline  being  con- 
sidered among  the  number  of  those  out  of  whom  a  choice  is  to  be  made.  I 
beg  you,  at  the  same  time,  to  do  me  the  justice  to  be  assured,  that  this  resolu- 
tion nas  not  been  taken,  without  a  strict  regard  to  ail  the  considerations  apper- 
taining to  the  relation  which  binds  a  dutiful  citizen  to  his  country ;  and  that, 
in  withdrawing  the  tender  of  service  which  silence  in  my  situation  might  imply, 
1  am  influenced  by  no  diminution  of  zeal  for  your  future  interest — no  deficiency 
of  grateful  reope ct,  for  your  ])net  kindness ;  but  am  supported  by  a  full  convic- 
tion that  the  8ttip  is  compatible  with  both. 

The  acceptance  of,  and  continuance  hitherto  in,  the  oSice  to  which  your 
■uffrages  have  twice  called  me,  have  been  a  uniform  sacrifice  of  inclination  to 
the  opinion  of  duty,  and  to  a  deference  for  what  appeared  to  be  your  desire. 
I  constantly  hoped,  that  it  would  have  been  much  earlier  in  my  power,  con- 
sistently with  motives  which  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  disregard,  to  return  to  that 
retirement  from  which  I  had  been  reluctantly  drawn.  The  strength  of  my  in 
clinatioQ  to  do  this,  previous  to  the  last  election,  had  even  led  to  the  nrepara 
tion  of  an  address  to  declare  it  to  you;  but  mature  reflection  on  the  tnen  per- 
plexed and  critical  posture  of  our  affairs  with  foreign  nations,  and  the  unanimous 
advice  of  persons  entitled  to  my  confidence,  impelled  me  to  abandon  the  idoa. 

I  rejoice  that  the  state  of  your  concerns,  external  as  well  as  internal,  no 
longer  renders  the  pursuit  of  inclination  incompatible  with  the  sentiments  of 
duty  or  propriety ;  and  am  persiiaded,  whatever  partiality  may  be  retained  for 
my  services,  that  in  the  present  circumstances  of  our  country,  you  will  not  dis- 
approve my  determination  to  retire. 

The  impressions  with  which  1  first  undertook  the  arduous  trust,  were  ex- 
plained on  the  pr<^)er  occasion.  In  the  discharge  of  this  trust,  I  will  only  say, 
that  I  have,  with  good  intentions,  contributed  towards  the  organization  and 
administration  of  the  government,  the  best  exertions  of  which  a  very- fallible 
judgment  was  capable.  Not  unconscious,  in  the  outset,  of  the  inferiority  of 
my  qualifications,  experience  in  my  own  e^'es,  perhaps  still  more  in  the  eyes  of 
others,  has  strengthened  the  motive  to  dimdeiioe  of  myself;  and,  every  day,  the 

849 


850 


rAKEWELL   ADDKKSB  OF   UKOHUB    WASrilNOTOIf. 


iiior<>Mln((  woi^ht  of  year*  admonithi'i  ma  more  anil  more  that  the  eliaile  of  re- 
tiiement  U  ••  nccea^ary  to  ma  m  it  will  b«  weli'omo.  Mnti-fleil  that  if  any 
fircuiiiitantieit  linTH  Kiv«n  peculiar  vitlue  to  my  ttirTicea,  th«y  Wfro  ttiiiiporury, 
I4iave  till'  vdiiKiiliitiori  to  lM>ll«va,  that  while  I'hoice  and  priiilence  invito  ma  to 
qiiii  tliu  iMilitii-al  ecviii',  pittriotieni  doe*  not  forbid  it. 

In  looking  lorwunl  to  the  moment,  whioli  i*  intended  to  terminate  the 
CHreor  of  my  piiMii:  iif ',  my  fieliiigH  du  not.  pormit  m«  to  euepeiid  the  di-ep 
ac:ka<iwl('dKm'  nt  of  ihiit  (hbt  of  platitude  which  I  owa  to  my  lialovcd  country, 
fur  ihti  niiiii^  hiui'Tit  it  liaa  cont'crrcJ  u|k>ii  me;  itill  nioru  lor  the  ilpxifiut  con- 
fidence with  whch  II  hit*  supported  tiic ;  iind  for  iIip  opportiinitiet  I  Iirtw 
thcnoi'  tMijoycil  of  maiiiftfxtiri/  my  inviolnhic  attiichmpiit,  l>y  acrviovt  fuithf.d 
and  lerHuvcrini;,  i  hough  m  imai'iilnciM  uncqtial  to  my  zeal.  If  baiielitu  have  re- 
unite  i  to  our  country  from  thcMi  a^'rviccii,  lot  it  nlway*  bti  remcml'cri'd  to  your 
|>riii«e,  and  a«  an  inati  uciivu  exninple  in  our  hiiiiuIh,  thnt  under  clri'unmtanve* 
m  which  the  pniti>ionii,  agitated  in  uTery  direcLioii,  were  liable  to  miHland,  amidst 
appcarauctJK  Koinciiincs  dul)ioua — vioii*sitU(l«'*  of  fMrtiine  ofton  discoiirHtfing — in 
lituatioD't  in  which  not  uiifreuucntly  want  of  kuccps-i  hiiH  countenanced  the  npirit 
of  criticixm — the  conaluncy  ol  your  aunport  waa  the  enncniial  prop  of  the  utt'ort% 
and  a  ((uaruiitee  of  the  plana  by  which  they  were  etrcclcd. 

Profoundly  pmitrittud  with  thiit  idea,  I  Hhnll  curry  it  with  me  to  my  ((rare 
aa  a  atronj^  incitement  to  uncuaaing  vowt  that  Hiavcn  may  continue  to  you  the 
clmiceat  tokens  of  its  ti«><«ticenoe— that  your  union  and  brotherly  affeclion  may 
be  perpetual— t|iat  th'.  Ire'.'  constitution,  which  is  the  work  of  your  hands,  may 
be  sacredly  maintained — that  its  n<lminiatration  in  ev<  rjr  departmunt  may  be 
stamped  with  wisdom  mid  virtue — that,  in  tine,  the  hiippiiiess  of  the  people  of 
these  States,  under  the  auspices  of  lilwrty,  may  he  made  complete,  by  so  care 
ful  a  preservation  unci  so  prudent  a  use  of  ttiis  blesHiiig,  at  will  iioquire  to  then) 
tile  glory  of  recommeuding  it  to  the  applause,  the  utfeciion,  and  the  adoption  m 
every  nation  which  is  yet  a  stranger  to  it. 

Here  perhaps  1.  ou^ht  to  ston.  But  a  solicitude  for  your  welfare,  which 
cunnot  end  but  with  my  life,  ami  the  apprehension  of  ilanirer,  natural  to  that 
solicitude,  urge  me,  on  an  occasion  like  the  present,  to  offer  to  your  solemn  con- 
templation, and  to  recommend  to  your  frequent  review.  Home  sentiments,  which 
are  the  result  of  much  reflection,  of  no  inconsiderable  obscrvution,  and  which 
appear  to  me  all  important  to  the  permanency  of  your  felicity  as  a  people. 
These  will  be  offered  to  you  with  the  more  freedom,  as  you  can  only  aee  ia 
them  the  diitinterested  warnings  of  a  parting  friend,  who  can  possibly  have  no 
personal  motives  to  bias  his  counsel.  Nor  can  I  forget  us  an  encourH>;ement  to 
It,  your  indulgent  reception  of  my  sentiments  on  a  former  and  not  di.isimilar 
occasion.  Interwoven  as  is  the  love  of  lilterty  with  every  ligament  of  your 
hearts,  no  recommendation  of  mine  ia  necessary  to  fortify  or  confirm  th« 
attachment 

The  uuity  of  government  which  constitutes  you  one  people  is  also  now 
dear  to  you.  It  is  justly  so  ;  for  it  is  a  main  pillar  in  the  edibce  of  your  real 
independence,  the  support  of  your  tranquillity  at  home,  your  peace  abroad  ;  of 
your  safety  ;  of  your  prosperity ;  of  that  very  liberty  which  you  so  highly 
prize.  But  aa  it  is  easy  to  foresee,  that  from  different  causes  and  from  differ- 
ent quarters,  much  pains  will  be  taken,  many  artifices  employed,  to  weaken  in 
your  minds  the  conviction  of  this  truth ;  as  this  ia  the  point  in  your  political 
fortress  against  which  the  batteries  of  internal  and  external  eneiniea  will  be 
most  constantly  and  actively  (though  ofton  covertly  and  insidiously)  directed, 
it  is  of  infinite  moment,  that  you  should  properly  estimate  the  immenae  valu* 
of  your  national  union  to  your  collective  and  individual  happiness;  that  you 
should  cherish  a  cordial,  habitual,  and  immovable  attachment  to  it ;  accustom- 
ing yourselves  to  think  and  to  speak  of  it  as  the  Palladium  «f  your  political 
safety  and  prosperity ;  discountenancing  whatever  may  auggeat  even  a  sus- 
picion that  it  can  in  any  event  be  abandoned ;  and  indignantly  frowning  upon 
the  first  dawning  of  every  attempt  to  alienate  any  portion  of  our  country 
from  the  rest,  or  to  enfeeble  the  sacred  ties  which  now  link  together  iha 
rarious  parts. 


FARKWIiXt,   ADDRKHa   OK   OKOROU    WAHHINOTON. 


80 1 


For  tliU  you  hii»«  tvery  imlucetncnt  of  tympathy  •ixl  interest,  Citiifnit, 
hy  l)iitli  or  rhoioe,  of  n  aoiiimon  country,  tliat  country  )im  a  ri^lit  to  cniiccii- 
iriiti)  your  afTuution*.  The  mime  of  Amtriean,  which  bvlun^r  to  yoii  iu  yout 
natiiiiiiil  capacity,  mimt  always  exalt  thu  iuit  pride  of  nutriotiini,  more  than 
■ny  ap|>clliitiOM  derirMil  fiotu  h)cnl  di^criminatioii*.  Witt)  uUnUt  iliadfa  of  thf- 
feriinro,  you  have  the  name  reliifioii,  iiinniiirn,  hahit^,  and  |M)litii'al  principle*. 
You  have  in  a  romnmn  ontiae  fought  and  triiimphu<l  together  ;  the  iiidepeii<l«iioe 
«iid  liberty  you  poi«eAit  ur<'  thu  work  of  joint  counMeU  iind  juiiit  etfoita,  ol 
common   Jani^er,  •utTuriiiKt.  anil   'Ui'oe-a.     Hut   these   <'onHideriitiorii,  however 

CowerfuUy  tliey  address  th'  niHclveH  to  your  Hontibiliiy,  are  greatly  oiitweii^hed 
V  those  widoh  apply  more  immed  atuly  to  your  intercht  Here  every  portion 
or  our  country  flnds  the  ini^t  cointuanJing  mutivea  fur  carefully  guarding  and 
preserriiig  the  unioa  of  the  wh<de. 

TLe  N'irik,  in  an  unrestrained  intercoiiiie  with  the  Snulh,  protected  by 
the  equal  laws  of  a  uonmion  govertnnent  finds  in  the  i>i'o<luctionti  i\!  the  latter, 
great  additional  rusourues  of  maritime  unil  comineroial  inteipris'',  and  preeioi's 
materials  of  naanufiieturing  industry.  The  Si/uth,  in  the  same  intercourse, 
lienetitiug  by  the  iigeucy  of  the  Nor(h,  sees  its  agriculture  Kfow,  and  its  com- 
merce axpimd.  Turning  partly  into  its  own  channels  tlie  seuiiien  of  the  Norlh, 
it  finds  its  particular  navigation  invigorated  ;  and  whil>'  it  coiitribules,  in  dif- 
ferent ways,  to  nourish  and  increase  the  general  mass  of  the  national  naviga- 
tion, it  looks  forward  to  the  protection  of  a  maritime  Htreugtii,  to  which  itself 
is  unequally  adapted.  The  Eait,  in  a  like  interrouise  witii  the  Went,  already 
finds,  and  in  the  proi;resnivo  iinpn>vement  of  interior  cotnmuiiications,  by  land 
and  water,  will  more  and  more  find,  a  valuable  vent  for  the  commodities  which 
it  brings  from  abroad,  or  manufaetures  at  home.  The  Wext  derives  from  the 
Jia*t  supplies  requi.^itc  to  its  growth  and  comfort ;  ami  what  is  perlia|>8  of  still 
greater  u(nisequence,  it  mnst  of  necessity  owe  the  ientrf  enjoyment  of  indi»- 
penaable  onlleti  for  its  own  productions  to  the  wiight,  influence,  and  the  future 
maritime  strength  of  the  A'lantic  side  of  the  Union,  directed  by  an  in(liss<duble 
community  of  interest  as  onc  natio.n.  Any  other  tenure  by  whieh  the  West  can 
hold  this  essential  advantage,  whether  clerived  from  its  own  separate  strength, 
or  from  an  apostate  and  unnatural  connection  with  any  foreign  power,  must  be 
intrinsicallv  precarious. 

While  then  every  part  of  our  country  thus  feels  an  immediate  and  par- 
ticular interest  in  union,  all  the  parties  combined  cannot  fail  to  find  in  the  united 
mass  of  means  and  efforts  greater  strength,  g/eater  resource,  proportiouably 
greater  security  from  extenial  danger,  a  less  frequent  interruption  af  their 
peace  by  foreign  nations;  and,  what  is  of  inestimable  value,  they  must  derive 
from  union  an  exemption  from  those  broils  and  w.irs  between  themxelves,  which 
so  freqxiently  afilict  neif,'hl)oring  countries,  not  tied  toj^ether  by  the  same  govern- 
ment; whieh  their  own  rivalships  alone  would  be  sutBeient  to  nrocluee,  but 
which  opposite  alliances,  attachments,  and  intrigues,  would  stimulate  and  em- 
bitter, llenee,  likewise,  they  will  avoid  the  neoe«sity  of  those  overgrown 
military  establishments  which,  under  any  form  of  government,  are  innnspioious 
to  liberty,  and  which  ai_  to  be  regarded  as  particularly  hostile  to  republican 
liberty ;  in  this  sense  it  is,  that  your  union  ought  to  be  considered  as  a  main 
prop  of  your  liberty,  and  that  the  love  of  the  one  ought  to  endear  you  to  the 
preservation  of  the  other. 

These  considerations  speak  a  persuasive  language  to  every  reflecting  and 
virtuous  mind,  and  exhibit  the  continuance  of  the  union  as  a  primary  object  of 
patriotic  desire.  Is  there  a  doubt,  whether  a  common  government  can  embrace 
so  large  a  sphere?  Let  experience  solve  it  To  listen  to  mere  speculation  in 
such  a  case  were  criminal.  We  are  authorieed  to  hope  that  a  proper  organiza- 
tion of  the  whole,  with  the  auxiliary  agency  of  governments  for  the  respective 
subdivisions,  will  afford  a  happy  issue  to  the  experiment  Tis  well  worth  a 
fair  and  full  experiment  With  such  powerful  and  obvious  motives  to  union, 
affecting  all  parts  cf  our  country,  while  experience  shall  nut  have  deraonstiated 
its  impracticability,  there  will  always  be  reason  to  distrust  the  patriotism  ot 
those,  who  in  any  quarter  may  endeavor  to  wuakeu  its  banda. 


852 


FAKGWBLL   ADDKG83   OF   OEOBOB   WASHmOTOIT. 


In  eon tem plating  the  canaes  that  may  disturb  onr  union,  it  ncours  as  a 
matter  of  Berious  concern,  that  any  f^roiiiid  should  have  l>een  furnished  for 
rliaraoterizing  nartiea  by  geographical  discriminationH — Northern  and  Southern— 
Atlanlie  M\d  Weitern  ;  wlience  def)i|;nini;  men  may  endoavrr  to  excite  a  belief 
that  there  is  a  real  difference  of  local  interest  and  views.  One  of  the  expedients 
of  |)Hi'ty  to  ficquire  intlueiice,  within  particular  districta,  is  to  misrepresent  the 
opinions  and  aims  of  other  districts.  You  cannot  shield  yourself  too  much 
against  the  Jealousies  and  heart-buruingH  which  spring  from  these  misrepresen 
tations:  they  tend  to  render  alien  to  each  other  those  who  ought  to  be  bound 
t»>gcther  by  fraternal  affection.  The  inhabitants  of  our  western  country  have 
lately  had  ii  useful  lesson  on  this  head :  they  have  seen  in  the  negotiation  by 
the  executive,  and  in  the  unanimous  ratification  by  the  Senate,  of  the  treaty 
with  Spain,  and  in  the  univi-rcal  satisfaction  at  that  event  throughout  the 
United  Stated,  a  decisive  proof  how  unfounded  were  the  suxpiciona  propagated 
•tinong  them  of  n  policy  in  the  general  governniont  and  in  the  Atlantic  States, 
unfriendly  to  their  interest  in  regard  to  the  Ath.iii>rippi ;  thoy  have  been  wit- 
nesses to  the  formation  of  two  treatie^  that  with  Great  Hritain  and  that  with 
Spain,  which  secure  to  them  every  thing  thoy  could  desire,  in  respect  to  our 
foreign  relations,  towards  confirming  their  jHosperity.  Will  it  not  be  their 
wisdom  to  rely  for  the  preservation  of  these  advantages  on  the  uniok  by  which 
they  were  procured  f  Will  they  not  henceforth  be  deaf  to  those  advisers,  if 
such  there  are,  who  would  sever  them  from  their  brethren  and  connect  them 
with  aliens? 

To  the  efficacy  and  permanency  of  your  union,  a  government  for  the  whole 
is  indibipensable.  No  alliances,  however  strict,  between  the  parts,  can  be  an 
adequate  substitiUe :  tliey  must  inevitably  experience  the  infractions  and  inter- 
ruptions which  all  alliances  in  all  times  have  experienced.  Sensible  of  this 
momentous  truth,  you  have  improved  your  first  essay,  by  the  adoption  of  a 
constitutioii  of  government  better  caleulatid  than  your  former,  for  an  intimate 
union,  and  for  the  ettieacioim  matiiigeinent  of  your  common  concerns.  Thia 
government,  the  offspring  of  our  own  choice,  uninfluenced  and  unawed,  adopted 
upon  full  investigation  and  mature  deliberation,  completely  free  in  its  prinoi 
pies,  in  the  distribution  of  its  powers,  uniting  security  with  energy,  and  con 
taining  within  itself  a  provision  for  its  own  amendment,  has  a  just  claim  to 
your  confidence  and  your  support  Respect  for  its  authority,  compliance  with 
its  laws,  acquiescence  in  its  measures,  are  duties  enjoined  by  the  fundamental 
maxims  of  true  liberty.  The  basis  of  our  political  system  is  the  right  of  the 
people  to  make  and  alter  their  constitutions  of  government  But,  the  consti- 
tution which  at  any  time  exists,  till  changed  by  an  explicit  and  authentic  act 
of  the  whole  people,  is  sacredly  obligatory  upon  all.  The  very  ides  ef  the 
power  and  the  right  of  the  people  to  establiHh  government,  presupposes  the 
duty  of  every  individual  to  obey  the  established  government 

All  obstructions  to  the  execution  of  the  laws,  all  combinations  and  associa- 
tions, under  whatever  plausible  character,  with  the  real  design  to  direct,  con- 
trol, counteract,  or  awe  the  regular  deliberation  and  action  of  the  constitnted 
authorities,  are  destructive  of  this  fandaraental  principlo,  and  of  fatal  tendency. 
They  serve  to  organize  faction,  to  give  it  an  artificial  and  extraordinary  force, 
—to  put  in  the  place  of  the  delegated  will  of  the  nation,  the  will  of  a  party, 
often  a  small  but  artful  and  enterprising  minority  of  the  community ;  and  ao 
cording  to  the  alternate  triumphs  of  different  parties,  to  make  *he  public  ad- 
ministration the  mirror  of  the  ill-concerte<i  and  incongruous  projects  of  faction, 
rather  than  the  organ  of  consistent  and  wholesome  plans  digested  by  common 
counsels,  and  modified  by  mutual  interests.  However  combinations  or  associa- 
tions of  the  above  description  may  now  and  then  answer  popular  ends,  they  are 
likely  in  the  ciurse  of  time  ami  things  to  become  potent  engines,  by  which 
cunning;  ambitious,  and  unprincipled  men,  will  be  enabled  to  subvert  the  power 
of  the  people,  and  to  usurp  to  themselves  the  reins  of  government ;  destroying 
afterwards  the  very  energies  which  have  lifted  them  to  unjust  dominion. 

Towards  the  preservation  of  your  government,  and  the  permanency  of  your 
preaent  hannv  stata  it  is  requisite,  not  onlv  that  too  steadily  discouotenance 


FAHKWELL   ADPRESS   OF  OROROE   WASHINOTON. 


853 


Irrpgular  oppoiitinns  to  its  KcVnowledgeJ  authnrity,  but  alto  that  you  re- 
MHt  with  cnre  the  Hpirit  of  iniiuvatioit  uimn  its  prinoipli-i,  however  Hpecioiu 
the  pretext.  Oni'  method  of  awsiiult  may  be  to  efteot,  in  the  forma  of  the  cou- 
atitiition,  iilterationa  which  will  impair  the  energy  of  the  syHtem,  and  thus  tc 
undtirm  iiu  wliut  rmitioi  h<'  overlhi'owii.  In  all  the  uhangus  to  wliicli  you  niiiy 
be  invited,  rcniember  tliiit  time  iind  liiibit  are  iit  least  as  necessary  to  fix  the 
true  chHrHCtcr  of  gnvernint'nts,  as  of  other  human  institutions — that  experiencs 
in  the  sui'0~t  Htiindard  by  wlduii  lo  te»t  the  real  tetidency  of  the  fxistiiig  con- 
stitution of  a  <'<iunlry — thut  faciJity  in  ihaiig  s  upon  tli<-  credit  of  ra<T*i  liypo> 
thesis  and  opinion,  exposes  to  perpi'tinil  nhauge,  from  the  eiidliiss  variety  of 
hypothi'Misand  opinion  ;  and  remember  I'speviiillv.  thut  fur  the  otHcienl  maniige- 
rnent  of  your  common  'nterests,  in  h  country  so  uxteniiivH  as  ours,  a  <;ov.  rninent 
of  as  much  vi^^or  as  is  consistent  witli  the  perfect  si'curity  of  liberty,  is  iiidi»- 
pensable.  Liberty  itself  will  tin<l  in  such  a  government,  with  powers  properly 
distributed  and  aiiju-ttcd,  its  surest  guardian.  It  is,  indeed,  little  eUe  than  a 
name  where  the  ^'overnmunt  is  too  feeble  to  withstand  the  eiiterprisos  of 
faction,  to  cuiidne  eituh  memlier  of  the  society  within  the  limits  prescribed  by 
the  law,  and  to  maintain  all  in  the  seuuiu  and  tranquil  enjoyment  of  the  rights 
of  person  and  property. 

I  have  already  inliinikted  to  you,  the  dan^^er  of  parties  in  the  state,  with 
particular  refurenea  to  tlie  founding  of  thuin  on  gcogriij)liical  ilisrriminiiliofts. 
Let  me  now  take  a  more  comprehensive  view,  and  wnrn  you  in  tlie  nuMt  solemn 
manner  against  the  baneful  effects  of  tho  spirit  of  party  generally.  This  spirit, 
unfortunately,  is  inseparable  fioin  onr  n:ituru,  having  its  root  in  the  strongest 
passions  of  the  human  mind. — It  exists  under  dilferent  shapes  in  till  govern- 
ments, more  or  lei's  stiflt  d,  c(jntrollcd,  or  repres.sed  ;  but  in  those  of  the  popular 
brm,  it  is  seen  in  its  greateat  renkness,  and  is  truly  their  worst  enemy.  Tho 
alternate  domination  of  one  fnction  over  another,  sharpened  by  the  spirit  of 
revenge,  natural  to  party  (iisHtiision,  which,  in  dilferent  ages  ami  countries,  has 
perpetrated  the  most  horrid  enormities,  is  itself  frightful  des{{H>tism.  liut  this 
leads  at  length  to  a  more  formal  and  permanent  despotism.  The  disorders  ard 
miseries  which  result,  gradually  incline  the  minds  of  men  lo  seek  security  and 
repose  in  the  absolute  power  of  an  individual ;  and  sooner  or  later  the  chief  of 
some  prevailing  faction,  more  able  or  more  fortunate  than  his  competitor^ 
turns  this  disposition  to  the  purposes  of  his  own  elevation,  on  the  ruina  of 
public  hberty. 

Without  looking  forward  to  an  extremity  of  this  kind,  (which  neverthe- 
less ought  not  to  be  entirely  out  of  sight,)  the  common  and  contimiul  mis 
ahiefs  of  the  spirit  of  party  are  sufficient  to  make  it  the  interest  and  duty  of  a 
wise  people  to  discourage  and  restrain  it.  It  serves  always  to  distract  the 
public  Counsels  and  enfeeble  the  public  administration.  It  agitates  the  com- 
munity with  ill-founded  Jealou-ies  and  false  alarms;  kindles  the  animosity  of 
one  part  against  another,  foments  occasiimally  riot  and  insurrection.  It  opens 
the  door  to  foreign  influence  aud  corruption,  which  finds  a  facilitated  access  to 
the  government  itself,  through  the  chaunels  of  party  passions,  llius  the  policy 
and  the  will  of  one  country  are  subjected  to  the  policy  and  will  of  another. 

There  is  nn  opinion  that  parties  iu  free  countries  are  useful  checks  upon 
the  adninistration  of  the  government,  and  serve  to  keep  alive  the  spirit  of 
liberty.  This  within  certain  limits  ib  probably  true;  and  in  governments  of  a 
monarchical  cast,  patriotism  may  look  with  iudulgeuce,  if  not  with  favor,  upon 
the  spirit  uf  party.  But  in  those  of  a  popular  character,  iu  governments  purely 
elective,  it  is  a  spirit  not  to  be  encouraged.  From  their  natural  tendency,  it  is 
certain  there  will  always  be  enough  of  that  spirit  for  every  salutary  purpose. 
And  there  being  constant  danger  of  excess  the  effort  ought  to  be,  by  force  of 
public  opinion,  to  mitigate  and  assuage  it  A  fire  not  to  be  quenched,  it  de- 
mands a  uniform  vigilance  to  prevent  its  bursting  into  a  flame,  lest,  instead  of 
warming,  it  should  consume. 

It  is  important,  likewise,  that  the  habits  of  tliinking,  in  a  free  country, 
should  inspire  caution  in  those  intrusted  with  its  administration,  to  ounfine 
themselves  within  their  respective  constitutional  spheres,  avoiding  in  the  exer- 


t 


854 


VABEWELL   ADDRESS   OF  GEORGE   WASHINOTOK. 


oiHe  of  the  {Mwera  of  one  department  to  encroacli  upon  another.  The  spirit  ot 
encroauhiUL'nt  tends  to  consolidate  the  iKiwers  of  all  the  departroents  in  one^ 
and  thus  to  create,  wiiatever  the  form  of  guvurnment,  a  real  despotism.  A 
ju't  estimate  of  that  love  of  power,  and  proiieneas  to  abuse  it,  which  pre- 
duininates  in  the  human  heart,  is  sufficient  to  satisfy  us  of  the  truth  of  this  posi- 
tion. The  necessity  of  reciprocal  checks  in  the  exercise  of  poliiical  power,  bv 
dividing  and  distriburing  it  into  different  depositories,  and  constituting  each 
the  guurdiun  of  public  weal  against  invasions  by  others,  has  been  evinced  by 
cxpt^riincnts  ancient  and  modern,  some  of  them  in  our  country  and  under  our 
own  eyes.  To  preserve  them  must  be  as  necessary  as  to  institute  thuin.  If,  in 
the  opinion  of  the  people,  the  distribution  or  motlitication  of  the  constitutional 
powers  be  in  any  particular  wrong,  let  it  bo  uorrected  by  an  amendment  in 
the  way  which  the  constitution  designates.  But  let  there  be  no  change  bv 
luurpatioii  -  for  thim^h  tliis,  in  one  instance,  may  be  the  instrument  of  gooil,  it 
is  the  oustomTv  weapon  by  which  free  governments  are  destroyed.  The  pre- 
cedent mubt  always  greatly  overbalance  in  permanent  evil  any  partial  or 
transient  b<'iietit  which  the  use  can  at  any  time  yield. 

Of  all  the  di!>po!iitiunB  and  habits  which  lead  to  political  prosperity,  reli- 
gion and  morality  are  irKJispeiisable  supports. — In  vain  would  that  man  claim 
tlie  tribute  of  patriotism,  wlio  atiouUl  labor  to  subvert  these  great  pillars  of 
human  happiness,  these  firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  men  and  citizens.  The 
mere  politician,  equally  with  the  pious  man,  ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish 
them.  A  volume  could  not  trace  all  their  couneotiuns  with  private  and  public 
teiicity.  Let  it  simply  be  asked,  where  is  the  security  for  property,  for  reputa- 
tion, fur  lite,  if  the  sense  of  religious  obligation  desert  the  oaths  which  are  the 
instruments  of  investigation  in  courts  of  justice  ;  and  let  us  with  caution  indulge 
tlie  supposition,  that  morality  cau  be  maintained  without  religion.  Whatever 
may  be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined  education  on  minds  of  peculiar 
structure,  reason  and  experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national  moral- 
ity can  prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious  princi[)le.  'Tie  substantially  true,  that 
virtue  or  morality  is  a  necessary  spring  of  popular  government.  The  rule  in- 
deed extends  with  more  or  less  force  to  every  species  of  free  government. 
Who  that  is  a  sincere  friend  to  it  cau  look  with  indifference  upon  attempts  to 
shake  the  foundation  of  the  fabric  I 

Promote,  then,  as  an  object  of  prii.i!:Ty  importance,  institutions  for  the 
general  diffusion  of  knowledge — In  ])ropurtiou  us  the  stractnre  of  a  govern- 
ment gives  force  to  public  opinion,  it  is  essential  that  public  opinion  should  be 
enlightened.  As  a  very  important  source  of  strength  and  security,  cherish 
public  credit  Oue  method  of  preserving  it  is  to  use  it  as  sparingly  as  possible ; 
avoiding  occasions  of  expense  by  cultivating  peace  ;  but  remembering  also  that 
timely  disbursements  to  prepare  for  danger,  frequently  prevent  much  greater 
disbursements  to  repel  it;  avoiding  likewise  the  accumulations  of  debt,  not 
only  by  shunning  occasions  of  expense,  but  by  vigorous  exertions  in  time  of 
peace  to  discharge  the  debis  which  unavoidable  wars  may  have  occasioned,  not 
ungenerously  throwing  upon  posterity  the  burden  which  we  ourselves  ought 
to  bear.  The  execution  of  these  muxims  belongs  to  your  representatives,  tut 
it  is  neo-issary  that  public  opinion  should  co-operate.  To  facilitate  to  thrm 
the  performance  of  their  duty,  it  is  essential  that  you  should  practically  bear  io 
mind  that  towards  the  payment  of  debts  there  must  be  revenue ;  to  have  re 
venue  there  must  be  tuxes;  that  no  Uxes  can  be  devised  which  are  not  inoie 
or  less  iuconvenieut  and  unpleusuiil ,  Lliat  the  intrinsic  embarrassment  insepai- 
able  from  the  selection  of  the  prupei  >>bjeot  (which  is  always  a  choice  of  diffi- 
culties) ought  to  be  a  decisive  motive  for  a  candid  construction  of  the  coa- 
diiot  of  the  government  in  making  it,  and  for  a  spirit  of  acquiescence  io 
the  measures  for  obtaining  revenue  which  the  public  emergencies  may  at  any 
time  dictate. 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  nations;  cultivate  peace  and 
harmony  with  all :  religion  and  morality  enjoin  this  conduct ;  and  can  it  be 
that  good  policy  does  not  equally  enjoin  it !  It  will  be  worthy  of  a  free,  en- 
lightened, and,  at  no  distant  period,  a  great  nation,  to  give  to  mankind  tha 


1 


FABEWELL    AI>ORB88   OF  OEOBOB   WAOHINGTON. 


865 


oifil^naniinons  and  too  novel  example  of  a  people  always  guided  by  an  exalted 
juatioe  and  benevolence.  Who  can  doubt  that  in  the  course  of  time  and 
tilings,  the  fruitH  of  ituuh  a  pliin  would  richly  repay  any  temporary  advantagei 
which  might  be  lost  by  a  steady  adherence  to  itf  Can  it  be,  that  Providencs 
lias  not  connected  tlie  permanent  felicity  of  a  nation  with  its  virtue  i  The 
jxperiment  at  least  is  rttcommeiitlod  by  evury  sentiment  which  ennublea  bumun 
nature.     Alas  I  is  it  rendered  itupos^iilile  by  its  vices? 

In  the  fxeoutioii  of  such  a  plan,  notlung  is  more  essential  than  that  per- 
manent inveterate  antipathies  against  particular  nations,  and  passionate  atiach- 
uif  nts  for  others,  should  bo  excluded  ;  and  that  in  place  of  them  just  and 
amicable  fet'lingii  towards  all  should  be  cultivated.  The  natiou  which  indulges 
towards  another  an  iiabitual  hatred,  or  an  habitual  fondness,  is  iu  some  degree 
a  slave.  It  is  a  slave  to  its  animosity,  or  to  its  affection,  either  of  which  ia 
sutlicieut  to  lead  it  astray  from  its  duty  and  its  interest.  Antipathy  iu  one 
nation  against  anuther  di-poses  each  more  readily  to  offer  insult  and  injury,  to 
lay  hold  of  slight  causes  of  umbrage,  and  to  be  haughty  and  intractable,  when 
accidental  or  trifling  occaMiiiud  ol  dispute  occur.  Hence  frequent  collisions, 
obstinate,  envenomed,  und  bluody  irontests.  The  nation,  prompted  by  ill-will 
and  resentment,  sometinu-s  impels  lo  war  the  government,  contrary  to  the  b'St 
calculations  of  policy.  The  giiveriiniuut  sometimes  partiuipates  in  the  national 
propensity,  and  adopts  through  passion  what  reason  would  reject;  at  other 
times  it  makes  the  uuimosity  of  the  nation  subservient  to  projects  of  hostility 
instigated  Ity  pride,  ambition,  and  other  sinister  and  pernicious  motives.  The 
peace  often,  somerinies  perhaps  the  liberty,  of  nations  has  been  the  victim. 

So  likewise  a  passionate  attachment  of  one  nation  for  another  produces  a 
variety  of  evils,  (iynipatliy  lor  tlie  favorite  nation,  facilitating  the  iUusiou  of 
an  imaginary  common  interest,  in  cases  where  no  real  coiumou  interest  exists, 
and  infusing  into  one  the  enmities  of  the  other,  betrays  tlie  former  into  a 
participation  in  the  quarrels  and  wars  of  the  latter,  without  adequate  induce- 
ment or  justitiration.  It  leads  also  to  the  concession  to  the  favorite  nation  of 
privileges  denied  to  others,  which  is  apt  doubly  to  injure  tlie  nation  making  the 
couccseions, — by  unnecessarily  parting  with  what  ought  to  have  been  retained, 
and  by  exeiiing  jealousy,  ill-wiil,  and  a  disposition  to  retaliate,  in  the  parties 
from  whom  equal  privileges  are  withheld;  and  it  gives  to  ambitious,  corrupted, 
or  deluded  citizens  (who  devote  thems-lves  to  the  favorite  nation)  facility  to 
betray  or  siicriiice  the  interests  of  tlieir  own  country,  without  odium,  some- 
times even  with  jiopiilarity  ;  gililin;'  with  the  appearances  of  n  virtuous  sense  of 
obligation,  a  comMiendat>le  deference  for  public  opinion,  or  a  laudable  zeal  for 
public  good,  the  base  or  fuolisb  compliances  of  ambition,  corruption, or  infatuation. 

As  avenues  to  foreign  influence  in  innumerable  ways,  such  attachments  are 
particularly  alarming  to  the  truly  enlightened  and  independent  patriot.  How 
many  opportunities  do  they  aflford  to  tamper  with  domestic  factions,  to  practice 
tlie  arts  of  seduction,  to  mislead  public  opinion,  to  influence  or  awe  the  public 
councils  I  SSuch  an  attachment  of  small  or  weak,  towards  a  great  and  power- 
ful  nation,  dooms  the  former  to  be  the  satellite  of  the  latter. — Against  the  in- 
sidious wiles  of  foreign  influence  (I  conjure  you  to  believe  me,  fellow-citizens), 
the  jealousy  of  a  free  people  ought  to  be  constantly  awake;  since  history  and 
experi^ce  prove  that  foreign  influence  is  one  of  the  most  baneful  foes  of 
republican  government.  But  that  jealousy,  to  be  useful,  must  be  impartial: 
else  it  becomes  the  instrument  of  the  very  influence  to  be  avoided,  instead  of  a 
defence  against  it — Excessive  partiality  tor  one  foreign  nation,  and  excessive 
dislike  of  another,  cause  those  whom  they  actuate  to  see  danger  only  on  one 
side,  and  serve  to  veil  and  even  second  the  arts  of  influence  on  the  other. — 
Keal  patriots,  who  may  resist  the  intrigues  of  the  favorite,  are  liable  to  become 
suspected  and  odious;  while  its  tools  and  dupes  usurp  the  applause  and  con- 
fidence of  the  people,  to  surrender  their  interests.  The  great  rule  of  conduct 
for  Qs,  in  regard  to  foreign  nations,  is,  iu  extending  our  commercial  relations, 
to  have  with  them  as  little  poutioal  connection  as  possible.  So  far  as  we  have 
ttlreadv  formed  engagements,  let  them  be  fulfilled  with  perfect  good  fibith.— 
Uero  let  uu  ttop. 


i 


856 


FABEWELL   ADDRESS   OF   OEOROE    WABaiNQTON. 


Europe  has  a  set  of  primary  interest  which  to  us  have  none,  or  a  verj 
remi)t<!  rt'latiun.  Uer.ce  she  ruuxt  be  engaged  in  frequent  controvm'tties,  .it 
v-aimes  ol  wliich  are  eHsentially  foreign  to  our  conctrns.  Ilonce,  tlinrefore,  i' 
must  be  uiiwiae  in  as  to  implicate  ourselves  by  artificial  ties,  in  the  ordinary 
Tiui8sitU(ie»  of  tier  oolitics,  or  the  ordinary  conibinatioiis  an<i  collisions  of  her 
friendships  or  t'ninitius.  Uur  detached  una  distant  situation  invitee  niiil  enables 
ns  to  pursue  a  ditfereut  course.  If  we  remain  one  people,  under  an  efficient 
goVeiiunent,  the  perioi  is  not  far  off,  when  we  may  defy  material  injury  from 
external  tuiiioyance ;  when  we  may  take  such  an  attitude  as  will  cat  se  the 
iieutrHli^  We  may  at  any  time  resolve  upon  to  be  scrupulously  respected ; 
when  belligerent  nations,  under  the  im]X)B<-ibiiity  of  making  acquisition'  -jpoD 
us,  will  not  lightly  hazard  the  giving  us  provocation;  when  we  may  chcosa 
peace  or  war,  as  our  interest,  guided  l>y  justice,  shall  counsel. 

Why  forego  the  udvuiituges  of  so  peculiar  a  situation  I  Why  quit  our  own 
to  stand  upon  foreign  ground!  W'hy,  by  interweaving  our  destiny  with  that 
of  any  part  of  Europe,  entangle  our  ]>eace  and  pruspei'it"  in  the  toils  of  Eu- 
ropean ambition,  rivulship,  interest,  huuior,  or  caprice  If  Tis  our  true  policy 
to  steer  clear  of  permanent  alliiinces  with  any  portion  of  the  foreign  world ; 
BO  far,  1  mean,  au  we  are  now  ut  liberty  to  do  it ;  for  let  me  not  be  understoo<l 
as  capable  of  patronizing  iiihdeiity  to  existing  engHgements.  I  hold  the  raaxiiu 
no  luKg  applicable  to  public  tliiin  to  private  affairs,  that  honesty  is  always  the 
beat  poUuy.  I  repeat  it,  therefore,  let  those  engagements  be  observed  in  their 
genuine  sense.  But,  in  my  opinion,  it  is  unnecessary,  aud  would  he  unwise,  to 
exieiid  thent  Taking  care  always  to  keep  ourselves,  by  suitable  establisti- 
mentg,  on  a  respectable  defensive  posture,  we  may  s.nfely  trust  to  temporary 
alliances  for  extraordinary  emergencies. 

llaimouy,  liberal  iutercouri^e  with  all  nations,  are  recommended  by  policy, 
humanity,  and  interest.  But  even  our  ooinmercial  policy  should  hold  an  equal 
and  impartial  hand ;  neither  seeking  nor  granting  exclusive  favors  'c  pre- 
ferences; consulting  the  natural  couri^e  of  things  ;  ditfusing  and  diversity  ing  by 
gentle  means  the  streams  of  commerce,  but  lorcing  nothing;  establiuhing  with 
(Mjwers  so  disposed,  in  order  to  give  trade  a  stable  course,  to  detine  the  rights 
of  our  merchants,  and  to  enable  the  government  to  support  them,  conventional 
lulus  of  intercourse,  the  best  that  prerent  oircumstances  and  mutual  opinion 
will  permit,  but  temporary,  and  liable  to  be  from  time  to  lime  varied,  as  ex- 
perience or  oircuiustauues  shall  dictate:  constantly  keepng  in  view,  that 'tis 
folly  in  one  nation  to  look  for  disinterested  favors  from  another ;  that  it  must 
pay  with  a  portion  of  its  independence  for  whatever  it  may  accept  under  that 
character;  that  by  such  acceptance,  it  may  place  itself  in  the  condition  of 
huving  given  equivalents  for  nominal  favors,  and  yet  of  being  reproached  with 
ingratitude  tor  not  giving  more.  There  can  be  no  greater  error  than  to  e.\- 
pect,  or  calculate  upon  real  favors  from  nation  to  nation.  'Tis  an  illusiou 
which  experience  must  cure,  which  a  just  pride  ought  to  discard. 

In  otfering  to  you,  my  countrymen,  these  counsels  of  an  old  and  affectionate 
friend,  1  dare  not  hope  they  will  make  the  strong  aud  lasting  imjircssion  I 
could  wish  ;  that  they  will  control  the  usual  current  of  the  passions,  or  prevent 
our  nation  from  running  the  course  which  has  hitherto  marked  the  destiny  oi 
nations :  but,  if  I  may  even  flutter  myself,  that  they  may  be  productive  ol 
some  partial  benefit,  some  occasional  good ;  that  they  may  now  aud  then  recur 
to  moderate  the  fury  of  party  spirit,  to  warn  against  the  mischiele  of  foreign 
intrigues,  and  guard  against  the  impostures  of  pretended  patriotism  ;  this  hope 
will  be  a  full  recompense  for  the  policitude  for  your  welfare,  by  which  they 
have  been  dictated,  flow  far,  in  the  discharge  of  my  othcial  duties,  I  have 
been  guided  by  the  principles  which  have  been  delineated,  the  public  records, 
and  other  evidences  of  my  conduct,  must  witness  to  you  and  to  the  world.  To 
myself,  the  assurance  of  my  own  conscience  is,  that  I  have  at  least  believed 
myself  to  be  guided  by  them. 

In  relation  to  the  still  subsisting  war  in  Europe,  my  proclamation  of  the  22d 
of  April,  17U8,  is  the  index  to  ray  plaa  Sanctioned  by  yjur  approving  voice, 
aud  by  that  of  your  reu-eseutatives  iu  buti<  Kcumts  of  coogreas,  the  spirit  of 


FARBWRLL   ADDBK89   OF   OEOKOE   WASHINOTO-T. 


867 


Il>at  mensuro  has  continually  governed  me,  uninfluenc(>d  by  nriy  nttenipt  to 
Heter  or  divert  me  from  it.  Aftur  delilxtrute  examination,  witli  tlie  aid  oi  the 
bo8t  lights  I  could  obtain,  I  waa  wuU  satii^titiil  that  our  country,  under  all  the 
circumstaiict'B  ot'  ttie  ca»e,  had  a  right  to  tak«,  and  whh  bound  in  duty  and 
interest,  to  take  a  neutral  position.  Having  taken  it,  I  deti-rmined,  as  far  as 
should  depend  upon  me,  to  maintain  it,  with  moderation,  persoverauce,  and 
firmness. 

The  confederation  which  reepects  the  riijht  to  hold  the  conduct,  it  is  not  ne- 
oes-Hiiry  on  this  occasion  to  detail.  I  will  only  observe,  that  according  to  my 
iinderstHnding  of  the  matter,  tliat  right,  so  far  from  buing  denied  by  any  of  the 
belligerent  powers,  has  been  virtually  adrnittuil  by  all.  The  duty  of  holding  a 
neu^ial  conduct  may  be  inferred,  without  any  thing  more,  from  the  obligutitm 
which  justice  and  humanity  impose  upon  evi.'ry  nation,  in  cases  in  which  it  is 
free  to  act,  to  maintain  inviolate  the  rehitiouH  of  peactj  and  amity  towanU 
other  nations.  The  inducements  of  interubt  for  obiterving  that  conduct  will 
best  be  referred  to  your  own  reflections  and  exjierienco.  With  me,  a  predomi- 
nant motive  has  been  to  endeavor  to  gain  time  to  our  country  to  settle  and 
mature  its  yot  recent  institutions,  and  to  progress  without  interruption,  to  that 
degree  of  strength  and  eonsiHtency,  whioli  is  necessary  to  give  it,  humanly 
speaking,  the  coniraund  ot'  its  own  turtunus. 

Though,  iu  reviewing  the  incidents  of  my  administration,  I  am  unconscious  of 
intentional  error,  I  am  nevertheless  too  nensiblo  of  my  defects  not  to  think  it 
probable  that  I  have  committed  many  eri'ors.  Whatever  they  may  be,  I 
fervently  beseeeh  the  Almighty  to  avert  or  mitigate  the  evils  to  whidi  they 
may  tend.  I  shall  al»o  carry  with  me  thu  hope  that  my  country  will  never 
cease  to  view  them  with  indulgence  ;  and  that  after  forty-five  years  of  my  life 
dedicated  to  its  service,  with  an  upright  zeal,  the  faults  of  incompetent  abilities 
will  be  consigned  to  oblivion,  as  myself  muat  soon  be  to  the  mansions  of  rest. 
Kelyiug  on  its  kindness  in  this  as  iu  other  things,  and  actuated  by  that  fervent 
love  towards  it,  which  is  so  natural  to  a  man  who  views  in  it  the  native  soil  of 
himself  and  his  progenitors  for  several  generations;  I  anticipate  with  pleasing 
expectatiun  that  retreat,  in  which  I  promise  myself  to  realize,  without  alloy, 
the  swuet  enjoyment  of  partaking,  iu  the  midst  of  my  fellow-citizens,  the  benign 
iutluence  of  good  laws  under  a  free  government — the  ever  favorite  object  of 
ray  heart,  and  the  happy  reward,  aa  I  trust,  of  our  mutual  oare,  labors,  aurf 
duugerK 

Q.  WASHINGTON 


POPULATION  OF  ALL  THE  COUNTIES  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES, 

AOOOROINQ  TO  THB  0ENSD8  OF  1860. 


Mains. 

AtikVoHroK^n 29,725 

Aroost.iMik 22,471) 

Oiimbe-lttnd 75,692 

Fmnklli     20,408 

Hancock 87,7ft8 

Kennebec 6n,6fi5 

Knox  82,718 

Lincoln 27,8f>4 

Oxford 30,608 

Penobscot 72,781 

Pl8oatji(]iil8 1^082 

Saxftdiihock 21,790 

Somerset 86,754 

Waldo 88,447 

Wiiahlnjtton 42,685 

York 62,107 

Total  Co.  16,  In 628,276 

Naw  Hampbiiirr. 

Belknap mU» 

Carroll 20,4M 

Cheshire 27,484 

Coos 18.162 

Grafton  42.250 

Hillsboro' 62,140 

Mnrrimaok 41,409 

Buoklngbum 60,122 


New  York. 

Albany 118,919 

Alleghany 41,882 

Broome 85.910 

Cattaraugus 43,897 

Cayuga 65.769 

Chautauqne 68,*V4 

Chemung 26,917 

Chenango 40,936 

Clinton 4fi,736 

Columbia 47,2.'S0 

Cortland 26296 

Delaware 42,467 

Dutchess 64,939 

Krle 141,973 

Essex 28,214 

Franklin 80,836 

Fulton 24.162 

Genesee 82,189 

Greene 81,980 

Hamilton 8,024 

Herkimer 40,560 

Jefferson 69,828 

Kings 279,126 

Lewis 28,581 

Livingston 89,640 

Madison 48,686 

858 


NKW  KNOLAND. 

Strafford 81,494 

Sullivan 19,041 

Total  Co.  10,  In 820,072 

Vkbmunt. 

Addison 24,010 

Mcnnlngton 19.438 

Caledonia 21.708 

Chittenden 28,171 

Kss<ix 6.786 

Franklin 27.241 

Grand  Isle 4,290 

La  Moille 12,811 

Orange 25,4.')6 

Orleans 18,982 

Uutlaml 85,949 

Washington 27,614 

Windham 26i988 

Windsor 87,195 

Total  Co.  14,  In 818,116 

MASSACUirSETTS. 

Barn  stable 85.990 

Berkshire 6M2<» 

Bristol 93.795 

Dukes 4,403 

Essex 1(».«10 

Franklin 81,434 

MIDDLE  STATES. 

Monroe lOO.e-W 

Montfromery 80.807 

New  York 818.068 

Ninfrura 60,399 

Oneida 10Ji,201 

Onondaf^ 90,687 

Ontario 44..'560 

Orange 68.814 

Orleans 28,717 

Oswego 75,960 

Otsego 60,166 

Putnam 14,0<12 

Queens 67.891 

Rensselaer 86,825 

Richmoml. 26,498 

Rockland 22,492 

St  Lawrence 88,689 

Saratoga 61,782 

Schenectady 20,002 

Schoharie 84,469 

Schuyler 18,840 

Seneca 28,189 

Steuben 66,689 

Suffolk 48,276 

Sullivan 82,885 

Tioga 28,789 

Tompkins 81,411 

Ulster 78,879 


Hampden 67,840 

llamiishire 87,824 

Mid(llesox 216,861 

Nantucket 6,094 

Nortolk 109,960 

Plymouth 64,768 

Suffolk 192,701 

Worcester 159,000 

Total  Co.  14,  In 1,281,060 

RiiODB  Island. 

Bristol 8,907 

Kent 17,8(« 

Newport 21,897 

Piovldence 107,799 

Washington 18,711! 

TotalCo.  6,  In 174,621 

CONNBOTIOUT. 

Fairfield 77,478 

Hartford 89,964 

Litchflold 47,817 

Middlesex 82,993 

New  Haven 97,847 

New  London 67,422 

Tolland 21,187 

Windham 86,448 

Total  Co.  8,  In 460,161 

Warren 21,484 

Washington 4.'5.9n9 

Wayne 47,762 

Westchester 99,467 

Wyoming 81,967 

Yates 20,291 

Total  Co.  60,  In 8,880,736 

Naw  Jkrsbt. 

Atlantic 11,788 

Bergen 21,618 

Burlington 49,780 

Camden 84.467 

Cape  May 7,180 

Cumberland 22,605 

Essex 98,875 

Gloucester 18,444 

Hudson 62,717 

Hunterdon 88,6.%4 

Mercer 87,411 

Middlesex 84,810 

Monmouth 89,848 

Morris  84,679 

Ocean 11,178 

Passaic 29.018 

Salem 22,4W 


POPULATION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


859 


ftomersot 82,0ST 

boHex 28,866 

Wsrren 28,484 

Union 87,781 

ToUl  Co.  81,  lu 678,081 

PCMNIYLVANIA. 

Adams 28,012 

Alleghany 17H,H85 

AroiBtronp 84,797 

Bcttver 29,144 

Bedfonl 86,787 

Berke e8,S19 

Blair 87.H29 

Bradfiird 4H,7»ft 

Buokn 63,67S 

Butler 86,696 

Cambria 29,lfi« 

Oaincron (new  V\>.) 

Carbon 81,088 

Centre 87,100 

Cheater 74.n78 

Clarion 84,994 

Cleartluld lt(,708 

Clinton 17,7'.'8 

Columbia 26,066 


Martland. 

Alleghany 28.348 

Anne  Arundel 88,901 

Baltimore 266,KA 

Calvert 10,447 

Caroline 11,189 

Carroll 84,688 

Cecil 83,S68 

Charles 16,617 

Dorch«i«ttT 80,46! 

Frederick 48,676 

Harford 28,416 

Howard 18,888 

Kent 1.S.867 

MontgomiTy 18,888 

Prince  George 88,387 

Queen  Anne. 16,961 

Bt.  Mary's 16,214 

Somerset 84,998 

Talbot 14,796 

Washington 81.414 

Worcester 20,661 

Total  Ca  21,  In 687,084 

District  of  Columbia. 

Washington 76,070 

TotalCo.  1,  In 76.076 

#  ViBOINlA. 

Accomack 18,686 

Albemarle 26,626 

Alexandria 12,652 

Alleghany 6,766 

Amelia .10.768 

Amherst 18,748 

Appomatti  X 8,887 

Augusta 27,760 

Barbour 8,969 

Bath 8,676 

Bedford 2i>,068 

Berkeley 12,628 

Boone 4,840 

Botetourt 11,616 


Crawford 48.7BB 

Cumberiand 4(l,098 

Dauphin 48,767 

Delaware 80,597 

Kik ^916 

Krlo 49,481 

Kiiyetto 89,900 

Forest 898 

Kmnklln 42,188 

Fulton 9,181 

Greene 84.848 

Huntington 24,101 

Indiana 88.6vS7 

Jollcrson 1\8«9 

Juniata 10.986 

IjUKMSkT 11«,8I5 

Lawriiice 88.099 

Lebanon 81,881 

Lehigh 48,754 

Luzerne 90,848 

Lvo<iinlng 87,398 

McKean 8.a')9 

Mirccr 8(i.s67 

Mlftlln  16,841 

Monroe 18,769 

Montgomery 70,500 

Montour 18,068 

Northampton 47,904 

SOUTHERN  STATKS. 

Braxton i998 

Urooko 5,494 

Urunswick 14,811 

Buchanan  (Stephens)..  8,798 

Buckingham 16.218 

Cabell 8,080 

Calhoun 8,508 

Campbell 20,197 

Caroline 18,466 

Carroll 8,018 

Charles  City 6,009 

Charlotte 14,469 

ChesterHeld 19,017 

Clarke 7,146 

Cluy 1,787 

Craig 8,668 

Culpepper 18,064 

Cumberland lt,961 

Dinwiddle 80,198 

Doddridge 6,808 

Klizabeth  City 5,798 

Kssex 10,469 

Fairfax 11,836 

Fauquier 21,704 

Fayette 6,997 

Floyd    8,886 

Fluvanna 10,863 

Franklin 80.098 

Frederick 16,547 

Giles 6,888 

Gilmer 8,759 

Gloucester 10,966 

Goochland 10,656 

Grayson 8,252 

Greenbrier 12,810 

Greene '. .  6,026 

Greenville 6,374 

Halifax 26,621 

Hampshire 13,918 

Hancock 4,446 

Hanover 17,886 

Hardy 9,864 

Harri"son 18,79» 

Henrico 61,616 

Henry 18,106 

Highland 4,819 

Islo  of  Wight 9,97T 


Northumberland. 88.891 

IVrry 28,794 

Philadelphia 6«5..'i8l 

I'Ike 7,156 

Potter 11,470 

Schuylkill 89.616 

Snyder 1^(W6 

Somersta 26.7M 

Sullivan 5,<W7 

Susijuebaiina 86.867 

Tioga 81.048 

Union 14,146 

Venango 2.V<vt4 

Wum-u 19,190 

Washington 46,h04 

Wayne 88,'/"9 

Westmoreland. 68.781 

Wyoming 12,540 

York «s,200 

Total  Co.  66,  In 8,906,370 

Dklawari. 

Kent 87,801 

Neweustle 54.800 

Sussex 89.617 

Total  Co.  8,  In 118,818 

Jackson 8,801 

James  City ^7»8 

Jefferson 14,678 

Kunawlia 16,160 

K  ini;  and  tjueen 10,881 

Kin:.' GiorL'o 6,671 

King  William 8,529 

Lancaster 6,161 

Lee 11.088 

Lewis 7,999 

L<igim 4,938 

Loudon 21,778 

Louisa 16,698 

Lunenburg 11,984 

McHowell 1,686 

Madison 8,854 

Marion 18,781 

Marshall 18,001 

Mason 9,186 

Matthews 7,091 

Mecklenburg 20,096 

Mercer 6,818 

Middlesex 4,864 

Monongalia 13,048 

Monroe 10,757 

Montgomery 10,616 

Morgan 8,781 

Nansemond 18,698 

Nelson 18,016 

New  Kent 6,884 

Nicholas 4,626 

Norfolk 86,1!>8 

Noithainnton 7,882 

Northiimberhind. 7,680 

Nottaway 8,836 

Ohio 28,422 

Orange 10,706 

Page 8,109 

Patrick 9,869 

Pendleton 6,166 

Pittsylvania 88,104 

Pleasants 8.946 

Pocahontas 8,958 

Powhattan 8,891 

Preston 18,812 

Prince  Edward 11,844 

Prince  George 8,411 


, 


8ti0 


POPULATION   OF   THE   BMTED   STATES. 


Prince  Winiam 8,fi«S 

I'l-lnucBt  Anoe, 7,714 

PulukI &41< 

I'liuiuiii , 6,801 

Kil.lt'li 8,867 

ltiincli>l|ph 4,9UO 

Kappulmnnook 8,801) 

Ulchmuud 8,866 

KItclilo 6,847 

Konnu K,882 

Uoanoke 8,(V48 

Rocklirldge 17,460 

Kiiukingham 28,408 

ku»»«ll 10,180 

Boott  (Davis) 18,072 

Bhcimntluub 18,896 

Siiiytli a962 

t)outhuiii|iton 12,914 

Hliotlnylviuilu 16,076 

HtiilTord 8,Bft6 

Surry 6,188 

8HB8«X 10,176 

Tiiylor 7,468 

TazowcU 9,920 

Tuuker 1,428 

Tyler 6,517 

Ilj.ahur 7,292 

Warren 6,442 

Warwick 1.740 

Washington 16,898 

Wayne 6,747 

Webster 1.5M 

Westmoreland 8,282 

Wetzel 6,703 

Wirt 8,7M 

Wise 4,808 

Wood 11,046 

Wyoming 2,866 

Wythe 12,805 

York 4,946 


Totol  Co.  148,  lu . . . .  1,')96,079 

NOBTU  Cabouna. 

Alamance 11,863 

Alexander 6,022 

Alleghany 8,590 

Anson 18,664 

Ashe 7,966 

Beaufort 14,779 

Bertie 14,811 

Bladen 11,996 

Brunswick 8,406 

Buncombe 12,664 

Burke 9,287 

Cabarrus 10,646 

Caldwell 7,492 

Oamden 6,348 

Oarternt 8,186 

Caswell 16.216 

Catawba 10,780 

Chatham 19,106 

Ct3rokee 9,166 

Chowan 6,842 

Cleaveland 12,848 

Columbus 8,697 

Craven 16,278 

CumUrland 16.869 

Carrltuck 7,416 

Davklson 16,601 

Davie 8,494 

Duplin 16,786 

Bdgecomb 17,876 

Forsyth 12,691 

Franklin 14,110 

Claston 9,810 

Gates 8,444 


Granville IR.896 

Orwne 7.»'i6 

Oullford 80,(>6« 

linllttut 19,441 

Harnett 8,0:19 

lIuywiHMl 6,K(ll 

Henderson lii,448 

Hertford 9,8ii4 

Hyde 7,724 

Iredell 16,847 

iliickmm 6,62H 

Johnson 16.667 

Jones..  6,780 

Unoir 10,211 

yillnKton 6,286 

MncoTn 8,195 

McDowell 7,120 

Macon  6.1H)4 

Madison 6,908 

Martin 10,189 

Mecklenburg 17.;)74 

MontKomery 7,649 

Moore 11,427 

Nash ll.tWS 

New  Hanover 15,430 

Northampton 18.376 

Onslow H.HM 

Orange 16.949 

Piisquotank b.9411 

I'erquluiiklis 7,248 

Person 11,221 

Iltt 16,080 

Polk 4,048 

Uandolph 16.793 

Uichinond 11.009 

Ilobeson 16.490 

Kocklngham 16,746 

Kownn 14..W6 

Rutherford 11,573 

Sampson 16,623 

Stanly 7.»il 

Stokes 10,402 

Hurry 10,379 

Tvnel    4,948 

Union 11,202 

Wake      28,627 

Warren 16.726 

Washington f.,.S,%7 

Watauga 4.9,5T 

Wayne 14,906 

Wilkes 14,749 

Wilson 9,720 

Yadkin 10,718 

Yancey 8.668 

Total  Co.  87,  In 992,667 

SouTii  Carolina, 
(DistrioU.) 

Abbevlllo 82,885 

Anderson 22,872 

Barnwell 80,748 

Beaufort 40,052 

Charleston 81,108 

Chester 18,128 

Chestertleld 11,884 

Clarendon 18,099 

Colleton 80,916 

Darlington 20,848 

Edgelleld.   39,887 

Falrfleld 22,111 

Georgetown 21,80.1 

Greenville 81,891 

Horry 7,964 

Kershaw 18,169 

Lancaster 11,797 

Laurens 28,868 


I..exlngton 16,671 

Marlon  91,IM 

Mitrlboro' 12,484 

Newberry 20,87» 

Orangeburg 34,806 

Plekens 19,686 

Richland 18,884 

Spartanburg 26,920 

Sumter 28,860 

Union 19,688 

Williamsburg. 1^48» 

York 21,608 

Total  Districts 80,  In.. 708,818 

GioaaiA. 

Appliug 4,190 

llaker 4.980 

Baldwin 9,078 

Hanks 4,707 

Uenlen 8,471 

Hil.b 16,291 

Brooks 6,866 

Bryan 4,018 

Itullook 6,668 

Illlike 17,168 

Butts 6,466 

Calhoun 4,918 

(.;amden 6.420 

Caiiipbell 8,801 

Carroll 11,991 

Cass 16,724 

Catoosa 6,082 

Charlton 1,780 

Chatham 81,048 

Chattooga 7,168 

C'liattah(H)chle 6iS06 

Cherokee.  n,2H 

Clarke 11,226 

Clay 4,898 

Clayton 4,466 

Clinch 8,068 

Cobb 14,241 

Coffee 2,879 

Colowltt 1,816 

Columbia 11,860 

Coweta 14,708 

Crawford 7,698 

Dade 8,069 

Dawson 8,867 

Decatur 11,928 

De  Kalb 7.807 

Dooly 8,916 

Dougherty 8,298 

Early 6,163 

Echols 1,491 

Kfllnghara 4,76€ 

Elbert 10,488 

Emanuel 6,081 

Fannin 6,140 

Fayette 7,047 

Floyd 16,196 

Forsyth 7,749 

Franklin 7,898 

Fulton  14,427 

Gilmer 6,722 

Glascock 2,487 

Glynn 8,88P 

Gordon 10,146 

Greene 12,649 

Gwinnett 12,940 

Habersham 6,966 

Hall 9,866 

Hancock 12,044 

Haralson 8,089 

Harris 18,786 

Hart tt.l8» 


POPULATION    OF   TUK    UNITED    8TAT1)«. 


861 


Hi'urrt 7,808 

Ili'iinr 10.T0U 

IIkiiiIud 1^AIB 

Irwln l.BTO 

Jn<-ks<>n 1i),6on 

Jiiiiper ....10,T4« 

Joffnrson in.'ilV 

Johnson S.»l» 

Jonet 9.I0T 

Ltortns 6,eiiR 

Ln T.I7A 

Liberty 8,8fitf 

Lincoln ^4«fl 

Lownilt's 6,!M9 

Lniiipktn 4.6<20 

Mtlntimh 6,IW« 

Macon 8.4W 

Mmliaon b,i>m 

Miirlnn  T,«tfO 

Mi-rlwutluT J8,HiJ« 

MIll.T IJtfl 

Milton 4,«ii'2 

Mltclu'U 4,«08 

Monroe  I6.»6a 

MontKoiiiory '^,VV1  I 

Murniiii l»,«»s  I 

Murray 1.i»^ 

Muauoftee 10.6M 

Newton 14^28 

OKli'thorp 1I,W9 

Paiildhi).' ^,im 

Pickens 4,ltSl 

Pierce 1,»78  j 

PIko IO,»S« 

Poik Wits 

Puluskl 8,744 

Putnam 10,I.S0 

Quitman 8,499 

Itabun 8,271 

Knndolph 9.,'571 

RIehmona 2l,'iS4 

Bchlcy 4,688 

Scrlvi'U 8,'i74 

BpaWInK 8.1199 

Stowart 18,4..'8 

Sumter 9,428 

Talbot 18,017 

Talllaferro 4.5S8 

Tatnall 4,8ft2 

Taylor 6,000 

Telftilr 2,718 

Terrell  6,2«T 

Thomas 10,767 

Towns 2.4fi9 

Troup 10,259 

TwlRSS 8,820 

Union 4,418 

Dpson 9.910 

Walker 10,082 

Walton 11.072 

Wi»r« 2.200 

Warren 9.S20 

Washington 12.093 

Wafihd 2,269 

Webster .VI80 

White 8,814 

Whicfleld 10,047 

Wilcox 2.116 

Wilkes 11.420 

Wilkinson 9.376 

Worth  2,708 


CI»r 1,914 

Coluiubta 4,727 

1)0416 H« 

Duval B,OU& 

KM'aiiibIa ^7*W 

Krankllu 1,904 

OiMlHilen 9,1IV« 

llaiiillton 4.l»4 

llimunilo(l(entou)....   l,2(M) 

IlllUl.oro' ifclHl 

Iloliiii'S l,:in(i 

.lackson 10,199 

.)  cirorson 9,876 

LaHiyettu 2,IHM 

Leon 12,h;is 

I^'vy I'ifi'i 

l,ll«Tlv 1.4.17 

Mmlison 7,779 

Manatee N'Vt 

Marlon 8.010 

Monroe 2.912 

Nasmui 8.<i<'>l 

New  Ulvcr 4.«.Vi 

<1rBni{0 9.''7 

I'utnain 2,712 

Ht.  John's 8.0H9 

Hjmta  Uosu IS,48I 

Sumter 1.W9 

Huwanee 1.Hh8 

Taylor „ I,iis4  I 

Volusia I,1W  I 

Wakulla 2.88ft 

Walton 8.(mi 

WushlngtiMi 2,154 


Total  Co.  182,  In.... 1,0,17,828 

Florida. 

Alachua 8.284 

Brevard  (St.  Lucie) ....  246 

Calhoun 1,446  I 


Total  Co.  87,  In 140,489 

Alaiiaiia. 

Autauga 16.789 

Baldwin 7.588 

Barliour R0,slft 

Benton (dropped.) 

Bibb 11.894 

Blount lO.SO.'i 

Butler lH,Ii2 

Calhoun 21,.189 

Cliamhers 28.214 

Cherokee 1  S,!1C)0 

Choctaw I'?,s87 

Clarke lft,tM9 

Coffee 9.628 

Conecuh 11.811 

Coosa 19,272 

Covington 6,469 

Dale 12,227 

Dallas 88.626 

De  Kalb 10,705 

Fayette 18,SV) 

Franklin 18,628 

Greene 80,»^,^9 

Ilaneouk (dropped.) 

Henry 14.917 

Jackson \^.iS4 

Jefferson 1 1,744 

Lauderdale 1 7.420 

Lawrence 18.976 

Limestone 1.1,804 

Lowndes 27.718 

Maeon 20.8*1 

Mailison 26.4.W  ' 

Marengo 81.104 

Marlon II.IM)  ; 

Miiisliftll  11,472  I 

Mobile 41,181  i 

M(mroe 1,'>.609  j 

Mimtgoinery 8.1.00.1  i 

Morgan 11,831  I 


Perry. J7.797 

Pickens..   29,819 

Pike ii4.48« 

Itandolph 20,059 

Kusmll lt6,IW8 

St.Clalr 11.019 

Shelby I!i,«l8 

8umU>r 24,085 

Talladitga 28,620 

TallapiM.s* .ie8,827 

TuiM'al<H>ii4 2)1.209 

Walker 7,980 

WiMhlngtun 4,609 

Wilcox 24,618 

Wiuitoo 8,571 

Total  Co.  M,  In 964,890 

MiuiuiPPi. 

Adams 20,165 

AmllA 12.888 

Attala 14.108 

Bolivar 10.471 

Calhoun 9.518 

Carndl 22,088 

i:hlekasi4W ..16,120 

Choctaw 1M40 

Claiborne 15.080 

Clark 10,771 

Coahoma 0,608 

Copiah 15,899 

Covlntttou 4.408 

D-Soto 28,888 

JVauklln 8.266 

Oiveno 2.282 

Ilaniock 8,189 

Harrison 4.819 

Hinds 81,842 

Holmes 17,794 

liuiiiuena. 7,881 

Ita  wanibo. 17,696 

Jaekson 4,122 

Ja!*per 11.007 

Jefferson 1.1,849 

Jones 8,828 

KemiKsr 11,683 

La  Favette 10,186 

Uuderdale 18.818 

Lawrence 9,218 

Leake 9.824 

Lowndes. 28.626 

Madl9<in 28,882 

Marlon 4.088 

Marshall 28,820 

Monroe 21.288 

Neshoba 8,848 

Newton 9.661 

No.xubce 20,668 

Oktibbeha 12.982 

Panola. 18,794 

Perry 2.006 

Pike. 11.186 

Pontotoc 22,114 

Uankin    13.087 

Scott M40 

Simpson  6,080 

Smith , 7,i'89 

Sunflower 5,019 

Tallahatchie 7.892 

Tipimh 22..15') 

Tisheiningo 24.149 

Tunlea. 4.867 

Warren  20.710 

Washington 15,679 

Wavnc 8,691 

Wilkinson 15,988 

Winston 9,811 


8G2 


POPPLATION   OF   THE   CNITED  BTATK8. 


YalUbuih* 1MW) 

Ymuo mflVi 

ToUU  Co.  ao,  Id TVl^e 

LoDltUNA. 

{ParUKu.) 

Aieenilon. 11,48& 

AMumntloo. 1IV,8TI> 

AToyullKt. I8,l«6 

Hdon  KouKisKimt...  1«.(H0 

Bkton  Koutfo,  W«it...  T.HI'i 

Bienville U.UOU 

BoMler I'i.OiH 

Caddo 1^,140 

CbIcsmIou f>,ViH 

C«ldw<)U 4,HH8 

Cwroll ia,0fi8 

Catahoula  ...; ll.AAli 

ClBllK)rn« 16,H46  I 

Cuueurdla. 18.Hi)6 

I)e  Soto 18,!i9» 

Vellolunis  Kut 14,600 

Kellclnna,  W««t ll.flTI 

Franklin. 6,1(12 

Iberville 14,661 

Jackson O.Hl'i 

JefferiMin \6,>iVi 

LaKayvtt« ».(H)8 

La  Fournhe 14,044 

Livingston 4,4:<l 

Madlxon 14,188 

Morpliouse 10.86T 

Nalcliltochea 16,697 

Orleans n4,2t8 

OlHilousas. 28,IU4 

rloqiamlne 8,4»8 

Point  Coupee 17,W0 

Rapides. 2.\860 

Bublne ^h'2S 

8t.  Bernard 4,076 

8t.  Charles 6.1«)7 

St.  Helena 7,180 

8t.  Jntnus 11,&U4 

8t  John  Baptist 7,lt82 

Bt  Landry 28,100 

8t  Martin's 12,677 

BL  Mary's 16,812 

Bt  Tauimany N406 

Tensas 16,0S0 

Torre  Bonne 12,o9(» 

Union 10,8tf0 

Vermillion 4,824 

Washita 4,72? 

Washington. 4,708 

Winn 6,S76 

Total  Parishes  49,  b...7U9,2U0 

TaxAB. 

Anderson 10,897 

Aneelica 4.271 

Archer (not  organized.) 

Attocosta 1,6S0 

Austin 10,189 

Bandera 899 

Bastrop 6,726 

Baylor (not  organized.) 

Bee. 9l6 

Bell 4,800 

Bexar ..14.454 

Blanco 1,281 


ARKilRgAS. 

Arkantos 8,844 

Ashley 


Rntnu* 3,000 

Bowie A,0a2 

Brazoria 7,148 

llrsios 3,776 

Brown 944 

Buchanau 880 

Burleson tk.Mi 

Uurnett 1,488 

Culahan (not  orgontiud.) 

Cul.lwell 4,481 

(kilhoun 3,642 

CAniei-oD.  s 6,080 

Chm 8,411 

Chainb«<^ 1,0<I6 

Cheroket 12,098 

Clay  HW 

Coluinan. .   ,  ,(not  organized.) 

Collin »,3(» 

Colorado. 7,8.'« 

Comal 4,080 

('onninche 709 

Convhoa (n')t  organized.) 

Cook 8,760 

IJoryeli 2,66il 

Culloch (not  organized.) 

Dalliia »,66A 

Dawson 281 

Denton A,080 

De  Witt M07 

I)lnimltt,,...(not  orgunizeiL) 

Duvul (not  orgajiized.) 

Kiistland 99 

Kdwards (not  ortninized.) 

Kills 6,246 

El  I'aso 4,061 

Knclniil 48 

Emth a,42ft 

Fulls 8,614 

Fannin 9,217 

Fuvetto 11,604 

Fort  llend 6,143 

Freestone tt,8bl 

Frio 40 

Oalvcuton 8,177 

Ouiulahipe &444 

Olllespio 8,786 

Goliad «,888 

Gonzales. 8,080 

Gravson 8,187 

Orliiies 10,807 

Humliton 489 

lliu'deiiian. ,  (not  organized.) 

Hardin 1,868 

Harris 7,710 

Harrison 1^001 

Hiiskell (not  organized.) 

Hays 2,058 

Henilerson  4,695 

Hidalgo 1,198 

Hill 8,6&S 

Hopkins 7,746 

Houston 8,068 

Hunt  6,654 

Jack 1,000 

Jackson 2,612 

Ju8i>er     4,041 

Jolferson 1,994 

Johnson 4,306 

Jones (not  organized.) 

Karnes 2,171 

Kaufman 8,936 

Komble (not  organized.) 

WESTERN  STATES. 

Benton 9,806 

Bradley 8.8S8 

Calhoun 4,108 


Kerr. (W4 

Kinney  61 

Knox  (not  organlied, ) 

Ulnar 10,186 

lAmiMMOs 1,028 

La  tialle (not  organized.) 

Ijtvacca N94R 

Uon M81 

Liberty ^18l» 

Lliiiestona 4,MT 

Uvacca 608 

Llano 1,101 

MeLennan 6.206 

McMullen...(nut  organized.) 

Madison 2,288 

Murlcm 8,»7t 

Mason  680 

Matagordik 3,910 

Maverick T89 

Medina 1,888 

Menard (not  organlzi  d.) 

Milam ^17& 

Montague 849 

Montgiimery 6,479 

Niu-ogdouhea 8,298 

Navarro 6,997 

Newton 8,128 

Nueces 9,907 

Orange 1,916 

Palo  Pinto 1,624 

Panola 8.478 

Parker 4,214 

Polk 6,898 

Presidio 680 

Bed  Klvor ;...  8,684 

Ueniiflo 1,694 

UolierlHon 4,997 

Uunnells.,..(not  organized.) 

Husk 16,Mifi 

PHldno 2,760 

Hun  A  uirustlne 4,094 

San  Patricio 620 

San  Saba 918 

Shackelford 44 

Shelby 6,8(;2 

Smith 18.:W> 

Starr 2,406 

Torrant 6,020 

Tnylor (not  organized.) 

Throckmorton 1 24 

Tllus 9,648 

Tmvis 8,0S0 

Trinity 4.8»2 

Tyler 4,626 

Upshur 10,646 

Uvalde 606 

VanZundt 8,778 

Victorlo 6,678 

Walker 8,191 

Washington 15,215 

Webb 1,446 

Wharton 8,880 

Wichita (not  organized-^ 

Wllbran).'er..(not  organized.) 

Williamson 4,629 

Wise  8,100 

Wood 4.966 

Young 602 

ZoPatta 1,24.' 

Zuvalla 2B 

Total  Oo.  164,  In. .....608,4811 

Carroll »,«8S 

Chicot »,S81 

Clttik »,T88 


POPULATION    OF   TIIK    DNITKD   STATKH. 


PCS 


CnliimtiU %,*n\ 

Oonw*y <,AV8 

OralKhxua 8.(NM 

Cruwlonl T.WW 

(:rltt«n<len 4.910 

Dulliu 9,'M 

l>«iitM a,4AH 

Urew »,(»7U 

Frankllu T,!WO 

Fulton  4,()M 

Orocno fi,H44 

IlDlllllltOWl    18,UUI 

IIotfll.rliiK ft.88ft 

Inilxiicniluuc* U.HiM 

Ixurcl T.ilft 

Jw'kKiii 10.4»8 

JilTiTnon 16.1»TT 

JohiiRon 7,012 

I^i  Kiiyi'tte MtW 

i.uwi-i'iic« »,mi» 

Miwllson 7.740 

MhiIiiii «,\\)i 

Mlimliiiilppl H,H)') 

Monroo ft,tlf>7 

Muiitttciiiiery 8.<'i:l.'l 

N«wt<)ii ii.«ua 

Purrv 2.4ttt 

Plilldpi U,>7^ 

Pike 4.026 

Poinsett 8,1121 

Polk 4.'2'I2 

Popo 7,WI7 

Prulrlo S.SM 

Piiliuikl 11,700 

Kimdolph fl.'2«l 

Bt  Kruucis a«7H 

Hulino 0.W0 

Bcutt 6.145 

Boiircy 6.271 

Seliontlun 9,2.48 

Sevier 10,61(1 

Union I2,28H 

Van  Uuruu &,8.'>7 

WMhlnuton 14.078 

WashlUi 12.U80 

Wlilte 8.810 

Yell 6,8;j8 

Total  Ck>.  60,  In 486.427 

TCNNE88KK. 

Anderson 7,063 

Uidfoid 21,^H4 

Bcntoa 8,403 

Bledsoe 4,4.'>U 

Blount 18,!iT2 

Briulley , 11.701 

Campbell 6,712 

Cannon (>,60U 

Carroll 17,518 

Carter 7.124 

Gkutliuiii 7.263 

Clalborni! O.tVU 

0>cke 10,408 

Coffee 9.6SD 

Cumbcrliind 8,400 

Davidson 47,064 

Decatur 6,277 

DeKidb 10..^78 

Dickson 9,982 

Dyer lo^'iBB 

Fayette 24.829 

Fentress 6.0.%4 

Franklin 18,848 

Gibson 21.788 

Giles 26.166 

Gmnger 10,962 


Orei<n« 1II.M4 

Ornndy li,0|M 

llninllloD I8.«(M) 

Hancock 7,021 

lliirdinian 17,7X1) 

lliirdin IM14 

Hawkins 10,141 

lluywood 19,282 

lli'ndcmon 14,401 

ll.iiry 19,ll<» 

lllckiiinn 9,812 

lliaijpbrcyl. 9.I0U 

■liicksiin 11,726 

ili'llcrson ltt,t>42 

■lolinsoii &,l)tH 

Knox 22.M2 

Ijiudcrdale 7,ri02 

(.nwrcnce 9,8IU 

Irfwis 2.241 

l.liicln «2.s28 

MiiViliin l«,fi6H 

.McNalry 14,782 

.Macj>n 7,290 

Miidiium 2I,M6 

Miirlim fl.lllO 

.Miusliull 14,692 

Munry 82,49H 

Mcl)« 4,««7 

Monroe I2.0o7 

Moiit^rouiery 20.896 

Mciruiin 8.8,'iil 

Obion 12,817 

Overton 12,0!t7 

IVrry 6,042 

I'olk 8,726 

I'utnnin 8,,V>8 

Kill* 4,991 

Uoiuio 18..V86 

UoU'riRoii l.\206 

Uutliciford 27,918 

hcott 8.619 

t^tqustchle 2,120 

Scvlcr 9,122 

Shelby 48,091 

8iiillb 16.8:)7 

Stewart 9.888 

Siilllvun 18.668 

Siiiuner 22.080 

Tli.Um 10.704 

Union 6.117 

Van  lluren 2,681 

Warren 11,147 

Wusliington 14.846 

Wayne 9,116 

Wciikley 18,216 

White 9.881 

Wlllliimson 28,827 

Wilson 26,072 

Total  Co.  84,  In 1.109,847 

KiMTUCKT. 

Adair O.-W 

Allen 9,187 

A  ridiTSon 7,404 

lliilliird 8.093 

Haiicn 16,«(1,"> 

Bath 12,118 

Itoonc 11.197 

Bourbon 14.869 

Boyd 0,044 

Boyle 9.805 

Bracken 11,021 

Breathitt 4.980 

lireckenrldgo 18.287 

Bullitt 7.289 

Butler 7,927 


Caldwell 9,818 

Callaway MIS 

Canipbull 90,IMI9 

lurn.ll 8,678 

C'artir 8,618 

t'amy 8,406 

Chrlollan 2I,A2H 

(lurk 11,4m 

Cloy 8,662 

Clinton a7l>l 

CJritlenden 8^798 

Cunilxrland T,840 

DavlcHS 1^64» 

Kdniondson 4,647 

Kmlll 8,HS8 

Kttv.tte 22.699 

yiindnir 12.488 

Floyd 6,8«8 

Kmiiklln 12,098 

Fiiki.n 6,817 

(ialliitln Ro6« 

Oairaril 10.680 

(iittUt 8.868 

Omvea 16,284 

(Jravson 7,982 

Green 8,806 

Oreenup 8,78» 

iluiicoek 8,218 

llar<lln 1M90 

Harlan 6,494 

HanlBon 18.770 

Hart 10,848 

Hencbrson 14,262 

Henry 11,960 

Hickman 7,011 

Hoiiklns 11,876 

Jackson 8,087 

.Ictlcrson 89,408 

Jessandne 9,406 

JdbhKou 6,806 

Kenton 26,487 

Knox 7,707 

Iji  Kue 6,891 

Laurel 5,488 

Uiwrincu 7,001 

Letcher 8,904 

Lewis 8,861 

Lincoln 10,646 

Llvlii«8ton 7,202 

Logan 19,021 

Lvon 6,809 

^fcCrackcn 10,860 

McLean 6,146 

Madison 17,207 

Mmtollln 8,484 

Marlon 12,606 

Marshall 0,984 

Maaon ia228 

Mead 8,898 

Mercer 18,701 

Metcalle 0,746 

Monroe 8,661 

Montcomery 7,869 

Morgan 9,288 

Muhlenlmrg 10,726 

Nelson 16,801 

Nicholas 11.080 

Ohio 12,208 

Oldham 7,288 

Owen 12,721 

Owsley 6,885 

Pendleton 10,448 

Perry 8.960 

Pike 7,884 

Powell 2.257 

Pulaski 17,208 

Kock  Castle 5,848 

Buwan 2,282 


864 


TOrULATION   OF  TlIK    tWnKD   BTATIW. 


Ruuoll A.OM 

B^.tt U,4IT 

hli.lhy l«,l!til 

HlnipMB M.UH 

HjH'iicar «,lt)H 

TMlor T.4N1 

TihI.I ll.Mft 

Trlro ll.iXVi 

TrIiiibU B,SN<» 

Utllnli l'/.7ttl 

Witrivn n.H'.'ft 

Wii.liliiutim ll,^7ft 

Wayne VKiM 

Wilmlrr 7,NW 

Wliltl.y 7,7(W 

Woiidtunl ll,ii-iU 

Tuul  Cu.  100,  In....l,tfiA,Ttil 

Ouio. 

A<Umi 30,)<n9 

Allni Jt*,!**.") 

Aahlnnd 'i^OM 

Anliuilmla.   M.Mi 

Allii'iiit Vl.illVI 

Au(»lolw n,iw 

ItuliiioDt H6.4.'!'> 

Uniwn W.'.)tl 

UutliT iVi.MO 

Ciirroll 1.1.  IMS 

i'lmmiiaign "'iMW 

Clark 'i\'m 

Clermont UlMMT 

Clinton ^\.-i6i 

Ciiliiiiil>lanu »i.>im 

r.>»li(icton 2.'),(l»2 

Crawfi)r<l 'AHH(( 

Cii>  iihoKn 7«.(Wft 

Darke 2(l,'.'ii» 

Di'fiiineu n.MSH 

PLauware 'A1'12 

Krlt. V4,4Ta 

Kulrtleld. 8(),f)88 

Fiiyutte 1&.91H) 

Fmnklln 6l>.878 

Fulton 14,044 

Oallla a'AOl.'i 

Oeaufpi. lfi,t:<lT 

Orocne 26,11(7 

OuerhBi-y 24,474 

IlanilltoD 21MU 

Huncock 2i,'«fl 

Hurdin 18,661) 

HurrisoD ltf,109 

H«nrv 8.D01 

lilKhland 97.774 

Hoiking 17,il«) 

llolint-a 2li,.'i-9 

Huron 2U.SI«> 

.luckBon    17,941 

Jelfereon 26,tl7 

Knox 27,78.1 

Uke 18,876 

Luwrence 2U.'254 

Licking 87.011 

Logun 20.997 

Lorain 29,745 

Lncus 2a,S:il 

Miullson 18,01.1 

Mahoning 25,895 

Marion 16,490 

Medina 22,517 

MlIxs 26.634 

Mercer 14,105 

Miami 29.959 

Monroe 26,748 

Montgomery 82,288 


Monran mtT 

Momiw 20,446 

MiiaklMKUm 44.417 

NoIpIi. 1KI.761 

OtUwa 7.017 

I'nnldlnf 4,U46 

IVrry lU.tt7U 

IMeknwar 2II.4)IU 

I'lke 18.rt.W 

l'i.rli>K« «4,206 

iviid.' ai.H'.ti 

I'liliuiiii li.«W 

Kli'lilunil 81,156 

KoM 8f..071 

i^andiiaky •i\.\n 

Hdolo 24,207 

H.neeu SO.WW 

.Hlult.y I7.4HH 

Mlark 4.',UTrt 

!<iiiniMlt 27.>MO 

Triimliiill H(»,tl6<l 

Timi'imtwa* 82,4*18 

Union 16.607 

Van  \V«rt 10,288 

Vinton m.iWI 

Warren 2tl.ltOH 

Wnolilngton 86.271 

Wayne  82,4S« 

Wiflianu 16,(W2 

Wood 17,.S.sa 

Wyandotte Wm 

TutftI  Co.  88,  In 2,)MU,6UU 

MiCUIUAN. 

Aleona 1S6 

Allegan lB,0-.7 

AI|Mim 2IM) 

Antrim 179 

llurry ia,s.VS 

lluy  8,I(M 

llirrlen 22.:n6 

llruiicli 20,9Sl 

Calhoun 29,5<a 

CiiHs 17,721 

('liehoy^tan 617 

Chlip|K)wa 1,608 

('liu'u (not  orgiinl/.i'd.) 

Clinton m,9l« 

Crawford.... (not  orgaiil/.ed.) 

Delta 1.172 

Kuton 16.470 

Kminett 1,U» 

(Jeiiese« 22,498 

Gladwin 14 

Onuiil  Traverse I,2s0 

(Iratlot 4,042 

Hillsdale 25,076 

Uouithton 9,2;»8 

Huron 8,ll!6 

Inj^mi 17,485 

Ionia 1«,6S2 

Iosco 175 

Isabella 1,448 

.Inckson 26,671 

Kalamazoo 24,048 

Kalraca (not  organized.) 

Kent 80,715 

Lake (not  organized.) 

L»'lenaw 2,18S 

La  Peer 14,754 

Lenawee 88. 1 1 2 

Livingston 16,852 

Macomb 22,S48 

Manistee 976 

Manltou 1,042 

Marquette 2,b21 


Mason KI1 

MlehlllmMktnao 1,»IM 

Midland  TM 

.MiMuiike*. .  .(not  orgaolied.) 

Monroe 2l,6wi 

Monealm H,II«H 

Mon  I  nioreney  (not  iPipinUtMl,) 

MiiKkeexon 8.V47 

NiioNia  970 

Newayuo 2,761 

Oakland a.'<,2«l 

Oceana 1,HIA 

OiP'maw (not  organlied.) 

Ontonl^(ou 4,B<W 

Osceola 27 

Om'iNia (not  orKanlied.) 

Otsego (nut  urgunlzed.) 

OlUwa 18,216 

rresipie  Isle 26 

KoseoMimon.(nut  organized.) 

8a;<lnaw     12,<;98 

8t.  Clair 20,602 

St  Joneidi 21,262 

Suidlae 7.601 

SehJawasHco 12,849 

■Schooli  nilt 'f 

i'lmidla ^.Sfttf 

Van  Ittiren 15.224 

Washtenaw 86.85*8 

Wayne 7NB48 

Wexl'ord (not  urganliod.) 

Total  Cu.  T8,  In 749,119 

Ink    ha, 

Adams 9,674 

Allen 29,827 

llaithoiomuw 17.946 

Henlon 2,810 

lllackford 4,122 

Hoone 16,754 

Itrow  n 6,607 

CuiToll 18,4b9 

Cass 16.tM8 

(Murko 20,506 

Clay 12,160 

Clinton 14,606 

Crawford 8,206 

Daviess 18,861 

Dearlxirn 24,406 

Decatur 17,294 

De  Kalh 18,880 

Delaware 18,768 

Dubois 10,894 

Klkhart 20,991 

Fayette 10,18« 

Floyd 20,182 

Fountain 16,567 

Franklin 19,650 

Fulton 9,421 

(ilbson 14,689 

Omnt 16,779 

<lr«ene 16.042 

Hamilton 17,810 

Hancock 12,801 

Harrison 18,421 

Hendricks 16,968 

Henry 20.118 

Howard 12,5M 

Huntington I4.tsi>8 

Jackson 16,288 

Jasper 4.292 

Juv 11.899 

.loiTerson 2.1,089 

Jennings 14.7.14 

Johnson 14..'..15 

Knox I6,li8« 


POPULATION   or   THE   UNITKT)   BTATEi. 


8(]5 


Kowlntko 1T,4I4 

UOrani*. \\.Mb 

Uk« t.\*a 

Lal>ortD....    *i.9tl 

Ijiwronn* IR.llWS 

Mxllxon \\M4 

Marliin Btt.nlW 

Marvhiill   Vi,TH 

Martin H.UTA 

MUmI I6.«M 

MonriHi  ttt.MH 

Montifointrjr 'iO,h>iv 

MortfBn IH.IIO 

N»wi..n •i.nao 

Niilile I4.»in 

(thlo ft.4«'i 

t»n»nKO iy,U76 

(twiu U,H7fl 

I'arko l5,ftUH 

i'l'iry Il,l>40 

Piht) nunw 

I'lirter in,HI4 

l'l.MV   lil.lM 

Piilitiikl Mil 

I'ulniim 20<ISI 

Iluiiilulph 1M.UU7 

Kl|il»>y 11)11^8 

Kiiili IA.ltf« 

Ht.  .h)W<pb 1H,4/'<A 

Ho«)tt 7.H1>4 

Blielliy t»,^7l 

Wlii'iiwr 14,Mrt 

HUrk 'i.llte 

htmben 1II.H74 

bulllvnn l.VMW 

Bwlti.'rl»nd 1'i,«l»S 

T<|ip«'i'nn<i« 2.\7H6 

Tlpliin W,ni 

Union 7.110 

V»ml«rl)iirg iO,KA 

ViTiiillllon U,4'2« 

Vliro       2'2.M» 

Wttlmoh 17,647 

Wurrcn lO.iM 

Wiirwlik 18.'JIW 

Wimhinfc'ton 17,9li9 

Wayno Stf.NVI 

W4l« 1U,!)H4 

Wlilto 8,i«« 

Whitley 10,781 

Totol  Co.  »2,  In 1,1)50,941 

Illikois. 

Adams 41,«2S 

AlixandtT 4,7U6 

Kond 9,SI3 

Hmmo 11,«7S 

Urown 9,988 

B*onu 26,429 

Culhoun R.14ft 

CatToU 11,788 

Cass 11.826 

CbnmpalKn 14,628 

".hrlstlan 10,498 

C;»rke 14,987 

Clay 9,8g« 

Clinton 10,1141 

Coles 14,200 

Cook 144.9,^7 

Crawford 11,661 

Cumberland 8,81 1 

Do  Kalb 19,080 

l)e  Witt  10.819 

Douglas 7,140 

Da  Page 14,711 


Edirar K.MB 

Kdwards ^4A4 

KltlnKlium T.8I6 

Kiiv>'lta 11,198 

Kord 1,979 

Knmklln •,SM 

KulKin M,IIM 

OallatU ttOM 

tlrwiia I«,n9a 

(Jrundy ln.rtTii 

llunillion ».UI.^ 

llHiii'cH'k W.iiai 

lliinlln  «,T1S 

lliridiraon V.:«t 

lUnry    go  «."« 

IriMiiiids 12.8^4 

.luckMiii V.:>><9 

.ltt^per H,;l7'i 

.Ivltirion 1^.966 

.li-mey IV.Of* 

■lo  ItaTlesa V7.277 

.lobnaon V.P.42 

Kiiiu' io,o.^s 

Kiinkukfl* 16.4111 

Ki'Hdall   18,074 

Knox 8S,rttW 

Ijiko Ii2ft»l 

I Ji  Halle    4MIW 

■..itwivnce 9.2:4 

Uii 17,061 

Llvliixnton Il.ims 

l-opiii 14,2711 

Me  1  >i>nou);h Sii.dfiw 

Mi'llenry 2'J."'>i 

McL.an 2H.74lt 

Mmon 18.78.^ 

MiwiMipIn 24.ti02 

M;i.lUon 81.J16 

Marlon  12,78.1 

MarMmll 18.4H7 

MuiMin 10,9)18 

MawKMi 6,214 

Menard 9,696 

.M.Tcir 16,012 

.MiPiMoc 12,S'ii 

.McMitwnnury 18,892 

.Mort'im a-i.iia 

Moultrie 6,3'^.^ 

0(fli' 82.8x7 

IVorIa 86.0OO 

IVrry 9.M2 

Phitt 6,127 

Plko 8T,24« 

I'ono 6.742 

Pulaski 8,II60 

Pulnain 6,6«7 

Randolph 17.206 

KlchUnd H.Tll 

Uofk  Island 21,206 

StChdr 87,694 

Saline 9.881 

8an)(amon 32.2.')6 

Schuyler 14,686 

Scott 9,070 

Shelby 14,686 

Stark 9,004 

Stcplii-nson 26.118 

TazfwiU 21.471 

Union ll,isa 

Vcrndlllon 19,801 

Wabiish 7.312 

Warren 1R886 

Washington 13.781 

Wayne 12.283 

White 12.408 

Whltebldes 18.740 

Will •9,.S21 

Williamson 12,20i 


Wtnnebsm ..  H4M 

WiMMlfurJ IH.8>< 

TuUICo.  l09,Io....l,7tl,7M 

WuooNUM. 

Adam* <,4»T 

Ashland 618 

lUd  Ai ll.OK 

Hrown 11,791 

liumilo l,t>M 

llurnet It 

<'»lunu<t T,8M 

Chippewa l,8tfB 

(.'lurk      T80 

(tduiubla. <4,44a 

Crawford «,(•*' 

Dallas 

I>aue 48,992 

DodKu 42.819 

l>uor 2,948 

Douglas KVN 

Dunn 2,728 

Kuu  Claire 8164 

Kond  du  Lac 84,16a 

(Irnnt 81,207 

Oreen 19,881 

(Ireen  Lukt I2,I411 

Iowa 18,998 

■luekson 4,171 

.lelferson 28,771 

■liineaii 8,704 

Kenosha  18,610 

Kewannee, 6,680 

l.tt  CroF-M) 12,194 

Ui  K».\rtte 18,141 

Iji  Pollile 672 

.Miinlt4iowoO 22.886 

.Marathon 8,984 

Mariiuulte 8,286 

Milwaukee C2,664 

Monroe 8.898 

Oconto 8,600 

OutJiganite 9,688 

OiHi  kee 16,674 

P.pin 2,897 

I'lerce 4,672 

Polk 1,412 

I'ortaKO 7,604 

Karlnu 21.840 

ISIchland 9,737 

Hock 86,692 

Sank 18,894 

Shawanan 8,829 

SheboyKun 26,848 

St.  t:rolx     6,898 

Treuipleail 2,.')00 

Walworth 26,606 

\Vn!<litnKton 28,686 

Wdukeshtt 26,849 

Waubacca 8,866 

Waushara 8,772 

Winnebago 28,769 

Wood 2,429 

Total  Co.  68,  Id 776,878 

Iowa. 

Adair 984 

Adiuns 1,(18.1 

Alamakce 12,2.''.6 

Appanoose 11,988 

Audubon 4.^4 

Kenton    8,604 

Klack  Hawk 8,244 

Boone 4,281 


866 


POPULATION   OF   THE   UNITED   STATES. 


nremer 4,919 

Uiichiiniin 7,906 

llu.ma  VUta 67 

liiiiu'.ombe, .  .(not  urganlzott.) 

Il'itler 8,724 

Ciilhuiin 147 

(  HITOII 281 

Vim 1,612 

Oriiiir 12,949 

C  'I'lTO  Gordo 940 

I  l"iM'i)kiio ft7 

Clhiokuanw     4,8.SS 

Cliirko 6,427 

l!liiy »2 

Cliiyton 20,72,S 

Cllnlon 18,9;tel 

Crawford 8S;< 

Diillas 6.244 

Piivls 13,764 

Uuuitiir 8,677 

Dflawiiro 11,028 

lX<aMolucs 19,612 

Dickinson 180 

DubiKiuo 81,166 

Kiiiiiictt 105 

Kiiyiitte 12,078 

Floyd 8,746 

Fmnklin 1,809 

Kromont  6,074 

Orecn 1,374 

Grundy 793 

Guthrio 8,0,58 

Hmnllton 1.699 

Hancock 179 

Hardin 6,440 

Harrison 8,028 

Honry 18,700 

Howard 8,163 

Humboldt »32 

Ida 48 

Iowa 8,029 

Jackson 18,494 

jHspor 9,t(87 

Jetterhon 15,037 

Johnson 17,672 

Jones 13.306 

Keokuk 18,284 

Kossuth 416 

Lee 29,282 

Linn 18,9.50 

Louisa 10,370 

Lucas 6,766 

Madison 7,338 

Mahaska 14,816 

Marion 16,815 

Marshall 6.015 

Mills 4,480 

Mitchi'll 8,409 

Munona 832 

Monroe 8,611 

Montgomery 1,256 

Muscatine 16.444 

Osceola (not  organized.) 

O'Brien 8 

Piiu'o 4,419 

Palo  Alto 183 

Plymouth 148 

I'.ioidiontas 103 

l'.)lk 11,625 

Poltawat.iiiiie 4,962 

Poweshiek .5.670 

Kinjtgold 2,928 

BiM'  . ."     246 

Scott 25,960 

Bhelby 818 

8ioux 10 

Bt.irv 4,053 

T'lnm 6,285 


Taylor 

Union 2,012 

Van  Buren 17,0a3 

Wapell^ 14,618 

Warren  10,282 

Washington 14,288 

Wayne 6.411 

Webster 2,604 

Winnebago 168 

Winneshiek 18,942 

Woodbury 1,119 

Worth 786 

Wright OM 


W.ibashaw ;    T,W9 

Wahnata (dropped.) 

Waseca 2,«0i 

Wasliington 6,i28 

Winona 9.209 

Wright 8,729 


Total  Co.  99,  In 674,948 

MlNNKfiOTA. 

Aiken 2 

Anoka 2,100 

Becker 8S6 

Benton 627 

Blue  Earth 4,802 

Breckenridgo 79 

Brown 2,839 

Buchanan 26 

Carleton 61 

Carver 6,106 

Cass 150 

Chisago 91 

Cottonwood 12 

Crow  Wing 2fi» 

Dakotah 9.098 

Dodgo 8,797 

Douglas 195 

Faribault 1,!W6 

Flilmoro 18,.548 

Freeborn 8,367 

Goodhue 8,997 

Hennepin 12,849 

Houston P,64.") 

Isanti 284 

Iiiseji 61 

Jackson 181 

Kanal)ac 80 

Kandiyoht 76 

Ijike    248 

Lo  Sueur 6,318 

Mankalita (dropped.) 

Manimin 186 

Martin 151 

McLeod 1,2!<6 

Meeker 928 

MllloLac 73 

Mouonaalia  860 

Morrison     618 

Mower 8,217 

Murray '29 

Nicollet 8,778 

Noble 86 

Olmstead  9,627 

Otter  Tall 240 

Pembina 1,612 

Pierce 10 

Pine 1,741 

Pipestone 28 

Polk 240 

Uiimsav 12,160 

Renville 245 

Kice 7,543 

Scott 4..594 

Sherburne 724 

Sibley 3,609 

Stearns 4.506 

Steele 2,868 

St.  Louis 406 

Todd 480 

Toomb* 40 


Total  Co.  66,  In 172,02* 

Missouri. 

Adair 8,6,81 

Andrew 11,850 

Atchison 4,<)49 

Audrain 8,074 

Barry 7,794 

Barton 1,817 

Bates 7,216 

Benton 9,072 

Bollinger 7,888 

Boone 19,487 

Buchanan 28,861 

Butler 2,891 

Caldwell 6,034 

Callaway 17,445 

Camden 4,976 

C'apc  Girardeau 16,.')4-7 

Carroll 9,776 

Carter 1.234 

C^ass 9.798 

Cedar 6,639 

Chariton 12.5(19 

Christian 6.491 

Clark 11.^84 

Clay 18.025 

Clinton 7,848 

Cole 9,696 

Cooper 17.868 

Crawford 6,827 

Dade 7,078 

Dallas 6,892 

Daviess 9,605 

Do  Kalb 6,224 

Dent 6,651 

Dodge (dropped ) 

Douglas 2,415 

Dunklin 6,026 

Franklin 18,088 

Oasconado 8,727 

Gentry 11.980 

Greene 18.186 

Grundy 7.895 

Harrison 10,627 

Henry 9,8M 

Hickory 4,706 

Holt 6,.550 

Howard 16,949 

Howell 8,169 

Iron 6.842 

Jackson 22,914 

Jasper 6,883 

Jelferson 10,.344 

Johnson 14,644 

Knox 8,726 

LaClede 6,180 

Iji  Fayette 20,091 

Lawrence 8.847 

U-wis 12,286 

Lincoln 14,214 

Linn 9,113 

Livingston 7,417 

McDonald 4049 

Macon 14.407 

Madison 6,664 

Maries 4.901 

Marion 18.828 

Meroer 9,300 

Miller 6,814 


POPULATION   OF   THE   UNITED    STATES. 


867 


MtiMBMppt 4,869 

Moniteau 10,U64 

Monroe 14,786 

idontgomery 9,710 

Morgan 8,202 

N«w  Madrid W!68 

Xewton 9,826 

Nudoway 6,268 

Oregon 8,009 

Osage 7,870 

Otttrk 2,447 

Pemiscot 2,961 

P«n7 9,128 

PrttU 9,492 

Phelps 6,914 

Plko 18,420 

Pliitte 18,841 

Polk 9.91I6 

Pnlaskl 8.648 

Putnam 9,208 

Kttlls 8..92 

Randolph 11,406 

Kay 14,091 

Rt'vnolds 3.17H 

Klpley 8,747 

St.  Charles 16,626 

Bt.  Clair. 6,S09 

St,  Francis 7,!i48 

fit  GcnevleTe. 8,029 

St  Louis 190,636 

Saline U.7IKI 

SoiuykT OCOT 

Scotland 8.S78 

Scott ,'i,247 

Shannon 2,284 

Shelbv T.301 

Stoddard T.S77 

Stone 2.401 

Sullivan 9.198 

Taney 8,.'i7« 

Texas 6,069 

Vernon 4,779 

"Wiirrcn 8,S38 

Washington 9.725 

Wayne 6.62S 

Webster T.()99 

Wright 4,608 

Total  Oo.  114,  lu. . . .1,182,817 

OAtlFOBNIA. 

Alameda 8,927 

Am:i(lor 10,938 

Butte 12,107 

Calaveras 16,802 


Colusl 2,274 

Contra  Costa ^828 

Del  Norte 1,992 

ElUorodo 20,602 

Fresno 4.606 

Humboldt 2,694 

Klanintli 1.H08 

Los  Angeles 11,880 

Murin 8.884 

Murlnoso 6,243 

Mi-ndoclno 8,907 

Merct'd 1,141 

Monterey 4,789 

Napa 6,61 6 

Nevada 16,447 

Placer. 18,270 

Pliiiims.    4,;!68 

Sacramento.... 24,146 

Santa  liarbora     8,648 

Sail  Ui  Clara 11,912 

SiintaCniz 4,946 

San  liernardino .  ,    6,664 

San  Diego 4,820 

San  Francisco 66,^^06 

Siiii  Joiiquln 9,-I.S4 

Sun  Luis  Uhispo 1,7  b2 

Sun  .Mateo 8,214 

Shasta 4,8W 

Sierra 11,889 

SisklviMi 7.(i21t 

SnlaiiM 7.170 

Sonoma 11,867 

Stanislaus 2.245 

Sutter 8,3!M) 

Tehiima 4,044 

Trinity 6,125 

Tulare 4.688 

Tuolumne 16,229 

Yolo 4,716 

Yuba 18,671 

Total  Co.  44,  In 880  016 

Ork(ion. 

Benton 8,07'» 

Clackamas 8,466 

Clatsop 498 

Columbia 682 

('oos 884 

Curry 898 

Douglas 8,264 

Jackson ,S.7.S6 

Josejihlne 1,622 

Ijuie 4,780 

Linn 6,772 


Marlon T,088 

Multnomah 4,160 

Polk 8,628 

Tihiiiook 98 

Uuipqua 1,260 

Wasco 1,689 

Woshingto-^ 2,801 

YamUUl 8,246 

Total  Ca  19,  In 62,464 


Kahbab. 

Allen 8.089 

Anderson i,400 

Atchison 7,729 

Bourbon 6,102 

Breokenrldge 8,882 

Blown 2,609 

Butler 487 

Chase 808 

Clay 168 

Cotfey 2,842 

Davis 1,168 

Dickinson 8T8 

Donlplian 8,0!>l 

Dorn 88 

Douglas 8,687 

Fianklln 8,081 

GoillVoy 19 

Greenwood 769 

Hunter... 168 

.lackson 1,986 

Jefferson 4,468 

Johnson 4,868 

Leavenworth 12,606 

Linn 6,888 

Lykens 4,980 

McGce 1,601 

Marlon 74 

Marshall 8.280 

Morris 770 

Nemaha 2,487 

Osage 1.118 

Otoe 288 

Pottawatomie 588 

Klley 1,228 

Shawnee 8,618 

Wabaunsee 1,964 

Washington 8^8 

Wilson 27 

Woodson 1,488 

Wyandot 2,009 

Total  Co.  40,  In 107,110 


TERRITORIES. 


Nkbbasea. 

Butttlo 114 

Burt 888 

Butler 27 

Calhoun 41 

Cass 8,869 

Cedar 246 

Clay 165 

Cuming 67 

Dakotoh 819 

Dawson 10 

Dixon 247 

Dodge HOtf 

Douglas 4,82s 

FtKsndall  Mil.  Sta...  868 

Gage 421 

Greene Ifi 

Uiil 11« 


Johnson 

Jones 

Kearney 

Lancaster 

L'Eau  Qui  Court 

MeiTlck 

Nemaha 

Nlcholls 

Otoe  

Pawnee  Keservation. 

Pawnee     

Platto  and  Madison.. 

Polk 

Kichardson  

Salln- 

Sarpy 

Shorler 

Washiuglon 


628 

122 

474 

158 

162 

44 

8,149 

22 

4,211 

86 

882 

782 

19 

2,886 

29 

1,201 

114 

1,249 


Morshall's  Limits 1,792 

Total  Co.  86,  In 28,886 

N«w  Mrxico. 

Arizona 6.488 

nerimlillo a76» 

Dona  A  una. 6.289 

Mora 6,.'i68 

KioArlba 9,849 

Santa  Anna 8,572 

SantaFe a,114 

San  Miguel 18,714 

Socorro 6|787 

Tu.>» 14.1'>8 

Valencia li,S21 


rotalCo  U,  In.. 


.  .98,641 


868 


POPULATION   OF   THE   UNITED   8TATB8. 


Utah, 

Canon ...  1,608 

DftvlH 2,904 

Desfiret 2,005 

Green  River 141 

Iron 

Juab 

Millard 

Bait  Lake 11,296 

San  IVte 

Summit 198 

Tooele 1,008 

Utah. 

Washington 

WeUfr 8,675 

Total  Co.  14.  In 40,295 

WABnmaTON. 

i"j 896 


aallam 149 

Clarke 2.278 

Cowlitz 446 

IshuKl 294 

Jederson 680 

KliiK 802 

Kitsop 546 

Kllckitar 221 

Lewis 884 

Pacific 421 

Pierce 1,116 

Skamania 826 

Spokane 996 

8iii|immlBh 162 

Thurston  1,607 

Wnhklacum 42 

Walla-WaUa 1,827 

Whatcom 8f>2 

Total  Co.  19,  In 11,548 


NEVADA. 

Carson (t,MO 

Humboldt 40 

St.  Mary's 106 

Total  Co.  8,  la S,808 


COLOEADO. 


Not  yet   divided  Into 
counties H,1K 


Dakotab, 


Not  yet   (Uvidedinto 
counties IMf 


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A@®TOS   W4)i®®®, 


i 


-»♦♦- 


Experienced  Agents  (mate  or  female),  School  Teachers,  Sab- 
bath-school  Teachers,  Toung  Men  from  tfie  country,  and  Retired 
Clergymen,  are  wanted  to  act  as  Agents,  in  introducing  into  each 
Totvnship  and  County  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  The 
"Illustrated  History  of  the  Holy  7)ible,"  by  ^r.  John  Alt  to, 
J^.  S.A.,  edited  by  (Rev.  Alran  Sond,  D.^.,  of  ^Yortfich,  Conn., 
H'hich  is  sold  only  by  Subscription. 

Agents  will  not  be  required  to  canrass  territory  previously 
occupied,  unless  they  choose,  and  all  Sooks  remaining  unsold 
may  be  returned  at  prices  originally  charged,  if  in  good  con- 
ditions provided  they  are  returned  within  three  months  front 
the  time  of  shipment. 

Any  of  my  Agents,  or  a  Subscriber  to  any  of  my  "Publications, 
«r  any  Post  Master,  School  Teacher,  or  Clergyman,  who  is  in- 
strumental in  procuring  for  me  a  Successful  Agent,  and  who 
sends  me  a  Letter  of  Introduction  tc  the  parties  wishing  the 
Agency,  jrill  be  entitled  to  receive  for  his  trouble  the  sum  of  Ten 
Dollars,  and  the  same  will  be  paid  on  application,  if  the  Agent 
has  succeeded  in  selling  one  hundred  copies.  In  this  way,  a 
Clergyman,  Agent,  or  other  person,  can,  with  little  trouble  to 
himself,  assist  his  friends  to  useful  and  lucrative  employment, 
aid  in  the  circulation  of  a  valuable  book,  atid  add  One  Hundred 
Dollars  per  Annum  to  his  own  income. 

Ten  good  Agents  can  be  found  in  almost  any  community  for 
a  book  of  the  high  character  of  the  History  of  the  !Sible.  School 
Teachers,  Sabbath-school  Teachers,  and  Toutig  Men  from^  the 
country,  are  almost  sure  to  succeed.  Persons  wishing  appoint- 
ments as  Agents,  or  to  obtain  further  in/onnation  on  the  subject, 
will  apply  immediately  (naming  territory)  at  the  office  of  the 
Subscriber,  or  address,  by  mail. 


HENRY    BILL; 


Norwich,    Conn. 

(703) 


JUST      PUBLISHED, 


AiN  ILLUSTHATCD  HISTORY 


OF 


THE  HOLY  BIBLE, 


being  a  rosnkcten  account  of  the  nbmarkable  events  and  iiistindulsiied 
ciiai:a(;tku.s  contained  in  the  old  and  new  testajii;nt.s,  and  in  Jewish 

IIISTOUY  DUIiINO   the   FOL'li  lll'NMIUCD    Y.;All.S   INTEIlVENlNd    UKTWEKN   TlIK 

TIME  OK  MALACHI   AND  Till-:    lUUril    OF  CIlltlST,   INCI.niINO   ALSO  THE 

LIFE  OF  CUBIST  AND   HIS   AI'OSTI.US;    THE  WIIOLK  E.MUUACINU  A 

PEIUODOF  FOIII  THOUSAND  YEAItS;   WITH  NOTKS  ('KITICAL, 

TOPOOKAIMIICAL,  AND  EXPLANATORY;  TOtlETIlEH  WITH 

CIIUONOLUUICAL  AND  OTUEU   VALUABLE  TABLES. 


By  JOHN    KITTO, 

Bodor  of  Divinity  and  Fellow  of  the  Society  of  Arts,  author  of  "  Cyclopoedia  of  Biblical 
Literature,"  "  History  of  Palestine,"  cfc. 

Edited   by   ALVAN    BOND,    D.D., 

Formerly  Professor  of  Biblical  Literature  in  the  Theologiciil  Seminary  at  Bangor,  Me,, 
and  for  'ZO  years  Pastor  of  the  Congregational  Church,  Norwich,  Conn. 

Complete   in  one   Royal   Octavo  Volume   of  over  700   pages,   embellished  and   illustrated 

by  over  100  full-page  engravings  and   colored   maps,   with  extensive 

Chronological  and    other  important  Tables. 

■* 

The  Publisher  Is  conHdent  that  this  work  will  be  regarded  by  intelligent  renders,  and  es- 
pecially by  the  lovers  of  Sucied  Literature,  as  one  of  great  inttiest  and  value.  It  presents,  in 
a  clear  and  beautiful  style,  u  continuous  history  of  the  events  euibraceU  in  the  Sacied  Uecoril, 
describing  the  manners,  customs,  and  religions  that  prevailed  in  the  iliil'i  rent  periods;  narrat- 
ing tlie  nuniei'uus  conlliuts  that  nmrlied  the  progn-ss  and  decline  of  nations,  imd  fiiinislilng 
biogiapliical  sketches  of  tlie  individuals  whose  names  are  iiisci ibid  on  the  rolls  of  virtue  anj 
fame.  This  volume  couipriges  au  amount  of  varied  and  useful  information  that  cost  the 
author  much  labor  and  research,  and  which  could  be  obtained  from  tlie  oiiginal  sources  oidy 
at  great  ex|)ense.  It  is  contideiitly  commended  as  a  book  for  the  family  circle,  and  especially 
for  tho^e  engaged  in  the  work  of  Christian  instruction. 

The  name  of  tlie  Itev.  Alvan  IJknd  [).\j.,  by  wimm  the  work  is  edited,  and  who  is  well 
known  as  an  accurate  and  uccomplislied  Christian  fecliolar,  is  a  suilicient  guaranty  tliat  It  ia 
one  of  real  interest  and  merit. 

Tlie  numerous  Kngravings  and  Colored  Maps  that  are  found  in  the  volume  not  only  add  to 
its  beauty  and  attractiveness  as  embellishments,  but  illustrate,  more  accurately  than  words, 
tlie  ancient  customs  and  scenes  which  tliey  represent. 

This  work  is  approved  and  commended  by  all  denominations  of  Chricfians.  The  success  of 
Agents  who  have  commenced  to  canvass  for  it,  has  exceeded  the  rublisher's  most  faiiguin* 
expectations,  and  exprrienced  Agents  say  they  never  knew  a  book  to  sell  so  well,  home  of 
the  Agents  are  selling  from  twenty  to  forty  copies  in  a  day.  Over  One  Thousand  copies  have 
been  sold  in  Norwich.  Conn.,  where  tlie  Kditor  resides.  This  great  success  of  Aitents  has  so 
encouraged  tlie  I'ublislier  that  he  has  put  to  press,  on  tlie  finest  paper,  over  84tHJ,0(X)  worth  of 
this  worK,  to  be  immediately  followed  by  other  editions. 

Tliese  large  editions  require  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  paper^  and  require  six 
months  to  print  It  on  five  large  power-presses. 

This  great  work  we  design  to  place  beside  the  Bible  in  every  family  in  the  land. 

For  an  Agency  for  tills  book,  application  should  be  made  immetliately,  as  the  territory  is 
being  runidly  engaged.  For  further  information,  apply  to  the  publiiihcr,  naming  townships 
preferred  in  the  order  of  your  preference. 


(70i) 


BENMY  BILL,   Norwich,   Conn. 


RECOMMENDATIONS 

ICITTO'S 

IllUSTRtTED  HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


Hore  than  (100,000)  onr  Iinndred  thousand  orders  have  hoon  received  for  this  work  during 

thu  few  inoiiths  It  has  heen  otVered  to  the  public,  besides  hundreds  of  commcn- 

datious  from  the  cleigymen  of  all  dciioininations  of  Christians. 


From    Rev.    Eiennard    Ilacon,    D.D. 

Anylvmlc  In  cxnlnintlon  iit  thu  Hililc  tVnm  Uk  ItHriiiiU  Dr.  Kitio  must  be  vuluahlo.    The  R"*.  Dr.  B(ind,t 
eaniKit'il'iiittt,  will  udil  to  tno  valtu-  ut'  Kittu's  *'  Uiitury  uf  the  liittle,"  in  iliu  proposed  Anu-rican  Mlitmii. 
Ni  *  lluvcii,  Aug.  <i,  l«i»i.  ■■■■ 

Frnm    Rev.    Then.    I..    Oiiylcr,    l».I>. 

1  A)  mucli  iipprovi'  of  IhlH  ••  IiUislrat.  (1  llUtury  of  Iho  Holy  U.blu  "  that  I  wisli  Itinlitht  be  Jiij;l  horidc  the 


l.l::ONAKU  BACO 


ipy  ol  tb 
BU'i^v:.!  lin.iK  of  wiii(-li  it  tri-uiH,  ill  tliuuBftiid*  uf'tlwellingi*. 
Uru-jklyii,  N.  V.,  Nuv.  I(i,  I8.W. 


rilKt>.  1,.  CliYI.KK, 
Puittii'  Lafuyitto  Avunuu  CImrcb. 


Frnm    Rev.    Ben.tnmlii    Adams. 

t  (  ave  examined  the  "  lllimtnit.  d  History  uf  (he  Hibic  "  witli  (triiii  ples«ure.  In  my  opinion  it  ii  a  bi>ok  well 
q-tuliHud  to  do  |jooil,i'Hpcijiitllv  uiiij.r.{  t!iu  young,  uiid  tbui.'  who  httvit  not  time  for  in-iie  i;.ir,*tol  iiiitl  leiigtnv  stutly 
of  tliettreiit  wor<<oh  till' Hiou'.  YourJ,  HiC.V'.V  dl\  AD.VMS, 


Ujooltlyn,  N.  Y.,  \ov.  1:;,  ISIiC. 


Pastor  of  i-'liet  Street  .M.  E.  Church. 


From    Rev.    Joel    Ilitwes,    S.D. 

An  admirable  Family  and  S.ibliuth-Nelioul  l>  .uli,  un.i  n  lit  cuinpanion  foru  niiuister'tf  study.  Deeply  interesting 
and  luitnii  tiv.-  in  tlie  subject  of  liieli  it  tiX'ut?,  imd  ui>ouit<liiii{  in  strikiiiK  pieturi'tl  iiltistiutions,  ic  should  be  in 
tvery  liouseliold  lo  usji.it  |):ireiiti  in  i  e  study  of  tlie  Llible,  uiiduisn  to  t.ueii  i  le  knowledi^L*  of  it  to  their  eliildrtii. 
8iit>liilli-si:lior)l  t .'  tellers  will  lind  it  tin  t  xi'elletit  hi'ii>  in  i  I'eptiriiitj  t  leiiHolve  to  meet  Ih  ir  c  u.se.s  in  the  iiiofit 
Intc-estiiiij  iiitd  instrnetive  manner,  and  nit  who  uefire  to  ear  ?li  their  minds  und  heurLi  witli  the  treasures  otQud's 
Wuid  will  lind  lilts  \oiutne  of  inestimable  vuiue  to  them. 

J.  IIAWE9,  Hartford,  May  12,  1867. 

From    Rov.    O.    II.    OuulJ. 

No  motlern  writer  litis  eontribtited  tnovn  largely  to  enrich  th«  Hihlifil  literature  of  our  time,  or  to  clothe  with  a 
fresh  unit  liviou  iiiu-rcst  thtt  nmni  |K-ntoiia}{es  told  nieideoi.H  in  IJitl-Testument  histuiy,  thuii  John  Kilto.  Theprea- 
eiit  voltiine,  *-  ilihtory  of  tif  Biltle,"  iii'.irs  ail  the  m  trksof  his  -viile  learning,  putient  tiiul  ticcnrute  sf'hoInrHliip,  fer- 
vent itifty,  ittiil  ^riaeeful  anl  popular  siyle.  Toe  liook  ii  ainpi  f  nntl  finely  itltistr;ttefi,un'i  e.litcil  by  ii  eotnpetent 
Atneticun  scholar,  Kev.  Alvun  liond, 'D.O.,  of  No-wieh.  It  t  eserves  u  wide  eirenlation  amont?  all  who  love  and 
prize  the  Bible.  U.  II.  UUULD,  Poiti  r  1st  Cungregiitional  Church,  liartfurd.  Conn. 

From    RfV.    R.    H.    Storm,    II. D. 

"The"  Illustrated  History  of  the  Bible"  hy  Dr.  Kiilo,  edited  by  Dr.  nnnil,  contains  a  great  amount  of  valuable 
matter  in  a  smiili  compa^d,  and  m-III  be  ftiutid  liy  ihtL^e  who  bludy  it  very  helplul  to  a  c.ear  and  largo  uiidt.'rsUp-ding 
of  l:ie  serititiiral  nurrtttive. 

itrookiyn,  N.Y.,  Nuv.  It!,  18(1(1.  B.  S.  STOSRS,  Jr. 

From   Rev.   •lohn    P.    Oultlver,    D.D. 

"  Kitto's  Illustrated  History  of  the  hihle"  appears  to  he  a  narration  (>f  tlie  facts  recorded  in  the  Scripfttres,  with 
the  adTlitioii  of  u  lirief  litstttrv  of  events  down  to  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  written  in  u  simile  uiid  auructive 
Bfvle,  und  free  from  lite  minuteness  of  detail  \*hiLli  often  lentlirs  mtire  rccoirtite  works  unlit  tor  popucn-  u^e.  It 
seems  siM>ciatly  uilupted  to  the  wants  of  Subhatli  Schools  and  Bible  Classes.  Tlie  names  of  the  tiutho:  and  editor 
faruish  ua  atuple  guaranty  of  the  trusiwurlhiue..ii  of  the  work. 

."OHN  P.  OULLIVER,  Pastor  of  Now-Eii|5laiia  Church,  Chicago. 

From    Rev.    S.    IV.    Phelps,    O.D. 

From  what  I  know  of  the  writiiifis  of  Dr.  Kitt.i,  and  from  the  :ipeeitii  in  of  tlie  "  History  of  th"  Bible"  which 
I  have  seen,  I  utn  bure  it  will  he  a  work  of  gr  at  lirterest  antl  vnliie.  Tlie  editorial  laboi:i  uf  the  Hev.  Dr.  Bond, 
together  with  its  many  exeellint  und  life-like  iliust.a'.lons,  caunot  fail  to  largely  increase  the  interest  and  value  ui 
the  work.    I  ehecrfiiliv  cinnmend  it. 

New  Haven,  Aug."i;,  ItdW.  8.  D.  PHELPS. 

From    Prof.    Pond,   aiid    other*,    of  Bunffor,    Me. 

The  service  which  Dr.  Kltto  rendered  to  the  world  hy  his  vurinns  writiujs,  explanatory  and  illustrative  of  the 
Scriptures,  it  is  ditiieult  to  overestimate.  Tnere  can  be  no  risk  in  saying  that  his  "  IllusLiuteil  History  of  the 
Biole"  in  tint  hitsitp  "rior  to  anything  else  of  tlie  ktnil  within  the  same  ctnnpass.  an  i  tht;  iiatii''  of  the  American  lOd- 
Ituris  nstilDi'i.Mitguarauty  that  the  work  will  not  suiter  iu  passing  through  his  liuinls.  The  b  Hik  'v ill  be  a  treas- 
ure in  uny  family. 

E\OCn_PONI)L    ^_     . 

Profts«ors 
Then.  S,in. 

Rev.  A.  P.  K.  SMALL,  Rev.  J.  B.  GOULD,  Rev.  O.  W.  FIELD,  Rev:  D.  QOODWIN,  Rev.  8.  L.  B.  CHASE, 
Rev.  8.  P.  FAY,  Rev.  A.  BATTLES,  Bcv.  B.  A.  CHASE. 


ENOCH  POND,  i 

OEOROE  SHEPARD,  ( 

I)    F.  TVLODTT,  C 

J.  R   HERRICK,  ' 


bU 


The  very  high  rank  which  John  Kltto  holds  aa  a  Biblical  student  justlflei  me  In  moat  heartily  recommending 
"  Uiatory  of  the  Bible  "  aa  a  work  of  complete  reliability  and  of  popular  interest. 

C.  C.  EVERETT,  Pastor  ITnitarian  Church. 

(706) 


From  Her.  Rnbort  Allyn,  D.D.,  orilllnnli. 

I  h*Ta  txiimlnoil  with  coiinliliriililo  iittciitliiii  "  An  llliiitrttnl  illnldry  <il'  tlii'  lluly  Itllilc,"  hr  f)r.  Kllln  nt 
Enclmiil,  |nil>lli>lii'il  lir  llrnry  Kill  nl'  Nurwlili.  Cnriii.  II  U  ■  wiirk  nl' iirMt  nurarch,  hilly  i  <|iitl  U>  miy  cilhcr 
WurK  liy  till'  HHiiit^  <lUtliii(ulih('<l  iinllKir,  wliiwu  llli*  Imit  Itwaii  (t4)vnl«<l  Ut  thi*  Htiidy  aiitl  llluntrulloii  tif  Hlhtfl 
li^aniluK  hihI  lllfnitiiri!.  rtir  work  nnilulnii  li  IllHtorli!  himI  MUTiiry  Introilitrtlniii  n  coiiii«*cii<il  Rci'niint  of  tlie 
tvniitN  iDi-onlfil  111  tliii  Hllili'i  II  imrrutlvi*  of  the  vVfiitH  ofcurrliifc  IwtwM'ii  the  writliitf  of  the  t>l<l  'I'lotunifliit  hikI 
the  Ni'W,  iiiiil  II  Mil'  of  Chrlnt  miil  IiIh  Ajniatlt'i.    All  Ihiw  thliiin  am  iint  only  iinvful  hut  ulmoliitnly  ii« inry 


fbr  thi^  liirorritHtinii  of  MiiiiiitrrH  iinil  Hiuifliiy-M'hnol  otTh-ern  miil  ti-iurlirm.     Iiiilcfd.  wvrv  liiti-lll^fitt  f'hriiitlaii  or 

I liiht  to  iioii«i'»«  n  copy  of  Ihia  iKiuk  In  ho  ki'|il  on  thi'  nhrll  with'tlii'  Word  of  (;<hI.     The 

m*  rk  hHit  h€>i*ii  rnri-fiilly  I'llitrif  iind  ri-vlnvd  hy  l>r.  Alvmi  Uniidof  Norwlrh.t'onii..  whiwr  H<>riini(i>  Mcholamhin  (iiid 


•jpndir  of  thf  Mihl mht  to  j 


exli'nilvp  h'nniln|(  iidil  a  iii'W  vnliii-  In  thi'  iHHik.     I  i'«ii  vi'ry  I'lirdlally  and  I'onirliinlloiialv  I'oininenil  Ihli 

rii  of  thn  ohlput  and  hcit  and  inoit  orlKlniil  of  till  hookn. 


HODKItT  AI-I,YN, 
Prva't  McKundne  Colleft*. 


lllltnry  ol  the  HltiTe  to  all  who  ilfNin*  to  know  liiorii  < 

McKindri'C  CuIIckv,  Lihaiion.  Ht.  Clair  (.'ii.  III.,  July  li.  1X17. 

Krom  Ilcv.  T.  IV.  Peloubet. 

Mr.  Kltl<i'«  name  In  t  KKaruiity  that  whutevvr  ('oini'a  IVoni  hii  pen  li  raluablo  and  Intnrentlnir  and  worth* 
ofBlli'onlldin.M..  ' 

From  an  Intimate  acoiialtitiinrc  with  •ome  of  hie  other  wnrki  I  jiidKO  that  thli  "  Illnntralcd  llUtory  ol 
Uie  Bible  "  miixt  lie  proUUilile  In  uiiy  family.  '1'.  N.  rai.uuitK'r. 

Prom  Rev.  NfiUon  Clark* 

The  "  lllntory  of  the  lllhli',"  I  nm  arqualnted  with,  and  can  racoininend  It  u  a  very  InterenlInK  hook,  and 
an  Importjinl  iiid  to  the  llihh'  render,  NKl.a()j<i  C'lakk, 

Suinernel,  Maaii.,  June  •£),  imW, 

From  R«T.  T.  C.  Titifflejr. 

From  the  hlnh  and  well-known  reputation  of  the  author  of  the  liook  (for  whirh  the  hearvr  la  arent),  I  hellera 
It  will  he  It  vi'iy  vuluuhle  and  h  ililv  Iniitruetlve  and  InterentiiiK  work,  very  Importunt  for  nimily  readluK,  aa 
well  aH  for  the  leiirned  ntudint  of  llu  Uihie. 

Homamet,  Mau.,  June  JU,  IHMI.  T.  C.  Tiniilkt,  I'aator  lluptut  Church,  Boinerset,  Mau. 

From  Re  v,  iCilgar  F.  Clark,  at  Norwich. 

KItto,  the  author.  In  the  bent  recoin-nendution  and  the  oiilv  one  needed.  It  eannot  full  to  add  a  eharm  lo 
the  Huered  DrucleH,  and  tit  It  eminently  l,>r  liome-reailliiK.  Ah  fur  ue  it  In  known,  the  work  liaa  hail  und  It  havlnic 
an  exteuiilve  Hale,  Ihr  exceeding  the  moat  auiKUlnc  ex|iectullonii  of  the  iiuhlliiher. 

EuuAK  F.  Clahk,  I'atlor  H.  E.  Church,  Norwich,  Conn, 

From  Rev.  Mo^es  Smith. 

John  Kitto  waa  eminently  fitted  to  illuiitrate  Illhle  trut.it.  He  woa  an  eameit  Chrlitlan,  a  lahnrloui  mla- 
•lonary  In  the  re|{iuii  of  llllile  «:eiieii,  end  a  iiioiit  Indefutiiiuuie  ntudent.  I  niuit  cheerfully  reeimiinend  his 
"  IlluBtrated  lllntury  of  the  Ulble,"  edited  by  III*  worthy  Ur.  Uond,  to  my  people. 

I'lalnville,  May  V2,  IMKI.  Muskh  Hmitii.  Paiilor  ConKrcgutlnnal  Church, 

From  RcT.  Noah  I  ortcr,  D.D.,  and  others. 

Kitto  li  one  of  the  bent  writen  of  our  nKe  on  the  Herlplurea.  I  have  no  doubt  that  Ida  "  Illuatratcd  Illatory  of 
the  Ulble"  in  an  excellent  liouk,  and  jiurtlculurly  deairuble  fur  Mabbiith-acbuul  aeholuni  or  teiiehera. 

Noah  Poktbr. 

I  cordially  aubacrlb*;  to  what  has  been  written  above.  The  book  la  one  of  great  valuu  for  family  reudinK  and 
Itudy  of  the  Iloly  Hcripturea.  I,.  I,.  Paihiu. 

From  wlmt  I  know  of  Klttu'a  worka  I  tally  believe  thia  will  be  a  very  valuable  book.  I  eapcclally  recommend 
It  lo  Siililmth-aeliiHd  tcaehem.  E.  S.  IIaiit. 

I  roiiHlder  Kllto'a  "  llluatrutcd  Hiatory  of  the  I  Ible  "  a  work  that  will  be  of  permanent  Intereat  lo  nil  who  love 
toatudy  the  Bible.  HAMtiKL  H.  CuWLis. 

From  Re/.  'Wm.  M.  Thayer. 

To  wiioii  IT  MAT  coNClnii:  — 1  have  been  fbmlliar  with  the  worka  of  Dr.  Kitto,  and  have  aevcral  of  them 
In  my  library,  ao  that  I  feel  prepared  to  aoy  that  hlH  "  llUtory  of  the  nible  "  Ih  one  of  the  moat  valuable  worli»  for 
tlie  tiiiiiily  tiittt  can  be  nurchaaed.  For  parenta  and  children,  Sabhnth-achonI  teachcra  and  acholara,  Itji  viiliie 
c^innot  lie  nver-catlniatca.    Ita  introduction  into  every  houaehold  would  prove  a  great  bleaainK  to  them  aa  well  oa 

.,  July  18, 1866.  Wu.  H,  Tuateb, 


tu  the  public. 
^    FrankUa,  M 


From  Rev.  Gould  Anthony. 

With  my  limited  examination  I  ahould  jiirtifO  the  "  HIatorv  of  the  nible,"  for  which  Mr.  KlnKaley  ia  the 
Bijent,  mlKht  be  an  Intereatin^  and  protitable  book  to  thoae  who  uesire  a  knowledge  of  God'a  dealing  with  man. 
North  Dartmouth,  Auguat7, 180(1.  UoOLU  Ahtuokt, 

From  Rev.  J.  AI.  Lord. 

1  have  two  or  three  of  Kitto'a  worka,  which  I  priie  very  highly,  and  I  have  no  doubt  the  work  la  of  singular 
Hiitory  of  Uie  Bible." 


volui'i  i  feel  a  trci'ilom  to  recommend  tliia 
South  Uorlmoutli,  Auguat  8,  ItiM. 


J.  M.  LuKIi. 


From  Rev.  D.  N.  Thrall. 


Dr.  Kitto  being  widely  known  ae  a  leanied  and  jiidicioua  hiatorian  of  the  Scrlpturca,  I  can  aafcly  recommend 
bia  work  upon  the  Ulble  to  my  people,  aa  a  valuable  aid  in  their  atudleH  of  the  eucrcd  Word. 

UeuROC  h.  TtlRALL,  Rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Maaaiah. 
Clinton  Ave.,  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  Nov.  17, 1886. 

From  Rev.  D.  N.  Moore. 

Dr.  Kitto'a  "  tliatorj'  of  the  niblo  "  la  an  excellent  work,  well  atored  with  naeftil  Infnrmntlon  on  the  heat  nf 
alt  aulijeclH,  und  muat  prove  a  vuluable  aid  tfi  n  proper  uiidcratiindlnK  of  the  divine  Word.  It  will  be  found 
eapeciully  helpl^l  in  eluuidiitliiL'  the  hlaturic  portluna  of  the  llibli'.  oiid  will  well  lepjv  a  careful  penixal. 

Brooklyn,  N,Y.,  Nov.  Jl,  IMJd.  D.  MOUI<£,  I'aator  Wathiugtun  Ave.  Uuptiat  Church. 

From  Rev.  Bdw.  Rtronff,  D.D. 

The  "  Hiatory  of  the  Bible,"  bv  ao  eminent  a  aeholiir  na  Dr.  John  Kllto,  nceda  no  recommendation.  If  It  did, 
the  fact  that  Kev.  Dr.  Bond  hiin  "edited  tlie  American  edition,  offered  to  the  jmblic  by  Henry  Hill  of  Norwich, 
Conn.,  ahould  commend  it  to  the  entire  vonlldeur  i  of  Chriitlan  citiicns.  The  work  cannot  be  read,  I  think, 
Witlioiit  greet  intereat  und  great  inotlt.  _         _  „„„.,., 

PltUtteld,  Moaa,,  Nov.  fit,  lotiU,  £WD,  Sxaoiro,  Faitor  So.  Cong.  Cburcb, 

(706) 


From  RcT.  Bamnel  Woleott,  D.n. 

Til  th*  Anihnr  of  thit  wi>rk,  Dr.  Kltlo,  who  hu  drviitnl  hli  llh  to  lllhlletl  InTMllnllo'.i  ind  tTpntltlan, 
Wd  In  Dr.  Iloiiil,  who  li  wliluly  kiinwn  u  (ii  >lil<',  ■nund.aiicl  jiidinioua  dlvlni-,  wv  lia>a  every  aerurily  tl»l 
ill  lUoxi'culiiiii  It  (til  that  II  iTaliiia  u>  bn.  I  aiii  nirUin  (hat  no  oiia  c*n  road  throiiih  Ihia  ainniintitd  and 
llluitratril"  llUtiiry  iirthi-  nihil',"  i!ar«rilly  n»miilli<d,  williout  Hiidlnv  thai  h«  hM  milarKi-d  liia  kiiciwledie  of 
ttinrontt'itta  iif  thit  Harri'd  Volume,  and  la  t'uahlvd  to  hriiig  to  Ui«  peruaal  of  dvUwhed  avctloiia  of  It,  a  ctaartr 
luiltfhtund  IntclllfftMHMv 

Cluvgland,  Nov.  M,  IHM.  HamuEL  Wulouit. 

From  Rrv.  RilMraril  Ooo.    'Irh. 

IrrntrA  Dr.  Kltto'a  "  ITitnry  <if  the  lllhle."  ua  a  iiioit  Inalriirllve  and  >  lerviUnii  work,  ftir  the  Ronaral  rckdak 
Ita  Authnr  hiia  attauifd  einliieiice  aa  u  Itlblu  a4;holar,  and  haa  Imitt  bean  a  popular  writer  upon  auhjui^ta  eonu>-ctu<l 
with  the  aaen-d  viihiinr. 

Ulaalenbury,  Cunii.,  Oet.  '.'4,  IHOII.  Euwahu  aooumuii,  {"utorof  8t.  .Itmc.i  Ch. 

Frnin  ReT.  J.  la.  M'Nair. 

t  have  for  aeveral  yean,  been  ari|ualntud  with  Dr.  Kltto'a  wriUnga,  and  am  confidant  that  any  thing  which 
comi'a  Ironi  Ilia  pen,  iHxaeaaea  rare  merit 

Harblatuwn,  New  Vork.  J.  K  M'Naib,  Paator  Ratbrm  Dutch  Church. 

From  Rrv.  Andrew  Pollard,  D.D. 

Theworka  of  Dr.  Kllto,  IMualrnHve  ipf  th>'  lllhle,  are  of  hi)(h  excellenee.  I  moat  cordially  recommend  hit 
"Illualrated  lliatory  of  the  Holy  lllbln"  tu  all  who  d' lire  aacurate  ami  th"rnuuh  knowledge  of  the  Hacred  Wirtl. 
It  will  heatreaaure  toany  t'aiully.  ANIIUKW  ■■OI.I.AItl).  1).  D. 

Taunton,  Jan.  H,  1MII7.  Paator  of  Wiulhrup  ML  Uaptlat  Cliiirch,  Taunton,  Maaa. 

Prom  R«T.  Ijyntnn  IVhIte. 

I  reiard  Dr.  KItto  aa  an  able,  correct,  and  iiialructlvu  writer  upon  the  nihle,  and  can  fUlly  recommendhi 
work  (lliu  llluatrated  U.'.alury  of  Ills  Uibie)  an  ii  vulnnhle  contribution  to  our  bihlleal  literature. 

I.VMAN  Wllir£,  I'aitor  C'uugregaUonal  Church,  rhilllpatou,  Maai. 

From  Rev.  Henry  Ii.  Jones. 

The  narratiT*  la  conclac,  clear,  and  attractive,  ua  will  aa  faithful.  Here  and  In  the  notea  we  have,  In  almnla 
Innguaxe,  therenuitof  Hie  intiat  iiiiil  ripcat  acholarnlilp.  A  copiua  Index  makea  it  an  excellent  book  of  refisr- 
CDoe  tor  the  biblical  atudeut  connected  with  tile  Sahlmlh  .Srhmil. 

I1I<:NUV  L.  JONES,  Rector  ChrUI  Church,  Fitohburg,  .Maa*. 


From  Rev.  Joaeph  Crrhore. 

I  cordially  recommend  the  "  Bible  Illatory,"  hy  Dr.  KItto,  to  all  who  are  Intereeted  In  the  aludy  of  the  nible. 
_,  ii  one  of  the  iiioal  valuable  aida  to  too"'  "    " 

•ervlceable  to  the  Habbatli  School  Teacher. 


It  li  one  of  the  iiioal  valuable  aida  to  the  Chriatlaii  atudent,  an  intervating  work  ftir  the  fumiiy,'iinil  capecially 
"      ■  JO.SKI'II  CUKMOUK, 


Paator  UnlTonalUt  Church,  CltUiUurg,  Maaa. 


From.  Rev.  N,  Rmory  'Wright. 

"The  Illuitrated  Illatory  of  the  Holy  flihlr"  hna  aiiiailv  been  ol  treat  aervlee  to  me  In  my  atiidieaof  th« 
holy  Hcrlpturca.  It  preaenta  the  narrative  (lortion  of  the  diviiir  wnnl  in  a  ainiitio  and  eaay,  yet  highly  taa- 
cinutlnff  Ntvle,  beaidea  interweuvlng  many  hivtoricui  fkcta  and  exptanationa,  which  throw  ffreiit  litiht  upon  the 
nieanliiR  of  the  aacred  text.  M.  KMilItY  WRKillT, 

June  'Jl,  1HU7.  I'aator  lat  Methodiat  L'placopal  Church,  Newburypurt,  Man. 


From  Rev.  H.  O.  Hlnidale. 

■  Dally  Bible  lliuitration,"  the  "  Cyclopedia  of  Biblical  Mteraturc,"  and  "  Illato- 
catiiie,"  by  Dr.  KItto,  lead  me  to  welcome  the  pubticntion  In  thU  country  of  liia  "  Illuatnttcd   lllatiiry 


My  acquaintance  with  the  ' 

ry  of  I'aleaL '"  ,   "     "  "  ,' 

of  the  Kilili',"  a"  briiiginv  within  the  reach  of  the  Chrlatlan  public  an  ultiactlvc  and  valuable  help  In  the  atuilv 


of  the  Word  of  (rixi.  line  of  ita  important  fnattirea  la  the  htatory  of  the  four  centuriea  interveuiiiif  between  the 
clote  of  the  Old  and  the  opening  of^  the  New  TeitamcnL  Tlia  uauie  of  Uitt  American  editor  ntrorila  additional 
guiimnty  of  tlie  value  of  the  b.Hik.  II.  U.  IIINHDAhR, 

Bridgeport,  Conn.,  April  J^,  ltKI7.  Foator  rrcibyterlan  Church. 


From  Rev.  Richard  Tolman. 

'"ttili  la  to  certify,  that  I  have  lung  been  aci|ualnted  with  Dr.  Kitto,  aa  a  writer  on  biblical  aubjecti,  havlni; 

eight  of  hia  volumea'in  my  libniry.    I  regunl  bin  volumea  aa  eminently  rich  in  inatruction,  and  well  auited  to 

the  common  reader.    I  do  therefore  moat  cordially  recommend  the  "  llluatrated  Illatory  of  the  Bible,"  believing 

that  It  iieeila  only  to  be  read  tu  be  highly  eatccmed."  KICIIAUD  TOLMAN, 

May  8,  IW.  Faator  Congregational  Church,  Tewkibury,  Mui. 

From  Rev.  Samnel  II.  Tolman. 

"Very  cheerfully  do  I  add  my  teatlir.ouy  to  the  value  of  Dr.  Kitlo'n  writing!  i  and  cipeclally  the  "  HIatory 
of  the  BRilu"  la  eminently  orlupteu  to  aid  in  the  atudv  of  the  S'Tipturet.  Aa  a  Book  of  gcnerul  and  |)opulur 
Intereat,  it  muat  be  very  uaeful,  anil  bo  everywhere  well  received.  Aa  lung  aa  New  England  lovc»  the  Hlble,  will 
they  love  that  which  iUuatnitei  and  explalua  the  Bible.  BAMirRLi  II.   TOLMAN, 

May  11,  IM.  Paator  Congregational  Church,  Wiiinlnglou,  Uaaa. 


From  Rev.  J.  H.  Means. 

From  my  knowledge  of  Dr.  Kltto'a  wrltlniia  on  biblical  auhiecta,  and  fWim  the  alandlng  of  Dr.  Bond,  the  ertl- 
tor  of  the  prcaeni  work,  I  tiave  nu  doubt  it  will  b«  found  a  reliable  aud  Inatructive  guide  to  the  contentn  of  ttiu 
Scrlntiirea.  J.  H.  MGANfl. 

Oorcheitar,  Dec,  ISaa. 

From  Rev.  John  B.  Falknrr. 

I  have  examined  Dr.  Kltto'a  HIatory  of  the  Bible,  edited  by  Rev.  A.  Bond,  I>.  D.,  and  And  It  a  moat  ralunb'o 
vork.     It  la  a  very  deairable  book,  both  fur  the  critical  atudent  and  for  the  general  reader. 

Dr.  Kittu  la  HO  well  known  aa  an  exact  and  profound  icholar,  an  earncat  Chriatlan,  and  un  Inten'atinz  wri'or. 
that  any  work,  coming  from  hla  pen,  ought  to  be,  and  I  doubt  not  will  be,  warmly  wclconu'd  hv  ml  ciooea 
who  take  the  leaat  Intereat  in  biblicaHtudlca.  JOHN  H.  FAI.KVKK, 

Bridgeport,  Conn.,  April  22, 1867.  Btctor  Chrilt  Church,  Bridgeport,  Conn. 

(707; 


Vrom  R«T.  Oeorci*  W.  Rfsn. 

intto,  M  ■nthnrttr  In  filMlral  hUtnry,  ■tamla  In  thp  I'lllmitlon  i4  •rhnlara  H  iinTlTlltrd.    t  toko  nUMiir*  III 
IMoiiiiaiiQillng  III!  inxury  ol'  tli<  Ulbln  h(  h  wurk  ornivrlt.  —  «  wmk    hut  iIkmiIiI  Ik-  In  I'viry  Inmil'  iii  tlu'  luncl 

lU-v.  UkoHiiii  W.  Kyaii,  Putur  Uaptlil  Chureh,  U»dn*r,  BtaMk 

Prom  Rvv.  M.  Rwlekt 

I  hiT*  no  hcdUtlon  In  rteommondlny  Dr.  Kllto'i  ■*  Illuitntttl  lll>tnrv  of  Ihr  RIblc." 

M.  2wici,  I'Mtor,  Rctbrmcd  Dutch  Church. 

Prom   Rrr.   A.   8.  Chraeliorougli. 

1  dMm  the  •'  Ilhiitrttrd  Tllftory  -if  the  Itllilr  "  ii  work  wnrlln  of  r'lirchiM  iml  ntudT  bv  ChrUtlan  mnpir,    Tin 

1.  ...... ji .,  I.-  I-,... .„  I,  |.i|,||,,„|  ,c|,(i|,ir,  r   •'  •■-  "- •■  ••^'-   ■• ■  •■ ^     -      - 

liaraetvr  ut  thl«  botik. 


high  •tuiidlninf  llr.  KIKo,  the  inthor,  u<  ii  I'ilillcal  irhdliir,  ihd  the  hoDurtd  ii«m«  ut' l)r.  Uuiid,  llivediior,  art 
guar.intii  I  (>rlh()  «ii|)frlur  and  ri  liable  cli 


Ulut«nbiir>,  Cimn. 


A.  H.  CuiSKiioauuuii. 


Prom   Rev.   B.  O.   Buckingham. 


The  ability  nf  Dr.  Ktlloln  thimlcpartmpiit  ofarhnliinililp,  nnil  the  value  of  hli  wrltlnn,  are  well  known  to  all 
Blhllt'iil  Ktuilt'nta.  Aiifl  stich  a  work  iiH  iMh  W'HiM  hr  Kiirc  to  liiiiTfMt  nnd  profit  atiy  tUriiilv.  Um  iMiiiii'roiia  uiid 
niui-  ilhiH  niiioiia  add  lo  Ua  wortli.    1  ila-erl\ill>  uoiniiK'Uil  it  as  an  Intertillog  and  iiii'l'iil  work  to  tbin  I'oiiitnunlty. 

Springfield,  Mtui.  M.  (I.  nicKiNriiiAU, 

Paftor  South  ^f>ll^^t'^ath>nal  Church. 

From  Rev.  H.  O.   Ludlow,   D.D. 

The  nnmo  of  KItIo,  u  (he  aitlbnr  oCa  work,  wril  nlnh  renilcri  It  unn>-<^<'M<iry  (hr  the  puhlliher  to  annex  err- 
ll(l(!iili  •  of  <U  value.  Tbii  beauill'ul  cclklon  of  tbv  "  Illiialiuici  lll'ile  lllntorv,' with  il>  iiuiiiiroui  mid  vacelleut 
pltiic,  and  iMitei,  eannot  fail  to  have  at)  t  xtennlve  kkIp,  m  it  inecta  tliu  waiiti  ot  all  who  art'  di-Hirou^  to  iiu'trtain  the 
■ueai,iiiti  (fUie  "Lively  OtMha  of  Uod."  11,  (i.  Luuluw,  U.U. 

From   Rev.   Edward   W.   Bentlv. 

¥f  men  have  done  more  than  Dr.  KItto  to  advanci'  n  knowledge  of  llic  nil  le.  I  ean  therefore  molt  cordially 
icconinii  ii(i  the  prest-nt  wurk.    1  know  ijr.  Bond,  and  kiiow  that  hi*  \n  ahutiMfuitiy  (iiiullllefi  to  do  bin  part  well. 

Ki>WAHi>  W.  liK.Nixv,  I'aiiur,  H.  1*.  I).  Uhurch. 

Prom  Rrv.  S.  Graves,   D.D.,   Norwich,  Conn. 

I  have  examined  the  "  Illuitrated  History  of  the  Ilolv  Bible,"  and  find  It  an  Intereat'nR  and  valuable  liook, 
worthy  of  the  eundor  and  piily  <if  it»  ili-tlll>ni«bed  lollinr,  i;,-.  Killo.  It  la  n  vnluino  i^f  (tn  at  valur  to  nil  Bible 
Itutii-iitK,  (Ilia  flhonid  be  in  the  hiindr,  of  ever>  Hunday-aehoMl  mid  Hllile-elapa  I'lurber.  'i'be  Kditor  anil  Publhbt- r 
ot  ibc  AiiK-rican  Tditlon  have  phown  excellent  Judfjineut  and  tavte  In  ilielr  part  of  the  wor't. 

M.  OKAVta,  I'aatur  of  the  Central  Biptlat  Church. 


I\m\    ,iai-,    •■!■■>    (iili'il,<i     1#^.      Ill     ktiv     IIMI|i|r«    Ktt      ITtlJ       IJiaililll^TI^^    •!*' 

Ibc  Airo-rican  Tditlon  have  phown  excellent  Judgment  i 
Norwich,  Conn.,  Uct '.%  l.SIW. 


Prom  Rev.   Z.  M.  Humphrey,   D.D. 


I  have  exnmlnrd  Dr.  KItto'i 
>ik  lor  itihlk-ul  .tudt-nta. 

Chicago,  Feb.  2S,  IM 


'  Illiiatrated  Fliatory  of  Ihe  llihle"  'O  far  aa  lo  aatlafy  myarlf  that  It  la  a  valuable 
woik  lor  llihik'ul  .ludiiiU.    It  will  be  found  eipecially  uittXil  to  !4oiiday-i>i.'liuui  leucliera  and  lUlilc-elaiaea 

Z.  M.  llrMi-iiiitcr,  D.D., 
Puitor  iit  Prtabyterian  Church. 


From  R«  V.   MT.  W,  Patton,  D.D. 

orened  nbove  by  Rev.  Dr.  Iliimpbrcy, 

W,  VS.  Pai'Tun,  li.U.,  Paaturut  lit  Congrcgotlnnal  Church,  Chicago. 


1  cheerfully  coincide  In  the  judgment  ixoremed  nbove  bv  Rev.  Dr.  Iliimpbrcy, 

•       ■  ■  iti 


Prom  Rev.  R.  \V.  Patteraon,   D.D. 

I  ftilly  coincide  In  the  opinion  expreaied  above  bv  Dr.  Ilumpbrcv  ond  Dr.  Piittnn, 

R.  W.  PATrnKso.N,  U.U.,  I'abturof  liu  Preibyterian  Church,  Chicago. 

From  Rev.  Arthur  S^vazcy.   D.D, 

I  coincide  in  the  opinloni  above  i  xpreiied  by  Dra.  Iliimplirey,  Pattnn,  and  Piilterann. 

Aktiiur  tjWAZKV,  U.U.,  Paatoruf  3a  Probyterian  Church,  Chicago. 

From  Rev.  W.  W.  Evcrta,  D.D. 

The  history  ot  »  bf>ok,  aa  of  u  man,  riaes  in  Imp<irt«npe  with  iti  frreiitncai,  Aa  the  Bible  baa  aeblevpil  more  for 
tbv  worlii  tlian  all  uihtr  booka,  its  hiatory  la  iiioro  iiiipoitnnt  tliuii  iliut  of  uiiivcraul  liieruture.  Kitto's  work  liai  bi-eii 
prtpiired  with  audi  accuracy  AUfI  lldeiity  aa  lo  l>e  u  pixjptr  eoiniianioii  of  tlie  Bible  in  the  public  or  privriie  itUrarv. 

W.  W.  lOvKins,  D  I)..  " 

Chicago,  Feb.  20, 1867.  Pualor  of  lat  Uupiiat  Church. 

From  Rev.   E,  J,  Goodapeed. 

The  intereat  of  Ihe  Bible  narratiyea  la  really  dimlniahed  by  ita  being  broken  np  into  ebeptera  and  veraei.  Dr. 
Kilto,  one  of  tlu;  ripest  ^oholar.,<  of  I^ornpe,  bus  given  u-*  liere  a  con  tin  nous,  hariiioiiized  bi&tory  of  ev>'ii[a  iccordcd 
In  tiic  Bible,Dio1  ihtia  contributed  to  the  elcnrer  understanding  and  the  more  thorough  appreciation  of  Ood'a  deiil- 


iiiga  with  mankind.    I  cheerfully  commend  the  work. 


E.  J.  OooDSPEXD,  Pastor  of  id  Baptist  Church,  Chicaga 


From  Prof.  Dnvid  Saving. 

1  do  not  believe  that  any  one  coul.l  Imvc  conceived  of  or  produced  a  work  in  this  field  of  thoiiclit  and  labor 
that  would  surpass  thla  one  of  Dr.  Kitto  in  its  proIIli^u  us  to  interest  and  usefulness.  It  makes  the  di^iiolntcd  fiicts 
of  aiicred  liistory  into  quite  a  complete  story,  luol  ihiis  eiuibleH  the  nietnory  to  bold  the  t'-iith,  titid  the  iii'urt  to  love 
itsatudy.  Prof.  Uaviu  8^Vl^'a,  Pastor  of  Westniiiistcr  Church,  Chicago. 


From  Rev.   Robert  Iiaird  Collier. 

From  the  •xamination  I  have  been  able  to  give  Dr.  "  Kitto'e  History  of  the  Bible,"  I  am  free  to  give  it  my 
heartv  euiiiinciidution.  The  Bible  and  all  its  literature  centre  so  fully  In  the  great  purpose  of  God  to  save  tlie 
world,  through  .Icsus  Christ,  that  I  hear  with  gratification  of  the  publication  of  a  work  by  so  eminent  an  autlior  aa 
Dr.  Kitto,  which  puts  in  so  brief  a  space  matter  of  such  eternal  importance. 

BuBiiHi  liAiKD  CoLLiKK,  Paator  of  Church  of  Meaaiah,  Chicaga 

(708) 


From   llev.  Tkomaa   M.  Eddy,  n.D. 

1>r.  Knto  nradl  r  n  pommrnrtallnii  fVnm  ini-  or  miiy  nni'  rlu  i  hU  r'puUtlnn  U  world  *M(.  Thf  TOlnmt  hirt 
PTvai'nti'tMi  out' i*i  vhIim- ii>  llii!  iirnft-iilonftl  ttiMicul  ktuilf  iit,  wtiiitt  lo  thu  |(«n«rRl  rvMilur,  whuvn  tlbr«ry  i*  nut 
•teckad  wtlli  wuiluuu  laloriircUUon,  Uli  Invahmlila.    I  vlvr  It  my  h»rtv  rcimmrndallon, 

TiiuHAt  M.  tiiUir,  ll.U.,  Julitor  NorUtWMlvrn  Chrlitlau  AdvuciU. 

From  Rev.  N.  A.  Ilydo. 

Thd  wnrtd-wldf  rapnUUnn  of  Dr.  Kllto  anil  tht  iichnlsnhl|>  of  thr  •dltnr,  H«r.  Alf in  Dond,  D.D.,  an,  In  mf 
ladgiatiut,  ail  culirelyuUtAsUiry  fuwaiity  fur  llii-  valua  ol'tlili  IkioIi. 

Rkv.  N.  a.  llviiK,  Taalorof  Plymouth  Church, iBdUnipnIii,  Ind. 

Prom  RfT.  F.  C.  Ilolllday.  D.D. 

Th«  lilrh  rcpiiUtlon  of  Dr.  KItto  ai  *  hiblicil  nrhnlar,  M*  rii>iii:i«r|iv  wllh  tha  tntira  ran«ooraarr<d  lllcralura, 
•nd  thi'uuliiiiiwIriliiaU  latrnUig  and  ability  u.  Hev.  Ur.  Dund,  Ilia  rili'nr,  l\iriilal  a  •ulialin  t  ry  ((.larniily  .>r  ihe 
value  Ottilia  wurk.  K  c.  UuLLiHAT,  D.U,  Indiauapulli,  liid. 

From  Elder  O.  A.  nurveas. 

t)r.  KItto,  on«  nf  th«  nraat  tmlnrnt  nf  hlliliial  ai'inlim,  hnlli  ihnrnuirh  and  oomprehi-iitl**  In  hli  ll'prary 
TC»'»ichr<,  uutliortM  vaHiiiia  valuabia  and  <iuii  I  ml  r>.'Ujh>n>  w  mkh.  will  iliMihticia  roni.riit,  In  lua  llluatntrd  Illa- 

li'ry  of  tliK  Illhle,  Ix.lli  lilntiiry  iind  iriininrntarv,  In  »ii(-h  i i run  to  rrndrrlt.  under  tlin  labiiraiif  the  .  ditor, 

Ur  '.  Ut.  Boud,  oua  of  tin  iui«t  ounvrnirat,  iiiatru<'tivi<,  and  iiarrnl  hnnha  of  the  day. 

LliiKb  O.  a.  UcKiiKna,  nfChilitian  Church,  ladUnaiiolln,  Ind. 


From  Rev.  II.  Ilroaa,  n.O. 


takrtrrtat  plraaurr  In  rrmmmcndlng  thia  work  to  the  fUmillranr  thr  parlih.and  I  abniilil  h>'  glad  If  I 
Itaiilacalutivcry  liuuMbulii,  Ht.y.  fl.  Uauaa,  JUiiibum,  il,.,Jiiii.  tU 


•oU  Ita  lilac 


glad  ir  It  I'niild 
■■   IKi?. 


FroL-«  Rev.  W.  C.  RIchnrda. 


Therxamlnalion  Thavolwrn  nh'i-  to  make  fit'  Klllci'ii  "1llii>tralrd  lllatciry  of  thr  tllblr  "  hni  autlaflcd  nie  of  tha 
grrui  (  mrlli'uea' anil  »iirth  <>i  >ii,' iiuuk.  The  wiuk  l<  rln  u  i?  and  tlvar  ii>  Ha  nlan,fira|>hlu  ami  iitlruciiva  in  ita 
«ti  li',cn|ili)ua  and  tnialwiirdiy  in  iIk  liformatli'n,  and  In  huml  with  a  apirlt  nf  caibiilio  anil  iiiliva  piity.  I  utka 
lueaaur*  lucuiniucnUlugit  toall  claaaea  of  readora  wlin  iniaa  uml  deain*  to  know  the  word  nf  (ln'l. 

W.  C.  HiciiAHii.<i,ruat»r  Uoptiit  Church,  Pittaflcld. 

From  RcT.  J.  B.  Cleveland. 

The  Illatory  of  the  Ilihle,  hy  Dr.  Kill'i,  n  tiook  of  nn<-nmmon  merit,  inatrnelive  and  exceedin  ly  Inlrreating, 
and  wbii-li  onulit  tu  he  puMoai  il  by  eveiy  tuiniU  In  the  liin<l,  ii  now  tieiiig  rlrculatcd  in  thia  ra^idii.  It  ta  an  Inval- 
uable nililv  iltnmiiiiilnr,  and  liihiy  ileae'rvea  the  lifieriil  ivilnninue  It  l«  lee^  Iviiiir.  It>  lilatory  of  cventadu  iiigtha 
^(Nlycaia  int4ir\eiiiiig  between  thf  (Md-Teatiiment  dlaiH-'iiaatio;)  and  the  New,  la  of  very  great  value,  and  tnisht  to 
be  read  hv  all  iieraiiia  pruKa>iiig  tu  ruapcet  tha  Uible. 

Mew  llarltord,  Couu.  J.  B.  Clivilaxd,  Fajtiir  Cong.  Churoli. 

Froai  Rev.  C.  n.  A.  Diilkley,  and  others. 

To  the  Memberaof  the  Dninklvn  Young  Men's  Chriillan  Aaamlatlon,  and  olheia: 

Dr.  Kittii'a  Illur<irali'il  llirlnry  of  ihe  Hiblc,  edited  by  Dr.  Hond,  ia  uiiiiiicatlnnahly  n  W'lrk  of  value,  well 
worthy  ot  iieriiMil  uml  ftiiity  by  every  oua  intereated  in  the  Ser<jiiiirec.  V'or  teaclieisof  Uiole  claaneH  and  Subbath 
Sciiuolaitls  ol  print  aervlce.  ('.  II.  A.  lUll.Kl.RY, 

Cnapiuin  and  Actuary  ofthe  Brooklyn  Youug  .Men'a  Chrlatian  Aaaoolation.    Brookl;  n,  .\pril  10,  IHBI, 

I  moat  conliaHy  give  my  Influence  to  tha  aale  of  Dr.  KItto'a  History  within  recommended. 

Wm.  (J    I.KiiNAKi),  PaatHf  .M.  I-:.  Climch.  M  Ifo'd,  Mjat. 
J.  B.  TuuKNTUK,  Jr.,  Paalor  Cong.  Church,  .Miliuid.  Maii. 

Dr.  KItto'a  Hialory  of  the  nible  ia  a  valuable  work,  and,  lo  thr  at  it  goea,  girca  great  aid  to  the  itudeiit  of  the 
Holy  Scripturea.    1  cheerfully  co:nmeud  il  tu  all  Inlerested. 

(f.  U.  .loNKA,  Paator  of  Epiacnnal  Churrh.  .Milfnrd.  Maai. 
L.  Ckowkll,  Puatorof  M.  K.  Church,  Milford,  .M.iaB. 

Dr.  KItto'a  reputation  aa  nn  author  warranii  me  In  aayinii  that  hli  Illatorv  of  the  Bible  ta  an  Invalnah'e  help 
totlieatudeutofthc  wurdiifUud.  £.  11.  Pauk,  Paator  Oaptiat  Church,  Milfnrd,  .Uaia. 

'  From  RcT.  Samuel  A.  Clark. 

I  have  no  douM  the  Illitory  of  the  Bible,  by  Dr.  Kltto,  will  prove  a  valuable  addition  to  the  library  of  every 
one  wiio  iiia,y  aubacribe  t'ur  it,  uud  1  shuuld  ke  glml  tii  aee  it  i-xtcnaivv'ly  clrculiited. 

Sauikl  a.  Clahk,  Paator  St. Johu'a  Church,  Elizabeth  City,  N.J. 

From  Rev.  Oeo.  De  F.  Folaom. 

Thn  underaigned  confidently  ommenda  tu  the  rooiubara  of  hla  pariih  the  work  of  Dr.  KItto,  aa  beimr  what  it* 
title  indientea,  a  "  lliktorv  III  the  lliile.*'  liEO.  UK  i'.  FoLSOU. 

Fair  Haven,  CouD.,  May  7lh,  li*\7. 

From  Rev.  Henry  I.  Tan  Dyke. 

Dr.  KItto  ia  univeraally  reeognlzed  aaa  writerof  profound  learning  and  aincerc  piety.  Few  men  have  auc- 
ceeded  aa  he  haa.  In  putting  the  reauita  of  Biblical  critlciiin  into  an  attractive  end  aimple  fiirm.  Ilia  "  Illuatrated 
History  of  the  Bible*  la  on  exctilent  work,  well  nulted  to  make  the  word  of  God  mon'  intelligible  to  readera  of  all 
aurea  aud  cupacitiea.    It  will  lie  a  vtiluiihle  addition  lo  tite  honaehold  treuaurea  of  any  Chribtinn  family. 

Uenbt  I.  >  A.v  Dtke,  Paator  of  1st  Pieabyterian  Church,  Brooklyn,  N.Y.,  April  30th,  I8G7. 


From  Rev.  R.  IT.  lioomla. 

The  undenlgned  liaa  examined  KItto'a  Bible  Ulatory.  and  fully  and  moat  cheerfully  recommend*  the  liook 
lo  the  meiiibrm  of  Ilia  ehuich  and  congregation.  Sahhath-aeb'-nl  tem'hera  will  fli.d  It  on  inval'iahlenlil  li  ih( 
atudy  ufttae  Bible.  K.  U.  JLuuHis,  Paator  AI.  K.  Church,  Fair  Uuven,  Cuun. 

From  Rev.  •!.  D.  Kyle. 

I  heartily  concur  in  the  above  itaUment  in  regard  to  KItto'a  Hiatorr  ofthe  Bible. 

Fall  Biver,  Maaa.  J.  D.  KylB,  Paator  United  Preabyterian  Chtirch. 

(709) 


Prom  Rrr.   A.   M.  l^jlU. 

Itm  In  pnaMMinn  of  Dr.  KIttn't  Dallf  Illhl*  nMllnipi,  anil  cnntldrr  th*in  In  tM<  «mnnt  tli*  nina«  nluM* 
produoUuiia  III  my  library,  ami  Iruni  lliu  writ  kiiiiwn  I'hanclar  of  Uw  ill*llD|uiihcd  author  w«  Aial  talk  In  awurliia 
aay  imi  who  may  piirchuo  a  work  froiu  Uia  uma  nan. 

t'tll  lUvtr,  Mail,  A.  M.  Wtlii,  lUciorof  AtMSiloa  Ckwvk 

Prom   Hew,  John   Unnean,   D.D. 

Dr.  KItlo'a  lllttory  of  Ihr  BIbIa  li  a  work  nf  nn-at  ralna  -  aTsry  •luilani  of  Ui«  MKrad  totuma  will  hart  Anil 
tn  aalliiiahlu  man  of  InttirniaUuo  and  lUiulratluji.  I  kDuw  uf  au  tliuUar  work  thai  coi  taliii  lu  mauy 
•loalli'iii'ia.  Hit.  John  DrmAN,  1>.  I>. 

k'aU  JUvtr,  Maaa..  May  au,  1M7  Vatlur  tii  liapUal  Churvti. 


From  Rev.  R.   W.  Batler. 

My  htartjr  ooiiciirNIM*  In  tlM  tbot*  U  maDiraat  by  my  rigualurt.  '■■  W.  Botlii, 

Vmtor  rrankUn  81  CbrtaUan  Dooittr. 

Prom  ReT.  B.  Thnraton.  D.D. 

I  hara  hrtbr*  rceotntncndad  I>r.  KItlo'a  illilory  ot  thr  lllble  l<>  the  paopla  of  thia  placa,  and  taka  plaaaar*  In 
rvpaalliig  thai  every  fuiiiily  anil  Suhhiilhirlioul  Icavhar,  ami  ludtad  arery  aludanl  or  tha  UIlId,  will  find  a  graal 
kelp  In  till'  work  in  hi>  .tudy  i>t  (iud'a  word. 

fall  Ulvar,  Maia.,Juu«  1,  IM.  IL  TuuaatoH,  D.  D^  I'atlur  M  CoBf.  Church. 


From  R«T.  P.  B.  HaoKhvrort. 

I  am  rninlllar  with  Dr.  K.'a  wnrka,  and  hia  (raal  raputallon  a<  an  author  la  a  aufllcient  Kmranly  nf  the  rio*|. 
Icooaufauy  wuik  tliul  baaia  hla  imma.  P.  M.  ll«tinii»oiT, 

Paator  lal  Baptltt  Churr.h.  I'all  Klvar,  Maaa. 


From  RcT.  0«o.  Bowrlcr. 


I  hpartlly  cnnuur  In  the  above  recoinmandatlon. 
rtU  Hiver,  Maaa.,  May  81,  U07. 


Oao.  Dowiia, 
raalor  8L  Paul'a  M.  li.  Chunk. 


From  ReT.  Chss.  MV.  Back. 

Af  a  cnmpcnillmia  arrangement  of  the  Bible  narratlvea,  I  ihould  think  that  Kllto'a  IHitory  would  be  nf  great 
UM  to  the  lllblicul  itudunt  CuAa.  W.  Buci, 

fall  River,  Miui.,  June  1, 1M7.  Paatot  Uultarlan  Cburcb. 

From  Rev.  J    D.  King. 

I  coiiilder  "  Kllto'a   Illitnr)-  nf  the  BIhlu  "    an  Invaluable   alil  to  coniecative  Ubilcal  ilady,  eipeclally  Ibr 
tboae  vhu  have  but  little  lluiv,  and  hava  not  accuM  to  large  Ubrariea, 

BfiipectfuUy  youra,  J.  D.  Kinii, 

Fall  River.  Man.,  June  1,  ltH7,  Futor  FIral  M.  L.  Church. 

From  Rev.  C.  8.  Bro«vn.  • 

The  name  of  Dr.  K'tto,  la  a  futficlont  recuinmeiidatlon  of  hli  work. 

C.  8.  Browh,  Pr«e(dlng  Elder  M.  E.  Church. 


From  tile  Norwich  <Conn.>  Rnlletln. 

Kitto'i  lUnitratrrt  Tlit^ory  of  the  Bible  Is  a  work  that,  even  upon  tha  moat  iuperftelat  examlnatinn,  itrongly 
ImpreiiMt;*  ita  iiuritu  upon  the  mind  of  any  pemon  who  is  ut  ull  IntL-rL-nteil  In  the  aacred  writhiHi.  The  plan  of  the 
work  li  in  itiielt  a  recuniiiiendatlon.  The  liurrulive  la  eiiriirhtil  by  critit'al  and  ex|jlunati>ry  iioti'i,  caretully  «i)lfcled 
from  iliu  results  of  long  yean  of  levert*  Hiid  iiiit'lliKeiit  labor,  'rlii'se  noti-H  are  neceiisurily  lirief,  hut  they  happily 
niei't  the  wiiiitsof  the  gi'iii'ral  reader,  wiio  «-aniuit  ilnil  tlie  time  to  wander  through  a  wilderm-ng  of  ooiiiini'iituriea, 
and  indeed  are  in  many  cases  suthcieiit  for  the  iiiuri*  critical  student.  For  the  preparatiun  of  this  part  of  the  work 
the  eminent  author  was  peculiarly  well  qualltled.  He  brouglit  tuthe  illustrutiun  of  tiiu  Saered  Hcriptiires  a  living 
kiiowle'lge  of  Eastern  inannerp,  truilitioiis,  gi'itirraphy,  anil  miturul  hiitury.  acquired  dtiriny  three  years  of  travel 
In  the  lloly  Land,  and  ailjucciit  countries.  'I'o  the  knowledge  ucqiiiied  iliiriiig  these  original  reacarches,  waa 
added  tiie  ti  uit  of  n  qiiartpr  of  u  century  spent  in  most  curefiil  study.  It  Is  said  of  him  that  he  was  In  the  habit  uf 
going  several  miles  hiihe  British  Museum,  in  the  reuding-n>oni  of  vihlch  he  ipeiitiix  hours  u  day  consulting  rare 
and  expensive  b<K)*fS  i  and  usiihIIv  when  laborliii;  in  his  own  Ntiidy  he  devoted  sixteen  hours  a  day  to  the  prepa* 
ration  id' his  puhlieutions.  As  the  result  nf  siicii  research,  such  experience,  and  such  labors,  tlie  contrihutlona 
made  by  Dr.  Kitto,  to  hihlical  literature,  have  been  of  the  greatest  value  —the  crown  of  ail  being  the  History  of 
the  Bible  now  under  eonsiileratlon. 

The  publisher.  Henry  Bill,  of  this  city,  wu  fortunate  in  belngable  to  secure  fhrthc  preparation  of  thii  edition, 
the  services  of  Hev,  Alvan  Bond,  D.D.,  who  brought  to  his  editorship,  a  ripe  and  accurate  acholarshlp,  and  an 
enthusiusni  for  the  work,  which  have  not  only  given  the  present  volume  au  Increaaed  valuu  to  the  general  reader, 
but  have  made  ita  rare  uionument  to  bis  own  Christian  culture. 


Fron  tlte  Morivloh   (Conn.>  Auroras 

KiTTO'8  lLLi;8TRATCD  HisTonT  or  THE  BinLE.—  It  It  but  a  few  monlha  since  It  wu  tnnonnenl  that  a  new 
American  edition  of  thia  celehrated  work  was  in  the  courae  of  ptvparation,l>y  Rev.  Ur.  Bond,  of  thia  city,  and  wai 
to  be  introduced  to  the  public  by  our  tuwnsnmii,  Hon.  Iknrv  Bill.  Yet  the  orders  for  it  have  already  reached  the 
large  numhcr  of  more  than  fifty  thousand,  und  the  demand  It  still  unabated.  It  ia  emphatically,  and  lu  the  best 
tenteof  the  term,  u  popular  book.  It  will  make  every  family,  where  it  it  read,  wisei  nml  belter.  It  Interfbrcs  with 
the  sectarian  prejudices  of  no  man,  for  it  li  not  ii  cominentary  on  doctrinal  t>oinU,  t)ut  it  plain,  cleur,  and  connected 
norrutivefroni  the  point  wliere  the  Bible  commences  down  to  the  de.tructiuii  of  Jerusulein  by  the  Unmans,  A.  U. 
%.  Any  one,  uutH  profestilonal  biblical  aeholur,  will  acquire  a  fur  more  distinct  view  of  sucred  hi'<ti>ry  by  reading 
this  boi'K  tlian  lie  will  by  reading  the  Bible  itsi^lf,  for  the  narrative  is  connected,  and  divested  of  ull  Irrelevant 
matter.  If  wu  take  any  single  character  of  the  llihie  —  David  at  a  itriking  example  —  we  ihall  tlnd  all  the  rventa 
of  his  life  ffrntiped  and  connected  with  the  vividness  of  a  picture.  And  tlie  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  at 
each  epoch,  their  laws  and  religious  observances,  their  great  public  works,  and  the  political  relations  of  States,  arc 
minutely  described,  and  illustrated,  not  only  according  to  the  Bible  narrative,  but  hv  all  the  lights  that  modern 
research  and  iiivestigatitm  can  tiirnw  upon  them.  Tne  work  cannot  be  too  strongly  recommended  to  all,  whj 
would  become  faioiliur  with  Uible  hiotuiy,  fur  tlieli  gvru  ImpnivtuoDUti  oi  [vt  tUs  puiiiow  uf  cummunlcatlag  tha 
aaoie  to  othera, 

(710) 


n 


From  ■•▼.  O.  P.  Oaborn*  and  otkar*. 

Fmm  •  hfl»f  »»«'iiln»(!on  of  lh»  Pmpapliia  of  Kllln'a  "  llliiilnilril  Itlilorj  of  tha  nibit,"  anil  f^om  (ho  knowB 
r*piiUII>in  of  tliii  author  anil  vililor,  I  Jiiil||<-  tli*l  llii<  IkniIi  will  Iw  liniii'l  lo  Imi  •  valiiahlv  tlil  In  Iha  alud;  of  UoU't 
wunl,  ami  a  hajipr  aildllloii  lo  Iha  library  uf  any  fkiiilly  wliu  may  Ikal  ahia  lo  purchaaa  II. 

Ilrliiol,  H.I.,  May  N,  inlUI.  C.  P.  OiaoiKi. 

Wa  I'inii-ur  In  i>'"  rrrommrndatlnnt  ftrxn  ahoTa  of  KIttn'a  "  Illuatrmlail  lllatorr  of  Iha  Rlhla." 

r.  Mnowilaii  'looMiaa,  Julin  Ulaln,  J.  I.lyaiay,  A.  I'.  Hptulilinf,  Uaurga  Wbaalar,  Wm.  C.  Mllli,  RMlor  uf 
81.  Matk't  Cliuroh. 

From  Rer.  il.  JIV.  Irftna. 

I  can  rnrillally  command  Dr.  Kitto'i  wurka.  I  am  aci|uaintrd  with  Dr.  Dond,  Iha  Amarleu  Ealllor.  I  Intanil 
lo  Uka  Iha  h<Hik  iiiyarlt. 

t.  W,  Lahi,  Pulor  Conf.  Church,  Whalaly,  Mua. 

From  Rot.  R.  R.  Pnlrrhlld. 

letn  rtcnmmandnr.  Kllln'a  work,  an  a  vnlmihlx  aiiilllary  In  Ihi-  iliidy  oftha  Blhla.fVnm  my  knnwitdfa  nflU 
•Ulhor  aa  •  lalmrluua  aludanl  of  iha  lucrtil  rai'ord.  K.  II.  KAiKiniLi),  Wbalvl^ ,  MtN. 

From  R«T.  Wm.  A.  Rttrtlatt. 

Thla  "  Illiiilraird  llUlory  of  the  Holy  Mlhlr."  lo  nniiralp  niiil  araplilr  In  III  Irxl,  and  ao  hrlpnil  and  plraalni  In 
icrompanylnn  plain,  cannot  fall  lo  •npiily  a  poiniiiir  niiil.  Wr  »l:.li  li  the  luccaaa  whkh  Ihii  llii'inu,  the  dla- 
[ulihad  aulhur,  and  lliadacldad  mnrlliilniil'ivi'il  In  II*  pr<'piirull>ni.  iliniinil. 

Wh.  a.  UAari.arr,  Paaior  KIni-placa  Cong.  Church,  Brooklyn,  N.Y. 


(ta  acri 
tlDgulihai 


From  Uvv.  A.  N.  LHtK'J«hii,  Ik.n. 

Dr.  Klito'a  "  IlKtnry  of  Iha  llllilp  "  il  a  valualiln  Oiniptnil,  ami  may  Iw  nad  with  pniAl  by  all  who  daalrc  lo  b« 
(mprofrd  u|Hih  the  K"><  ■ulijni'ta  of  which  II  Irvata. 

A.  N.  LlTTtaJoiiH,  U.D.,  Heclor  Holy  Trinlly  Church. 
Brooklyn.  N. v.,  Nov.  la.  IMI. 

I 
From  Rev.  O.  If,  lloamrr. 

Dr.  John  Kllln  ilanda  hlih  aa  a  Bibilcal  acholar  and  irllli',  uml  I  ahonid  Ihink  Ihli  work  wnnid  he  a  ralnahla 
aid  In  Ilia  aludy  of  tliv  UibU. 

a.  II,  UoaHtl.  Pulor  UnlUrlan  Church,  Uaarflcld,  Maaa. 

From  R«T.  Holomon  f'lnrk. 

For  the  pall  el^thl  yoara  I  hare  hec>n  Intlmalaly  acqiialnti'd  with  Dr.  Klllo'a  nihlical  worka.  He  poaacaaad 
adTanlupa  M'lilorn  rnioyrd  fur  prrparlnv  aiii'h  a  lllatnry  uf  the  Ilihie  na  la  lu'rc  prcaentcd  lo  tho  public.  'Ihiiia 
pa^ra  will  he  rt-nd  liy  iiidividuali  and  famllica  with  gruwtnx  Inlereat 

Plaintli'ld,  .Maaa.  8ui.uilu.v  Claik,  Paaior  Congragallonal  Church. 


I 


From  Rev.  K.  E.  CummlnK*. 

t  hara  examined  wllh  aome  care  Kllto'a  "  lllatory  of  lh«  Illhln  Illuatral«d,"and  haro  formed  a  high  nplnloii 
of  il,  aa  a  help  In  K>vintf  a  knowlodtfe  of  Holy  Kt'ripturc.  'I'ht!  unihoilli'd  lilatory  canntil  fkil  to  awakvn  a  deeiier 
Interval  in  Ihe  facta  eontaltu-d  in  the  lllhle,  while  tlie  nntea  throw  a'Mltlnnnl  llt<ht  on  tlu>  am'ri'd  text  i  aii<l  the 
lliiiatrallona  givv  the  noedfd  inforrontlon  In  regard  to  the  cnaloma  and  hahita  of  Ihe  limea  In  which  the  Uibia  waa 
written.    I  moat  cheerfully  hcapcak  for  Ihe  work  u  wide  circulation. 

Concord,  N.ll.,  i>ee.  'j\  HVi.  K.  K.  CuMMINOS,  Paaior  Pteaaant^trect  Uapliit  Church. 

From  Re^.  A.  P.  V.  Rnrtlett. 

I  cordially  concur  In  the  numeroiia  teatiinoniea  to  the  value  of  the  "  llliialraled  Iliitory  of  Ihe  Holy  Bible" 
by  I>r.  KItIo,  and  I  triiat  that  it  may  be  widely  received  among  the  neoi)l«  of  the  S<mth  ('hurch. 

Concord,  N.U.,  Dec.  'Ji,  IHtlll.  A.  F.  V.  Uabtlrtt,  Paaior  South  Cong.  Church. 


From  Rev.  tf.  F.  Adama. 

I  Tiilue  any  thInR  fVom  the  pen  of  Dr.  Kitto.  Ilia  "  Cyclnpiedin  of  IIIMIcal  Llteralure,"  "  Daily  nihle  Illnalra- 
tlona."  "Pictorial  buiiday  lioukH,  Ac.,"  tire  ricli  aourcca  of  inibrmnllon  on  all  Hible  inutterf.  1  refer  to  tliotn  with 
almoat  atfitiie  coitlidence  that  liia  conotiiaiona  are  aafe.  Thia  preparea  me  to  recoinmend  Ilia  '*  iliatorv  oftha 
lllhle,'  edited  by  Dr.  Bond.  It  mull  be  valuable  lo  any  Bible  itudenl,nnd  eaneclally  to  the  Sahbalh-achool  Tench- 
era,  i.  £.  ADAMS,  Paaior  Flnt  Cong.  Church. 

Scariport,  Me.,  July  10,1867. 

From  Rev.  Albert  Chnreh. 

Thla  work  li  valuable  aa  condenalnn  information  <in  Ihe  Bible  which  la  Ihiia  made  available  lo  thnie  to  whom 
larger  works  uru  itiiicceaaihle.  The  icuiliiifr  ot  it  may  excite  an  Intereit  In  Biblical  aludica,  and  lead  to  a  more  ex- 
tenaive  ncqtiaintance  with  that  areateat  and  ueat  of  buoki,  Albbrt  Ciiukcii, 

Heanport,  Me.,  July  lu,  MsT.  Paaior  M.  £.  Church. 

From  Rev.  C.  P.  Bartlett. 

The  name  of  Kltlo  la  a  anfflclent  recommendation  of  whatever  may  come  fW)m  hta  nen.  Hie  "  Illiiatmled 
Hlltory  ot  the  Bible  "  ia  uncilu-Htioiiably  a  work  of  greet  value,  and  will  prove  an  cthcienl  helper  In  the  dcoArtmeut 
ot  knowledge  lo  which  It  Deloiiga.    Aa  an  aid  to  ""  *  '  '    "'  *      '  ...  ... 


judge  it  to  poiaeai  rare  merit. 
Sedgwick,  Me.,  May  3, 1H67. 


Bible-ciaaaea,  Huiidny-achool  teachera,  and  acholara,  1  ahould 
C.  P.  Bartlett,  Paator  Flnt  Baptiit  Church. 


From  Rev.  Alfk-ed  E.  Ivea. 


The  worki  of  John  Kitto,  D.D.,  have  atl.iined  a  wide  celebrity,  aud  I  take  plcaaure  In  commending  hia  "  II- 
luatrated  lllatory  of  the  Bible"  lo  all  who  i>ri/e  liie  lluly  Bible. 

Caatine,  June  i,  IttCr.  Alfbed  E.  Ivks,  Paator  Cong.  Church. 

From  Rev.  O.  tj.  Palmer. 

The  want  of  audi  a  work  haa  lonK  been  felt  by  all  aludenta  of  the  Bible.  The  author,  ao  well  known  lo  the 
literary  world,  la  autttclent  evidence  that  It  will  be  an  Invaluable  work  tor  all  iovera  of  Bible  lllatory,  and  for  all 
who  want  to  grow  la  the  knowledge  and  wlidom  of  Christ. 

C.  L.  PALiiiB,Paau>r  M.  E,  Church,  Brookavllle,  He. 

(711) 


12 


Front  Rev.  E.  D.  Toirncr. 

Dr.  Klttn'f  workf  »re  amniig  the  very  bcit  In  the  whole  rsnge  of  Hlhlical  liltemtnre.  Any  thing  from  him 
illuftrativt'  of  the  ureml  evuiitM  and  fflonouM  churaeteri  ot  tliu  Old  and  Nt-w  Tt-Btainuiitif  li  of  Hterllni;  value,  and 
niuy  bi'  Kafely  truilcd;  while  the  jirane  of  Dr.  Bond,  the  accompllnhed  editor  of  the  '•  Il.uitnited  Illitoty  of  th« 
Bible,""  ii  in  all  the  churi-hea,"  I  rnrdlally  rnmrnend  the  work  to  the  reading  and  leligloua  i  erile  of  thii  |>lace,  ai 
oui'  eminently  fitted  to  intureit  and  improve  thtmielvea  and  fHmlllei. 

£.  I).  TowiiEK,  Paitor  of  BapCiit  Church,  Hartford,  N.Y. 

From  Rev.  Alfred  Emerson. 

The  narrative  ii  conclie,  clear,  and  attractive  ai  well  aa  faithful.  Hera  and  In  the  notes  we  have.  In  almple 
language,  the  resuU  of  the  lut^'tit  and  rlpi-Ht  hch  -larshlit.  The  hiitnry  of  the  eventa  which  occurred  between  the 
cloaitig  period  of  tlie  Old  Tt  siument  and  the  lieginv.lng  of  (he  New,  aa  well  ai  at  the  desti  uction  of  Jernaaleii;, 
ei:.entialiy  add  to  its  vQiue.  A  copioui  Index  makea  it  an  excellent  b(mk  of  reference  ff>r  the  liihllral  iiuderta 
connectea  with  the  Kubhath  Si-hool.  1  should  \m'  happy  to  learn  that  this  volume  had  found  a  pluee  in  every 
I'jmilv  amonx  my  people.  Ai.rBti>  Kmir.son, 

Fitchburg,  Mali.,  May  14,  ISC'.  I'tator  Cung,  Cburch, 

From  RcT.  8<  A.  Collin*. 

I  moat  cheerfully  recommend  the  "  History  of  the  Bible"  by  the  dlallngulshed  Dr.  John  KItto,  whoae  attain- 
ments aa  a  llihileul  Ktudeit  are  scarcely  surpassed.  The  work  will  he  •  valuable  aid  to  the  study  of  (Jnd's  Holy 
Word,  mid  ahould  he  in  every  trmiily.  8.  A.  CuLLiHa,  I'astur  Uaptiat  Church. 

Fltchburg,  Mass.,  May  M,  IHIi7. 

From  Rev.  M.  91.  Longly. 

I  have  made  -.  hasty  examination  of  Dr.  Kitto's  "  History  of  the  Bible."  and  am  exceedingly  pleased.  It  cao- 
not  fail  to  bfu  v-iluuble  auxiliary  In  the  ntudy  of  the  Bible,  and  will  be  a  treasura  to  any  fiimilv. 

Fitcbburg,  Mass.,  May  lli,  IMu .  M.  M.  Lonoly,  Vaator  Trinitarian  Church. 

••  ■    '  . 

From  Rev.  W^.  H.  Hatch. 

I  can  checrt>illy  recommend  Dr.  Kitto's  work  as  a  valuable  auxiliary  In  the  study  of  the  Bible,  which  cannot 
but  be  of  great  advantage  to  all  who  desire  a  correct  aud  extensive  knowledge  of  tttn  sucred  hook. 

l-itchburg,  Mass., May  Ifi,  IMIi'.  VI.  II.  Uatcii,  I'astor  Methodist  Church. 

From  Rev.  C.  H.  "Webber. 

I  consider  Dr.  Kitto's  "  Bible  History  "  one  of  the  best  of  hla  many  able  productlona  on  Biblical  research. 
Every  llible  atudent  should  have  it. 

C.  U.  WEDiii:B,rastorM:.Iu-BtraetFKeBaptlst  Church,  Taunton,  Mass. 

From  Rev.  Samuel  H    Smith. 

The  works  of  Dr.  Kitto  are  held  In  very  high  repute  by  all  Biblical  itudenls.  They  are  distinguished  ffir  their 
gi'neral  accuracy  and  great  clearness.  His  "  Bible  History  "  I  regard  as  among  the  most  dcdirahle  of  his  produC' 
tioim.  Samuhi.  H.  SMirii. 

Kast  Bridgeport,  May  10, 18C".  I'aator  M.  K.  Church. 

From  Rev.  A.  McOregor  Hopper. 

The"ni8tory  of  the  Bible,"  by  that  distinguished  scholar.  Dr.  Kitto,  of  London,  I  reganl  as  a  worl- of  gn/at 
value,  nnd  c:iii  therefore  most  heartily  recommend  It  to  the  public.  A.  McUreook  HoeFER, 

Uridgeiioit,  Conn.,  April  17, 18:S7. 

"  From  Rev.  W.  W.  Dew. 

The  author  whose  volume  Is  here  commended  his  ihroujh  many  past  years  laid  a  foundUion  broad  and  deep 
fhr  the  Cfjuudcnce  of  Chiibtcndoui.  He  has  a  %lde  re^iuiuilon,  gamed  by  the  devoted  labor  of  n\aoy  years.  If 
iconic  In  generul  knew  more  In  regard  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  they  would  prize  the  dlviue  Word  more  highly. 
.Such  n  volume  as  this  which  la  now  offered  is  needed  evcryvhen. 

UrooksvUlc,  June  13,  ia67.  W.  W.  Dow,  Futor  Congregational  Churf 

From  Rev.  J.  E.  Rocfctvell. 

I  have  bQcn  familiar  for  mony  years  with  the  works  of  Kitto,  and  have  regarded  them  as  among  my  most  valun- 
bteaidsln  the  study  and  iltustrutton  of  the  Holy  Scripture.  His  **  History  of  the  Bible"  is  a  collection  in  un.- vulunf 
('t  ull  th<!  treasures  of  liis  learning  tind  resean  h.  Its  illustrations  arc  drawn  fVoni  the, most  authentic  sources,  tti.u 
altogether  it  forma  tt  mo^t  valnrible  work  fiir  families  and  all  persons  who  desire  to  understand  the  Scriptures.  I 
moFt  cheerfully'  ennimeod  If  to  ell  who  may  have  the  opportunity  of  possessing  themselves  of  the  bo,,k. 

lJiooKlyn,'N.Y.,  April  •.T,  18ri7.  J.  K.  Hockvtell,  Pastor  Central  rrcsbytcriau  Church. 

From  Rev.  S.  Blxbjr. 

Knowing  something  of  Dr.  Kitto  as  an  author,  and  fWim  an  examination  of  his  "  Illustrated  History  of  the 
Bible,"  1  have  no  husltanev  In  recommending  it  as  a  work  of  great  value. 

Weatmorehuid,  Dec.  11),  18UII.  8.  Bi.TBY,  Pastor  Cong.  Church. 

Front  Rev.  Samuel  S.  Drakea 

This  may  certlfv  thiit  I  am  acquainted  with  the  works  of  Dr.  Kitto,  an  English  author,  possess  them  myself, 
and  consider  them  Invaluable.  I  niii  also  peraoniillf  acquainted  with  Dr.  Bond,  the  editor  cf  this  work,  having  re- 
c  ivcd  Instructiou  from  him.  and  know  him  to  he  one  of  the  first  RIbllcal  sclioiars  in  the  country.  It  is  therefore 
safe,  ia  my  opinion,  iind  of  g.eat  uti.ity,  to  possess  Dr.  Kitto's  llterwy  work". 

Dter  Isle,  Me.,  .May  -J,  18Ur.  S/.hukl  S.  Dlakk,  Pastor  Cong.  Church. 


From  Rev.  Kath.  Seaver. 

I  have  subscribed  for  tlic  work  herein  named,—  nlthough  the  views  contained  In  It  are  Trinitarian.  I  think  it 
Tuluablc,  Dr.  KUfci  Is  a  fine  scholar  i  and  his  otlier  works  arc  held  in  high  esteem  by  ull  theological  scholars.  Thla 
book  mUces  readable  and  Interesting  what  is  often  obscure  in  the  common  version.  It  also  throws  light  uyon  the 
laternollticai  condition  of  the  Jewlan  nation, 

Walpole,  Dcc,!l,18li0.  Naib,  BiikTiK,Jnn.,  Futor  Unitarian  Church. 

(712) 


THE  HISTORY 


OF   THE 


CIYIL  WAR  IN  AMERICA, 

(ISSUED  m  THE  ENGLISH  AND  GERMAN  LANGUAGES,) 

COUPKUrNQ    A 

Full  and  Impartial  Account  of  the   Origin  and  Progress  of  the  Rebellion, 

of  the  various  Naval  and    Military  Engagements,  of  the  Heroic 

Deeds    performed    by    Armies    and    Individuals,    and    of 

Touching    Scenes    in    the    Field,    the    Camp, 

the    Hospital,    and    the    Cabin. 

By  J.  S.  C.  ABROTT,  of  Nkw  IIavkn,  Conn., 

A.UTHon  «r  Tn«  "  Lire  or  Napolron  ;"  "  IIirtohy  «r  tiif  Kkknou  Rkvouition  ;"  "  Monaboiiiu 

or  Continental  Kubuhk,"  ktc. 

niuBtrated  with  Maps,  Diagrams,  and  numerous  Steel  Engravings  of  Battle 
Scones,  from  original  Designs  by  Darley,  and  other  eminent  Artists,  and  over  60 
Portraits  on  Steel  of  Distinguished  Men  from  both  North  and  South. 

This  work,  complete  in  two  volumes  of  over  1,100  largo  Roynl  Octavo  pages,  is 
now  ready  for  delivery ;  and  it  is  also  issued  complete  in  one  volum(!  of  over  1,100 
pages,  and  the  Agents  can  now  take  subscribers  for  tlie  whole  work,  either  m  one 
volume  or  two. 

The  author  of  this  great  work  is  well  known  by  all  literary  men,  as  on?  of  tho 
most  talented  and  popular  historical  writeis,  and  his  History  of  the  Great  Rebellion 
will  not  be  surpassed  in  meri  nd  attractiveness  by  any  other  that  may  be  offered 
to  the  public.     Numerous  Maps  and  Diagrams  are  interspersed  through  the  bock. 

The*IlluHtrati(jns  are  all  from  original  designs,  engraved  on  steel,  by  the  best 
Artists,  expressly  for  the  work,  and  comi)riso  Portraits  of  Distinguished  Command- 
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and  Land. 

Trusting  the  reader  will  regard  this  work  as  one  of  superior  importance  and 
value,  and  as  eminently  worthy  a  place  in  every  library  and  family  in  the  land,  the 
Publisher  with  entire  confidence  solicits  your  influence  in  giving  it  the  wid(!8t 
possible  circulation.  You  will  confer  a  favor  by  sjieakmg  of  the  work  among  your 
friends,  and  also  by  showing  this  Circular  to  some  acquaintance  who  would  be  likely 
to  engage  in  its  distribution. 

This  is  the  best  History  of  the  War  yet  published,  and  has  had  the  largest  sale 
of  any  book  on  the  war  More  than  300,000  volumes  have  been  subscribed  for, 
requiring  375  tons  of  paper,  and  several  power  presses  have  l)e('n  running  on  the 
work  (f>art  of  the  time  night  and  day),  for  some  two  years  or  more.  Subscribers 
f  ^r  the  work  who  have  obtained  the  first  volume,  but  who  have  failed  to  see  thtj 
Agent,  may  obtain  the  second  volume  by  addressing  the  Publisher, 

HENR7  BILL,  Norwich,  Conn. 

(713) 


A   PICTORIAL 


istorg  of  t^e  Jeto  IHorto : 


CONTAININO  A  GENERAL  TIEW  OP  ALL  THE  VARIOUS  NATIOJIS, 

STATES,    AND    REPUBLICS    OP  TUB  v.^ 

WESTERN  CONTINENT ; 

Ck)inpri8ing  tbe  early  Discoveries  by  the  Spanisli,  French,  and  other  Navigators^ 
an  account  of  the  American  Indiana,  and  a 

COMPLETE  HISTORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 

Including  the  French  and  Indian  Wars,  the  VV^ar  of  the  Revolution,  that  of  1812, 
the  late  War  with  Mexico,  and  embracing  the  brilliant  career  of  Washington, 
Wayne,  Jackson,  Taylor,  Scott,  Orant,  and  JShbbman,  and  their  compatriots, 
and  a 

Complete  History  of  the  Rebellion  to  its  Close. 

With  an  Appendix,  containing  important  Public  Documents,  and  closing  with 
extensive  and  valuable  Statistical  Tables. 


J,,;.;   ,^-  ;•,.>-_,,  ^-.yv.;.;,  EDITED  BY  ;..:.';...■,>   .-,-;^    ,   ■'■ 

JOHN  LEDYARD  DENISON,  A.M., 

AvTnoB  or  thb  "Pictorial  History  or  thb  Waks  ;"    "  Piotorial  Naval  Uistort  ;" 
"  TuK  New  World,"  in  Okkman,  itr. 

The  whole  illustrated  with  over  Three  Hundred  Ennramngs,  some  of  which  are 
beautifully  Colored  by  hand,  true  to  Nature,  consisting  of  Battle  Scenes,  Views  of 
(Mties,  Flags  of  the  various  Nations,  Prominent  Events,  and  Portraits  of  Distin- 
guished Men,  from  designs  by  LossiNG,  Croome,  Deveraux,  and  other  celebrated 
American  Artists. 

In  one  large  octavo  volume,  containing  about  900  pages,  and  illustrated  with  over 
300  Engravings,  some  of  which  are  Steel,  and  many  beautifully  colored  by  hand, 
true  to  Nature,  and  will  be  bound  in  emlKtssed  and  gilt  leather  binding,  with 
marbled  edges. 

This  work  was  so  well  received,  that  already  it  has  been  translated  into  the  Ger- 
man Language,  under  the  title  of  Illustrated  New  World  (see  opposite  page),  and 
about  20,000  copies  sold  in  the  German  Language  in  this  country  alone,  and  large 
orders  have  been  received  from  Germany,  for  the  work  in  their  language. 


For  an  Agency,  apply  to  the  Publisher, 

HENRY  BILL,  Norwicli,  Conn, 


(7M) 


THE 


HISTORY  OF  THE  WORLD: 


ooMFBisma 


A  GENBBAL   HISTORY,  BOTH  AlfCIEHf^T  AND 

MODERN,   OF  ALL   THE   PRINCIPAL 

NATIONS   OF  THE   GLOBE, 

ETC.,   ETJ. 


FiPibradng  a  brief  account  of  the  Russian  and  Italian  Ware,  and  a  complete  His- 
tjry  of  the  United  States  to  the  present  time,  including  the  War  of  the  Revolution, 
tliit  of  1812,  and  the  late  War  with  Mexico,  the  Administrations  of  the  Presidents, 
and  the  brilliant  career  of  Washington,  Wayne,  Jackson,  Taylor,  Scott,  as 
well  as  Grant  and  Sheruan,  and  their  compatriots,  and  a  brief  History  of  the 
Rebellion  to  its  close,  with  an  Appendix,  containing  important  Public  Documents 
and  valuable  Statistical  Table& 


By    SAMUEL   MAUNDER, 

AoTHOB  OF  "  The  Treasury  of  Knowledge,"  "Biographical  Treasury,"  Era 

Edited  by  JOHN  nMAN,  Esq., 

Lath  Editor  of  the  "  New  York  Commercial  Advertiser," 

And  other  diatinguUhed  American  Authors. 


The  whole  embellished  with  nnmerons  Engravings  (beautifnlly  Colored 
by  hand,  in  imitation  of  Nature),  representing  Battle  Scenes, 
Views  of  Cities,  Prominent  Events,  Flags  of  the  dif- 
ferent Nations,  Coronations,  Processions, 
'\'  Costumes,  Etc.,  Etc.,  Etc. 


In  Two  large  octavo  volumes,  containing  upwards  of  1,500  pages,  and  illustrated 
<<  li  thirty-two  Colored  Engravings,  executed  in  the  most  modern  style,  after 
authentic  pictures;  together  with  a  Chart  of  the  Flags  of  various  Nations,  appro- 
priately colored,  and  bound  in  embossed  and  gilt  leather  binding,  with  marbled 
edges. 

The  success  that  has  attended  this  great  work,  since  its  first  publication,  is  unpre- 
redented.  It  has  gone  on  increasing  in  its  sale,  until  over  three  hundred  thousand 
volumee  have  been  sold. 

(7M) 


3u  tl)c  German  faiiguagc. 


THE 


ILLUSTRATED  NEW  WORLD : 


CONTUNINO 

A  GENERAL  HISTORY  OF  ALL  THE  VARIOUS  NATIONS  AND 
REPUBLICS  OF  THE  WESTERN  CONTINENT; 

THEIR  RISE,  PROGRESS,  AND  PRESENT  CONDITION. 

Comprising   early   Discoveries    by   the    Spanish,   French,   and 
other  Navigators,  an  account  of  the  American  IndianSf     ^. 
with  a  Complete  History  of  the  United  States,  from 
the  First  Settlement  to  the  Present   Time.    ,, 

rSCliUDING   A  COMPLETE 

HISTOEY  OF  THE  CIVIL  WAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

TO      ITS      CLOSE. 

With  Geographical  Descriptions  of  oach  State  and  Territory,  an  elaborate  Appendix, 
with  important  Instructions  to  Emigrants,  Washington's  Farewell  Address,  auci 
other  Public  Documents,  Statistical  Tables,  etc.,  etc. 

EDITED  BY  JOHN   L.  DENISON,  A.M., 

AND 

TRANSLATED. BY  GEORGE  DIETZ, 

LATE     TRANSLATOn     FOR     THE     .TTATE     OF     PENNSYLVANIA. 


The  whole  illustrated  with  over  three  hundred  Engravings  (many  of  which  arp 
splendidly  colored),  consisting  of  Battle  Scenes,  Views  of  Cities,  Prominent  Events, 
and  Portraits  of  Distinguished  Men,  from  designs  of  the  most  celebrated  artists,  in 
one  large  royal  octavo  volume,  containing  over  900  pages,  executed  in  modern 
style,  and  bound  in  embossed  and  gilt  leather  binding. 

It  is  purely  American  in  its  character,  and  aims  throughout  to  induct  the  immi- 
grant into  all  the  manners,  customs,  and  institutions  jjeculiar  to  the  United  States, 
having  for  its  object  to  Americanize  this  valuable  element  of  our  rapidly  increasing 
population. 

This  book  has  been  issued  but  a  short  time,  and  already  nearly  20,000  copies 
bave  been  sold. 

(716) 


